Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair

Songs from the Big Chair Tears for Fears

Released: 2/17/1985 Peak: 15 US, 2 UK, 113 CN, 5 AU, 17 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.9 UK, 11.3 world (includes US and UK) Genre: synth pop/new wave

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Shout [6:35] The Working Hour [6:33] Everybody Wants to Rule the World [4:13] Mother’s Talk [5:08] I Believe [4:57] Broken [2:39] Head Over Heels/Broken (live) [5:24] Listen [6:52] Total Running Time: 41:43 The Players: Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Curt Smith (vocals, bass) Ian Stanley (keyboards) Manny Elias (drums)

Rating: 4.415 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: “Arguably the finest example of epic ‘80s pop.” – Half.Ebay.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album “Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair sits as an ‘80s music landmark;’ OU “while many of the band’s synth-pop peers continued to develop along a linear route” HE this album “heralded a dramatic maturation in the band’s music, away from the synth-pop brand with which it was (unjustly) seared following the debut, and towards a complex, enveloping pop sophistication.” AM “If [debut album] The Hurting was mental anguish, Songs from the Big Chair marks the progression towards emotional healing, a particularly bold sort of catharsis culled from Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith’s shared attraction to primal scream therapy.” AM “The songwriting of Orzabal, Smith, and keyboardist Ian Stanley took a huge leap forward, drawing on reserves of palpable emotion and lovely, protracted melodies that draw just as much on soul and R&B music as they do on immediate pop hooks.” AM “The album’s deep emotional explorations are at once uncompromising and appealingly tuneful.” OU “Producer Chris Hughes helped push the band into a more organic” BC and “guitar oriented sound.” NO With his encouragement “Orzabal’s stronger voice takes center-stage for much of the album” HE thus “widening their emotional palette.” BC What also makes this album a classic is that “each song holds its place and each is integral to the overall tapestry, a single-minded resolve that is easy to overlook when an album is as commercially successful as Songs from the Big Chair.” AM What is amazing about Songs from the Big Chair “is [that] not only [is it] a commercial triumph; it is an artistic tour de force.” AM It “is one of the finest statements of the decade,” AM an “enduringly resonant classic…essential for any fan of the genre” OU and “arguably the finest example of epic ‘80s pop.” HE Reissues A 1999 reissue featured seven bonus tracks, U.S. remixes of “Mothers Talk,” and “Shout, “along with the B-sides “The Big Chair,” “Empire Building,” “The Marauders,” “Broken Revisited” and “The Conflict.” A 2006 deluxe edition included B-sides and a second disc of single remixes. In 2014, a super deluxe 6-CD/DVD version was released which included B-sides, remixes, videos, and performances. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Shout Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley (see lyrics here) Released: 11/23/1984 as a single, Songs from the Big Chair (1985) B-side: “The Big Chair” Peak: 13 US, 12 CB, 13 RR, 6 AR, 1 CO, 4 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 177.6 video, 393.91 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: With its “dramatic and insistent march,” AM “Shout” is the perfect lead-off track for Tears for Fears sophomore album Songs from the Big Chair. In the UK, it was the second single from the album, following “Mother’s Talk.” However, in the U.S., the lead single was “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” followed by “Shout.” People understandably assumed the song was about “primal scream treatment, which worked by getting people to confront their fears by shouting and screaming.” SF The band did, after, all take their name from Prisoners of Pain, the book by Primal Therapy psychologist Arthur Janov. The band also used primal scream therapy as a theme for their first album, The Hurting. Although the song “takes on the theme of catharsis that dominated The Hurting two years earlier,” HE the “moody mega–hit” OU was not about primal scream theory, according to Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal. He said, “It is actually more concerned with political protest.” WK Bandmate Curt Smith said the song “encourages people not to do things without actually questioning them.” WK Musically, the song was marked by “power chords, heavy percussion, a synth bass solo, and a vocal-sounding synth riff.” WK “Shout” “captured the energy of rock music. The song is very loud with a repetitive chorus, as well as innovative programming and much else to admire. Sounds great listened to loud.” AD Orzabal said it was written on a small synthesizer and a drum machine. He thought the chorus “was very repetitive, like a mantra” WK and after playing it for Ian Stanley, the band’s keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer, “they were convinced it would be a hit around the world.” WK

The Working Hour Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, Manny Elias (see lyrics here) Released: Songs from the Big Chair (1985) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.88 video, 16.03 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The entry point to an album is typically a hit single. If an artist is lucky, the album will generate more than just one hit. A successful song or two, however, isn’t enough to make an album a classic – at least for me. An album crosses over into that rarefied territory only when it goes beyond the popular songs, when album cuts start achieving must-listen status in the same ballpark as the familiar tunes spun on the radio. Tears for Fears’ 1985 Songs from the Big Chair falls into that category for exactly that reason. The album could have broached classic status just on the basis of its singles alone. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout” were #1 hits in the U.S. “Head Over Heels” reached #3. “Mother’s Talk” was a top-40 hit in the US and got to #14 in the UK. “I Believe” was also a hit in the UK, getting to #23, and giving the Chair album a whopping five successful singles. On top of all that, though, the album also featured “The Working Hour,” “a smooth six-minute arrangement of saxophone, piano, and guitar that’s marked by a restrained sense of drama.” HE It “conjure a daydream of heaven to distract the workingman from his woes.” RS This was the cut which immediately caught my attention the first time I heard the album. It starts off with a very ethereal sound punctuated by a saxophone. Ozabal said the “main saxophone riff is extremely important and powerful – it’s got that sort of ‘crying’ quality to it.” SF Drums and keyboards kick in at about 45 seconds as the song continues to build. Roland Orzabal doesn’t come in with vocals until about the two-minute mark. He quickly offers the inciteful observation that “we are paid by those who learn by our mistakes” in a song that he said grew out of his frustration with people telling him what to do. SF Orzabal and bandmate Curt Smith both said this is their favorite cut from the album. They even considered calling the album The Working Hour, but used Songs from the Big Chair, named for the B-side of “Shout,” a song called “The Big Chair.” SF

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, Chris Hughes (see lyrics here) Released: 3/18/1985 as a single, Songs from the Big Chair (1985) B-side: “Pharaohs” Peak: 12 US, 12 CB, 11 GR, 12 RR, 12, 2 AC, 2 AR, 1 CO, 2 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK, 0.69 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 6.0 radio, 236.98 video, 2170.58 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: In the UK, Tears for Fears first made their impact with “Mad World” in 1982. The #3 hit was followed by two more top-five hits in support of their debut album The Hurting. Prior to the release of their sophomore album, Songs from the Big Chair, the band released “Shout,” (#4) and “Mother’s Talk” (#14). However, it wasn’t until that album’s third single, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” that Tears for Fears, well, ruled the world. The new wave single went to the top of the charts in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand and reached #2 in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. “The loping, percolating” AM and “ear–friendly” OU Everybody Wants to Rule the World is, according to BlogCritics.org’s Eric Olsen, “among the most perfect singles of the last 20 years. Riding on a propulsive, circular beat, strong dual vocals from Smith and Orzabal convey a superior melody augmented by tinkling keyboard filigrees and tough, bristling guitar work from Orzabal and Neil Taylor,” BC the song “perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-‘80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic.” AM “Such a sunny, lovely…song…Lots of simple elements all put together to create something special.” AD Although this is “quite a jangly and catchy song” musically, SF it is pretty dark lyrically. Curt Smith, who sang lead, said the song, whose main line was originally “everybody wants to go to war,” was about “the quest for power and how it can have unfortunate consequences,” SF such as the “warfare and the misery it causes.” WK Pitchfork’s Tal Rosenberg pointed out how the “lyrics could be applied in different scenarios such as the environment (‘Turn your back on mother nature’), short-lived financial success (‘Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure / Nothing ever lasts forever’), dictatorial rule (‘Even while we sleep ‘ We will find you’), and the Cold War (‘Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down’).” WK The song was a last-minute addition to the Big Chair album. Roland Orzabal, who co-wrote the song, considered it “a lightweight that would not fit with the rest of the album.” WK Chris Hughes, who produced the song and was also one of the writers, said that “as a piece of recording history, it’s bland as hell.” WK However, he convinced Orzabal to record it and add a shuffle beat “in a calculated effort to gain American chart success.” WK The rhythm was inspired by the Simple Minds’ 1983 song “Waterfront.” WK Spectrum Culture’s Kevin Korber said the song was a “perfect representation of its time.” WK Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound praised it as a “timeless and influential composition.” WK Stanton Swihart of All Music Guide said the group “perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-‘80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic.” WK

Mother’s Talk Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley Released: 8/10/1984 as a single (UK), Songs from the Big Chair (1985), 4/1/1986 as a single (US) B-side: “Empire Building” (UK), “Sea Song” (US) Peak: 27 US, 14 UK, 87 CN Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 11.99 streaming About the Song: Like “Shout,” “the spirited,” HE “jagged,” OU and “storming” AD Mothers Talk “sounds stupendous turned up loud. There are guitars here and there, but the drum pattern, the percussion, dominates.” AD This was the first single in the UK, but only released in the US after “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout,” and “Head Over Heels” had all been huge hits. This song works well as an album cut; it is hard to understand why it would be pushed as the lead single. Apparently, the British listeners agreed, this one stalled at #14; that seemed respectable enough, but was surely a disappointment after The Hurting’s three top ten hits.

I Believe Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal (see lyrics here) Released: 9/30/1985 as a single, Songs from the Big Chair (1985) B-side: “Sea Song” Peak: 23 UK, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.42 video, 9.16 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: This was the fifth single from Tears for Fears’ 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout” were #1 hits in the U.S. and “Head Over Heels” got to #3 while “Mother’s Talk” reached #27. “I Believe” didn’t fare so well; it failed to chart in the United States although it did hit #23 in the UK and was a top 10 hit in Ireland. Technically it was a live version of the song labeled “I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)” that was not available on Songs from the Big Chair. “The torchy melancholy of I Believe” OU “is a true showcase for Roland Orzabal’s vocal abilities.” NO It “is a very serious ballad, quite soulful,” AD “and the dynamic range on the track is outstanding.” NO He wrote “the introspective ballad” SF about Primal Therapy, as evidenced in references to “a newborn scream” and “the shaping of a life.” WK He called it one of his favorites on the album. SF “Very simple, a nice sort of jazz swing to it…I think that they are the most potent and powerful lyrics we've ever put onto vinyl.” SF “The narrator taking a hard look at his beliefs, including whether his destiny is created through free will or determined by fate, and challenging the listener to do the same.” SF He intended to offer it to British singer/songwriter Robert Wyatt, WK but the band decided to record it themselves. The B-side of the song was a cover of Wyatt’s “Sea Song.”

Broken Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal Released: Songs from the Big Chair (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.49 streaming About the Song: After the emotive “I Believe,” we get another of the “crunch rockers” with Broken, which segues into “the shimmering, cascading,” AM and “stadium-sized Head Over Heels.” HE “Broken” had previously been released as a B-side to the 1983 single “Pale Shelter” from the band’s first album, The Hurting. In concert and on the album, the song is broken into two parts – preceding and following “Head Over Heels.”

Head Over Heels Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Curt Smith (see lyrics here) Released: 6/10/1985 as a single, Songs from the Big Chair (1985) B-side: “When in Love with a Blind Man” Peak: 3 US, 3 CB, 3 RR, 5 AC, 7 AR, 1 CO, 12 UK, 11 CN, 21 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 76.6 video, 105.93 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Tears for Fears exploded in the U.S. market with their second album, Songs from the Big Chair. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout” were both chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot 100. They were followed by “Head Over Heels,” which reached #3. It made for a trifecta of “deservedly huge hits [this one and ‘Shout’ both featuring] enticing vocals singing emblematic words perched atop mid-tempo, majestic ocean liners of sound.” BC “Head Over Heels” evolved as a segue with the song “Broken.” In live performances, “Head Over Heels” was sandwiched in between two parts of “Broken.” A single edit version of the song cut the song before the “Broken” reprise. The song is a fairly straightforward love song, although lines such as “It’s hard to be a man when there’s a gun in your hand” might cause a girl to file a restraining order. SF On a personal note, I misunderstood the lyric for years as “It’s hard to be a man when there’s a girl in your head.” I thought the line worked better since it suggested one had a hard time being himself when hung up on someone. The song also proved a pretty spot-on soundtrack for my own unrequited love the summer after my senior year in high school. The video for the song was directed by Nigel Dick, who would also assume the director’s chair for Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” more than a dozen years later. Singer Roland Orzabal suggested the concept of meeting a girl in the library as well as random images like a rabbi and a chimp. There’s an homage to the movie Ghostbusters when cards come flying out of the catalog drawer. SF In 2008, a literal video was made of the song mocking many of the visuals. SF

Listen Tears for Fears

Writer(s): Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley Released: Songs from the Big Chair (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.92 streaming About the Song: After a live reprise of “Broken,” we head into the grand finale. Listen “surpasses all the others in terms of sound quality” NO or “sheer beauty.” RS “The incredible depth and dynamics” NO of “its cracking-glacier sound effects and airy synths, wafting operatic soprano and inscrutable chanting” RS “make this a prime candidate for showing off your stereo system.” NO “It’s a lovely surprise at the end” RS of a lovely album.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stanton Swihart BC BlogCritics.org review by Eric Olsen Robert Christgau AD Adrian Denning HE Half.Ebay.com Jonathan Leonard, Leonard’s Lair NO The Night Owl review by Steve Marshall OU OpenUpAndSay.com review by Eric Aaron RS Rolling Stone review by Don Shewey, originally in print issue 448 SF Songfacts page for “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” SF Songfacts page for “Shout” SF Songfacts page for “Head Over Heels” SF Songfacts page for “I Believe” SF Songfacts page for “The Working Hour” WK Wikipedia page for “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” WK Wikipedia page for “Shout” WK Wikipedia page for “Head Over Heels” WK Wikipedia page for “I Believe” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/4/2008; last updated 8/10/2025.