Tears For Fears are an English new wave band formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the new wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success. They were part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US.
Their platinum-selling debut album, The Hurting, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, while their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, reached number one on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US. Their second album contained two Billboard Hot 100 number ones: "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"', the latter winning the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986.
Smith and Orzabal parted company in 1991, after the release of their third platinum-selling album The Seeds of Love (1989), though Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The duo re-formed in 2000 and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004. Since 2013, the duo have been working on their seventh album. To date, Tears for Fears have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, including more than 8 million in the US.
Peel got hold of the band's first single, Suffer The Children, in 1981 and compared them to Joy Division. [1]After the band became big, Peel rarely played any of their tracks although he did repeat their session as late as 1985 when the group were enjoying their seventh hit with 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' and their album Songs From the Big Chair was in the top 10 of the album charts.
In 1991, Peel played a track from the group, when they released a dance track under the alias of Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams, whose title track was the same as the cover name.
05 January 1991: Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams (12") Virgin
Top Of The Pops[]
14 October 1982 (TOTP): (JP: "Very pleased to see this next act on TOTP ‘cos Kid Jensen and Peter Powell and myself have been playing their records for years. They’re excellent. Making their debut on the programme... Tears for Fears!") Mad World (#38)
18 November 1982 (TOTP): (JP:And up next, the wonderful Tears For Fears') Mad World (#03) (JP: "That’s Tears For Fears, and I really wanted that to get to No.1. Mind you, it still could. One of the singles of the year anyway.)
