Songs from the big chair "Full Post"

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, which emerged after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate. They were initially associated with New Wave and the burgeoning wave of synthesizer bands of the early 1980s, but branched out into mainstream chart success. The band have sold more than 22 million albums worldwide (including over 8 million in the United States alone).

Formation

Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in their home city of Bath, England. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon, where they first met future Tears For Fears drummer Manny Elias. Neon also featured Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who went on to become Naked Eyes. Smith and Orzabal's professional debut came with the band Graduate, a Mod Revival/New Wave act drawing on the major influences of the time, including The Jam and Elvis Costello. In 1980, Graduate released an album, Acting My Age, and a single "Elvis Should Play Ska" (referring to Elvis Costello, not Presley). The single just missed the Top 100 in the UK, though it performed well in Spain and in the Netherlands.

By 1981, Orzabal and Smith were becoming more influenced by artists such as Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno. They departed from Graduate and formed a band called History of Headaches, a moniker which was then changed to Tears for Fears. The plan was for Orzabal and Smith to form the nucleus of the group and bring in surrounding musicians to help them complete the picture.

The band's name₁ is derived from the primal scream therapy treatment of the same name developed by Arthur Janov, which was made famous after John Lennon became Janov's patient. In a 2004 interview with VH1 UK, Orzabal and Smith said that when they finally met Janov in the mid-80s, they were disillusioned to find that he had become quite "Hollywood" and wanted the band to write a musical.

Tears for Fears were signed to Phonogram Records, UK in 1981 by A&R manager Dave Bates. Their first single as Tears for Fears, "Suffer the Children" (produced by David Lord), was released on that label in November 1981, followed by the first edition of "Pale Shelter" (produced by Mike Howlett) in March 1982.

The rest of that story is on Wiki's page [here].

What I noticed first about the band was Roland Orzabal's vocal style. He could have easily made a move into classic opera and in a way some of the time he did on the album "Songs from the big chair". I'm not sure he even knew his potential because at some point it just seemed to end. Still he's a great vocalist, the band is great and enjoy...

Here is the whole album in order. I posted it that way because (I think) it should be played as a full album. You download the files and put em on a playlist and relax to it.

1. "Shout" (Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley) – 6:33
2. "The Working Hour" (Orzabal, Stanley, Manny Elias) – 6:31
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (Orzabal, Stanley, Chris Hughes) – 4:11
4. "Mothers Talk" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 5:06
5. "I Believe" (Orzabal) – 4:54
6. "Broken" (Orzabal) – 2:38
7. "Head over Heels/Broken (Live)" (Orzabal, Curt Smith) – 4:32
8. "Listen" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 6:54

Shout (1984)

The Working Hour
(Not live, just pasted images, sorry)

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Mother'sTalk

I Believe
(High Quality)

Broken

Head Over Heels

Listen
(Again, not a vid, just song with background images)