Tears For Fears: The Shocking Truth

Tears for Fears are a pop rock group formed in Bath, Somerset, England, UK during 1981 by Roland Orzabal & Curt Smith. Founded after the folding of their 1st band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wave synthesizer groups of the early '80s, having international chart success. The band's debut L.P., The Hurting (1983), topped the British charts, and their 1st 3 hit singles, Mad World, Change then Pale Shelter, made the UK top 5. Part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, their 2nd album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), topped the US Billboard 200, going multi-platinum in Britain & the States. The L.P. produced a couple of Billboard Hot 100 no. 1s, Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, both of which reached the UK top 5 with the latter winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986. After the issue of their platinum-selling 3rd album, The Seeds of Love (1989), Smith & Orzabal broke up acrimoniously during 1991. Roland kept the Tears for Fears name as a solo project, releasing the L.Ps Elemental (1993) then Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995). He & Curt reconciled in the year 2000 before putting out an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004). The duo have toured intermittently since then. After almost a decade in development, the group's 7th L.P., The Tipping Point, was issued during February 2022, becoming their 6th UK Top 5 album, their highest charting for 30 years, reaching the Top 10 in many other countries, including the US where it topped the Billboard Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums. Orzabal & Smith were honoured with the Ivor Novello Award for 'Outstanding Song Collection' in 2021, recognising their 'era-defining Tears for Fears albums' and 'critically acclaimed, innovative hit singles'.