Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears were always more ambitious than the average synth pop group. From the beginning, the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were tackling big subjects — their very name derived from Arthur Janov’s primal scream therapy, and his theories were evident throughout their debut, The Hurting. Driven by catchy, infectious synth pop, The Hurting became a big hit in their native England, setting the stage for international stardom with their second album, 1985’s Songs from the Big Chair. On the strength of the singles “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout,” the record became a major hit, establishing the duo as one of the leading acts of the second generation of MTV stars. Instead of quickly recording a follow-up, Tears for Fears labored over their third album, the psychedelic and jazz-rock-tinged The Seeds of Love. Smith left the group in the early ’90s while Orzabal continued with Tears for Fears as a solo project for several years, issuing a pair of albums. They reunited briefly for 2004’s Everybody Loves a Happy Ending and permanently to tour and record 2022’s The Tipping Point.

Orzabal and Smith met as children in Bath, England. Both boys came from broken homes, and Smith was leaning toward juvenile delinquency. Orzabal, however, turned toward books, eventually discovering Arthur Janov’s primal scream therapy, a way of confronting childhood fears that John Lennon embraced after the Beatles disbanded. Orzabal turned Smith on to Janov, but before the duo explored this theory further, they formed the ska revival band Graduate in the late ’70s. After releasing a handful of singles, including “Elvis Should Play Ska,” Graduate dissolved in the early ’80s, and the duo went on to form Tears for Fears, a synth pop outfit directly inspired by Janov’s writings.