Tears for Fears

. Did not have a US Top 40 single (highest position was #69 for "Stand Up" in 1989). To their credit, Universal reprinted the first three albums for sale in the UK in early 2004 following the success of the Andrews/Jules cover, and these sold in astonishing numbers. As Underworld (mark III, without Emerson):. Adding to that criticism of the band has been the fact that over the years, branches of Universal Records have released numerous "greatest hits" collections, compilations, DVDs, and repackaged reissues of the same, at times without the band's knowledge. As Underworld (mark II, electronic):. The coincidental timing of the Andrews/Jules single and the release of TFF's new album prompted some critics to accuse the band of capitalizing on the single's success for profit, although TFF wrote and recorded their new album before Andrews and Jules had recorded theirs. As Underworld (mark I, funk rock):.

The success of the single also led to TFF's greatest hits album, Tears Roll Down, spending eight weeks in the UK Top 40 a full twelve years after its release. As Freur:. Despite chart-topping success in the USA, Tears For Fears have yet to reach the top spot themselves in their native country, and the cover marked "their" first Number 1. This band has been regarded by some as one of the pioneers of the modern electronic movement. In 2003 the legacy of Tears For Fears re-emerged with some surprise when a haunting piano-only cover version of their debut hit "Mad World", performed by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules and featured on the soundtrack to the cult film Donnie Darko, reached the coveted UK Number 1 spot for Christmas 2003. III and recorded a new album, A Hundred Days Off, which was released to general approval. A tour of larger UK venues will follow in April. They dubbed the project Underworld Mk.

The UK release will contain all fourteen tracks written and recorded during the ELAHE sessions. Hyde and Smith decided to continue, once again, as a duo. Everybody Loves a Happy Ending will be released in the UK and Europe in February 2005 on Gut Records. After the release and promotion of Everything, Everything Emerson decided to leave Underworld to focus on his solo projects and record label. A successful US tour followed. Called Everything, Everything, the project was said to capture the live Underworld very faithfully. Indeed, one of the highest compliments paid to the album was one reviewer's comment that "John Lennon and Paul McCartney are alive and well." The twelve-track album was scheduled for release on Arista Records in late 2003, but a label switch to New Door, a new offshoot of Universal, delayed the release until September 14, 2004. Despite these problems, Underworld embarked on a spirited and well-received tour which resulted in a live CD and DVD drawn from several dates on the tour.

This spirit is largely the work of co-writer and producer Charlton Pettus, who succeeded at the formidable task of melding Orzabal's lush songwriting with the live energy of Smith's Mayfield shows. After the release of the album a large number of mixes of the album tracks seemed to surface on singles, magazine promotional CDs and similar ephemeral formats perhaps indicating the number of revisions the tracks had gone through to get to point where they were acceptable to all three. Like their earlier work, ELAHE features TFF's hallmarks of vibrant Beatlesque melodies, solid songwriting, and turns of phrase, but the album also has a free spirit that Orzabal and Smith would have shunned in their earlier, more serious years. After the release of Beaucoup Fish in 1998, Hyde declared in his interviews that he had sorted out earlier problems with alcoholism but all the members admitted that the sessions had been fraught with problems, with the individual members working in their own studios and only communicating via mixes of the raw material passed back and forth on DAT. The ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, is in many ways what "The Seeds of Love" was meant to be. I but the original Hyde/Smith dance material was lyric-free as was most of the electronic music emerging from the aftermath of acid house. Much to their surprise, the songwriting sessions, which included Charlton Pettus, went so well that fourteen songs were written and recorded in less than six months (by contrast, the drum track alone for "Badman's Song" on "The Seeds of Love", an eight-song album, took six weeks to record.). Hyde had been the lead singer in Underworld Mk.

The two patched up their differences and Orzabal flew to Smith's home in Los Angeles for what they assumed would be a hesitant attempt at songwriting. The signature Hyde lyrics were in place: poetic, hypnotic and whispered; mixing conventional songwriting with the use of found material from overheard conversations, answerphone recordings and the like. In 2001, routine paperwork obligations led to Orzabal and Smith's first conversation in over a decade. Their first album, dubnobasswithmyheadman, was considered more accessible than the group's earlier material and crossed a large spectrum of dance music. As fate would have it, the album had the bad luck to be released on September 11, 2001, and drew little notice outside TFF's core fan base. The addition of Emerson completed Underworld's dance/rock fusion and seemed to moderate some of hardfloor elements in the original duo's work. Where TFF's work had remained guitar-based, Tomcats Screaming Outside showcased a completely electronic style and a darker approach. The trio were also known by the names Lemon Interrupt and Steppin' Razor, when they remixed such varying acts as Shakespeare's Sister, Saint Etienne, Bjork and Simply Red.

After undertaking production work for Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini, Orzabal reteamed with Griffiths and recorded the album Tomcats Screaming Outside, released on Eagle Records as a solo project, under his own name. Probably best known for their 1996 floorfilling hit "Born Slippy", featured in the movie Trainspotting, Underworld is comprised of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith and, up until 2001, DJ Darren Emerson. The dizzying array of record company mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s eventually placed TFF's back catalogue into the Universal fold. It emerged from the ashes of the electropop group Freur in the early 1980s, ventured briefly into electro-rock-funk in the late 1980s, and has produced danceable electronic music since then. The remasters also had the effect of establishing TFF as definitive artists, helping them to escape the dreaded "80's band" moniker. Underworld is the name of an electronic band popular during the 1990s. As with Saturnine, the liner notes provided rich background and new insights even to longtime fans. 2003 "Born Slippy Nuxx" #27.

In 1999 Mercury Records released remastered editions of TFF's first three albums which included b-sides, remixes, and extended versions. 2003 "Dinosaur Adventure 3D" #34. The liner notes gave fans an insight into the songwriting process as well as a rare glimpse of self-deprecating humour from TFF regarding the tracks which they would rather forget. 2002 "Two Months Off" #12. In 1996 a collection of TFF's impressive b-sides, Saturnine Martial and Lunatic, was released on Mercury. 2000 "Cowgirl" #24. Sony responded to the lack of commercial success by ending TFF's contract. 1999 "King of Snake" #17.

The release of Raoul was delayed for nearly a year due to a last-minute switch label from Mercury to Sony, and the ensuing confusion (Mercury had already begun promotion) did not help the album's chances either. 1999 "Jumbo" #21. A worldwide tour, which included a frenzied welcome in South and Latin America, had the effect of straining Orzabal's energies rather than supporting them. 1999 "Push Upstairs" #12. (Raoul was originally the name Orzabal's parents wanted to give him.) Although it continued TFF's legacy of outstanding songwriting, big production values, and varied influences, creating an album around the theme of exotic Spanish heritage excluded all but its main single, "God's Mistake", from any chance of commercial success. 1996 "Pearl's Girl" (re-issue) #22. Orzabal and Griffiths released another Tears for Fears album in 1995, Raoul and the Kings of Spain, a more quiet and contemplative work that showed a new Latin music influence. 1996 "Born Slippy" #2.

It is unfortunate that the album was received with more attention paid to what it was not - an album without Smith - than for what the album was, an immensely enjoyable blend of good songwriting and creative sampling. 1996 "Pearl's Girl" #24. It yielded the radio hit "Break It Down Again" and was supported with a successful US college tour. Underworld 1992-2002 (2003) (Hits Album). In 1993, Orzabal recorded the album Elemental in collaboration with longtime co-collaborator Alan Griffiths, and released it under the Tears for Fears moniker. A Hundred Days Off (2002) #16 UK, #122 US. Smith also took on the management or co-management of several independent bands and musicians. Everything, Everything (live) (2000) #22 UK, #192 US.

A second album, Aeroplane, was released in 1998, showcasing the songs written during Mayfield's club days. Beaucoup Fish (1999) #3 UK, #93 US. Eschewing major record labels, Smith formed his own label, Zerodisc, to release Mayfield's music, and was an early advocate of using the internet to share and distribute music outside the mainstream industry. Second Toughest In The Infants (1996) #9 UK. As a live band, Mayfield performed with minimal production and no commercial obligations, and Smith's sense of musicianship was rekindled for the first time since his teenage years. Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1993) #12 UK. From 1996 to 1998 their band, Mayfield, performed occasional sets in clubs throughout Greenwich Village and SoHo including Brownie's, the Mercury Lounge, and CBGB. Change The Weather (1989).

In 1995 he met local songwriter and producer Charlton Pettus. The two formed a self-described "organic" partnership, writing simple, melody-based songs and recording them at home on vintage analog equipment. Underneath The Radar (1988) #139 US. In 1993 he recorded a lite FM album, which he himself despised, solely to fulfill his Mercury contract. Get Us Out Of Here (1985). Smith relocated to New York City and took several years to recover from the spotlight. Doot Doot (1983). The two spent much of the 90s continuing to attack each other through the media and through their music.

The split was ultimately blamed on Orzabal's intricate but frustrating approach to production and Smith's distaste for the pop music world. A break was almost inevitable. Though only in their late twenties, the two had been in the musical spotlight for nearly a decade, and as individuals they were no longer the angst-ridden teenagers they had been when they met at 13. After The Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith had an extremely acrimonious falling out.

Another single was "Woman in Chains," on which Phil Collins played drums and Oleta Adams — whom Orzabal would guide to a successful solo career — shared vocals. The album retained the band's epic sound while showing increasing influences ranging from jazz and blues to The Beatles, the last of which is extremely evident in the hit single "Sowing the Seeds of Love". It was 1989 before the group released its third album, The Seeds of Love, at a reported production cost of over a quarter-million dollars. The slogan was "I Ran The World"; therefore Tears For Fears released "Everybody Wants To Run The World".

In 1986, a slightly rewritten version of their biggest hit was recorded and released for the British fundraising initiative Sport Aid, a splinter project of Band Aid in which people took part in running races of varying length and seriousness to raise more money for African projects. The album title stemmed from the B-side to "Shout", which was a song called "The Big Chair", though this song was absent from the album itself. The album was a massive success on both sides of the Atlantic and yielded the hit singles "Mothers Talk"; "Shout"; "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"; "Head Over Heels" and "I Believe". Orzabal also took over the lion's share of lead vocal duty from Smith, who ended up with a comparative bit-part role of playing bass guitar.

Orzabal had been encouraged by producer Chris Hughes to pick up his guitar as he was a gifted player but wasn't using the instrument enough. Their next album Songs from the Big Chair (1985) - its title inspired by the 1976 US TV mini-series Sybil - broke free from the new wave mold; featuring instead a big sound that would become the band's stylistic hallmark. A previously unheard single called "The Way You Are" was released at the very beginning of 1984 to keep the band in the spotlight while they worked on the second album. Its singles were "Mad World", "Change" and "Pale Shelter".

Their first album The Hurting (1983) featured synthesizer-based songs whose lyrics reflected Orzabal's bitter growing-up experiences with his parents. During primal therapy, the patient is encouraged to cry, scream, and beat objects to express childhood, perinatal and prenatal feelings; hence the name "Tears for Fears," and the content of the song "Shout.". The duo's name is derived from the primal therapy treatment formed by Arthur Janov. They were initially associated with new wave and the New Romantic movements, but quickly branched out into mainstream chart success.

Tears for Fears are a British pop band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, who emerged as a pairing from an early band in their home town of Bath. 1995 "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" #31 UK. 1993 "Break It Down Again" #20 UK, #25 US. 1992 "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)" #17 UK.

1990 "Advice for the Young at Heart" #36 UK. 1989 "Woman in Chains" #26 UK, #36 US. 1989 "Sowing the Seeds of Love" #5 UK, #2 US. 1986 "Everybody Wants to Run the World" #5 UK.

1985 "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" #23 UK. 1985 "Head over Heels" #12 UK, #3 US. 1985 "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" #2 UK, #1 US. 1984 "Shout" #4 UK, #1 US (1985 release).

1984 "Mother's Talk" #14 UK, #27 US (1985 release). 1983 "The Way You Are" #24 UK. 1983 "Pale Shelter" #5 UK. 1983 "Change" #4 UK.

1982 "Mad World" #3 UK. Everybody Loves a Happy Ending 2004 New Door; #46 US. Saturnine Martial & Lunatic 1996 Mercury. Raoul and the Kings of Spain 1995 Epic; #79 US.

Elemental 1993 Mercury; #5 UK, #45 US. Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) 1992 Fontana; #2 UK, #53 US. The Seeds of Love 1989 Fontana; #1 UK, #8 US. Songs from the Big Chair 1985 Mercury; #2 UK, #1 US.

The Hurting 1983 Mercury; #1 UK, #73 US.