TAKE TWO:TEARS FOR FEARS

Tears For Fears achieved great international fame in the mid-eighties with their second album, "Songs From The Big Chair" but like many musical groups who find sudden success, their partnership was strained and crushed due to the pressures and the duo broke-up after their third album, "The Seeds Of Love" in 1990.

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith first met as teenagers in Bath, England. They performed with several bands before starting their own group, History of Headaches while later renaming themselves, Tears For Fears. After signing with Phonogram Records, they released two singles before finding chart success with "Mad World" in 1982 where it peaked at number three in the U.K. Tears For Fears released their debut album, "The Hurting" the following year where it made it to number one on the British album chart.

Their follow-up album, "Songs From The Big Chair" became a world-wide smash with the record reaching the top of the U.S. album chart for five weeks. The four hit singles, "Mothers Talk", "Head Over Heels", "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" contributed to the album's major success with the latter two songs reaching number one in America.

After the duo separated, Orzabal kept the band's name and released another album, "Elemental" in 1993 while Smith recorded a solo project, "Soul On Board" that same year. The Tears For Fears album found only minor success in Europe while another album, "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" (released in 1995) was even less successful.

In 2000, Orzabal and Smith worked out their differences and began recording a new album. The appropriately titled, "Everybody Loves A Happy Ending" was released in 2004 which had their first song hit the British top forty in ten years. Tears For Fears has not recorded any new music to date but they still continue to tour together with their last major tour was in 2010 with another re-grouped '80's British new-wave band, Spandau Ballet.

Have a listen to two of my favorites:

"Mothers Talk" - Tears For Fears (1984)

"Head Over Heels" - Tears For Fears (1985)