TEARS FOR FEARS
(UK, twelve Top 40 hits, three Top 40 albums)

UTTERLY FANTASTIC twosome who should have done so much better than they did. Churlish that may seem, given that seven Top 10 hits spread across the decade is no mean achievement, along with enormous Stateside adulation, but in sneery bandleader of posh stock Roland Orzabal, they had one of the fussiest musicians of the decade's popular era. Orzabal and partner Curt Smith (schoolfriends from Bath who rose out of the ashes of a local band) appeared in '82 with the fabulous "Mad World" ("and I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had") combined Orzabal's bleak, morose lyric with Smith's smiley vocal (great contrast) and a synth-garnished melody which was so good it should have been written years earlier. Where the word 'halogeon' came from we still can't find out, however. The follow-up "Change" ("what has happened to the friend that I once knew?") used much the same recipe, as did the thrilling "Pale Shelter" ("when you don't give me love, you give me pale shelter, you don't give me love, you give me cold hands") which was on their original demo which secured their deal with Mercury. Three Top 5 hits with their first three releases for a rather odd, long-coated combination - Orzabal was scowly and gestured, Smith (sporting beads in his hair) grinny and reserved, and the debut album "The Hurting" was a terrific No.1.  

PHILOSOPHICAL

A one-off oddity single "The Way You Are" ("going far, getting nowhere, going far, the way you are") went barely noticed to No.24 before the '84 revamp, at Orzabal's insistence, came along. Orzabal had decided, with some encouragement from others, to ditch the synths and grab his guitar, while also taking over most of the lead vocal responsibility, with Smith reduced to pretty boy backing and a few bass licks. The result was mesmerising, despite Smith's crass undervaluing courtesy of his partner. "Mothers Talk" ("my features form with a change in the weather, weekend, we can work it out") was released and got to No.14, in what was possibly their weakest moment. But the follow-up became one of the most astonishing releases of the decade, expanding on some philosophical theory and climbing all the way to No.4. It nearly never made it - it stalled at No.32 before TOTP featured a snippet on the much-missed Top 40 Breakers, and it shot to No.13 the following week. The song was "Shout" ("let it all out, these are things I can do without, come on, I'm talking to you, come on") which was accompanied by the duo walking aimlessly on a dusky moorland in the video, before culminating in a live performance surrounded by telegenic people of all ages, singing along.

LIGHTWEIGHT

Tears For Fears were now hot stuff and next up was what would prove to be their biggest hit, which Orzabal hated. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" ("help me make the most of freedom and I'll pledge that nothing ever last forever") got to No.2. Orzabal loathed it (despite writing it) because he thought its gentle twiddly, high-pitched guitar hook and striding beat was lightweight compared to his other efforts. Producer Chris Hughes knew better and persuaded him, so it went on to the album (the fantastic "Songs From The Big Chair") and Orzabal huffily got Smith to sing it, which he did quite superbly. It was a No.1 in the States too, and would a year later be slightly re-written and re-issued for Sport Aid, the athletics-based side project for Ethiopia. The uplifting "Head Over Heels" ("something happens and I'm head over heels, I never find out till I'm head over heels") was next, reaching a lacklustre No.12, and Orzabal sat at his grand piano for a rare fifth release from one album, putting out the 'soulful re-recording' of"I Believe" ("I believe that every time you hear a new born scream you just can't see the shaping of a life") which got to No.23. In this era, mention must go to their permanent backers Ian Stanley (keyboards) and Manny Elias (drums) who did much co-writing with Orzabal, or just emerged with a basic idea from which Orzabal would compose some magnum opus from that exceptional album.

PERFECTIONIST

Along came '86, and charity re-writes apart, the public waited. And waited. And bloody waited. This is where Orzabal's fussiness came in. It took a thousand re-writes, plenty of royalties spent on producers and studios, and a general haughtiness from the perfectionist Orzabal before he got anything near the record he wanted as a follow-up to "Songs From The Big Chair". Finally, the revival (rather than return) happened in '89, when the big-deal Beatles-esque "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" ("time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes") was released, and though it was fantastic (and got to No.5) the album was a huge disappointment (albeit a No.1), littered with pretentiousness and over-production. Orzabal discovered Oleta Adams singing in some Yank wine bar and brought her in to add to the band's soul stabbings, and she co-sang the pro-feminist follow-up "Woman In Chains" ("you'd better love loving, and you'd better behave") alongside him. It was quite excellent, but never a single in a million years, and its No.26 placing proved that.

COLD

After the album ran its course in '90, Orzabal and Smith split with huge acrimony (Orzabal accused him of being skill-less and not pulling his weight, which Smith vehemently rejects) and Orzabal ploughed on under the name, as he continues to do so. He was and is a magnificent songwriting and performing talent (though he never, ever smiled at all) but his aloofness made him appear cold to all who encountered him, with no exception. He cared about what he did, but his public perception was that he cared about no-one else at all, least of all those who hung on to his every word. Smith was much more laid-back and approachable (and a better singer, even if not such an accomplished musician) and it was a shame that his new project of the mid 90s (the band name was a town-related pun, but we can't remember what it was) didn't blossom. In their heyday, they were untouchable as composers and deliverers of well-crafted pop songs, and that heyday is the bit that is most advisable to keep fresh in the mind because they were truly one of the very best.

Biggest Hit: "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", No.2, 1985
Defining Moment: "Shout, shout, let it all out..."

Matt