History Music / TearsForFears

+Music/TheBeatles, Arthur Janov, Music/BrianWilson, Music/DavidBowie, Music/PinkFloyd, Robert Wyatt, Music/BrianEno, Music/OrchestralManoeuvresInTheDark, Music/PeterGabriel, Music/TheClash, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/GaryNuman, Music/DepecheMode, Music/SoftCell

* CanadaEh: ''Live at Massey Hall'' showcases the Canadian maple leaf on its [[https://i.imgur.com/u0YObCR.jpg front cover]] (plus the [[https://img.discogs.com/CM39OjnXXvLTFLJJCVFb9FD0jhU=/fit-in/600x471/filters:strip_icc():format(webp):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-19079854-1624094595-5967.jpeg.jpg back and spine of the CD]]) with the red and white colours of the Canadian flag to indicate that the concert was recorded in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}, more precisely). It's one of the most -- if not ''the'' most -- Canada-centric artworks ever designed for a music album (especially one which isn't a compilation of Canadian music), which is unexpected for a British band. TFF have never used the Union Jack as part of their discography's art direction, yet they chose to display another country's national symbol so prominently with their name superimposed on it. If you didn't know that the group halied from England, you might have thought that they were Canadian based on the cover art alone.

* LargeHam: Roland Orzabal. He was a bit of a ham back in the days of ''Songs from the Big Chair'', but interestingly enough, the older he got, the hammier he was. Curt Smith, while more understated at times, still had his moments. But they are both twice as hammy when performing live.

+Music/TheBeatles, Music/BrianWilson, Music/DavidBowie, Music/PinkFloyd, Robert Wyatt, Music/BrianEno, Music/OrchestralManoeuvresInTheDark, Music/PeterGabriel, Music/TheClash, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/GaryNuman, Music/DepecheMode, Music/SoftCell

Of course, many fans over at their [[http://www.last.fm/music/Tears+for+Fears Last.FM page]] would have you believe otherwise, and, to be fair, those three are far from the band's only songs to get radio airplay; their other well-known hits include "Mad World" (which has probably become as well known as the three tracks above), "Pale Shelter", "Change", "Sowing the Seeds of Love", "Woman in Chains", "Advice for the Young at Heart", "Break It Down Again", and "Closest Thing to Heaven".

+Music/TheBeatles, Music/DavidBowie, Music/PinkFloyd, Robert Wyatt, Music/BrianEno, Music/PeterGabriel, Music/TheClash, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/GaryNuman, Music/DepecheMode

** Both versions of "Tears Roll Down" received ones, based around abstract {{Mayincatec}} and African imagery. The "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)" video in fact reuses brief snippets of footage from "Tears Roll Down" and intersperses it with both new animations and rotoscoped footage of Roland Orzabal.

Besides ''Songs from the Big Chair'', Orzabal and Smith did release three other albums. First there was ''The Hurting'' in 1983, which sounds more like an angst-ridden Music/DepecheMode album (or more specifically, if their [[Music/ConstructionTimeAgain earlier albums]] were as angst-ridden as their [[Music/SongsOfFaithOfDevotion later ones]]); this is where the single "Mad World" came from, which later got a [[CoveredUp more popular cover version]] by Gary Jules that was used on the ''Film/DonnieDarko'' soundtrack. Second was the aforementioned ''Songs from the Big Chair''. ''The Seeds of Love'' came about in 1989, and was a lot more experimental, psychedelic, and rockier than the previous albums, although it did spawn a couple of hits ("Sowing the Seeds of Love" and "Woman in Chains"). After their breakup, Roland Orzabal would release [[IAmTheBand two essentially solo albums]] under the band's name (with collaborators Alan Griffiths and Tim Palmer co-producing and providing additional instrumentation, alongside several other musicians on ''Raoul and the Kings of Spain''; Griffiths also co-wrote most of the songs on these albums) before Smith rejoined the group. The duo released the reunion album ''Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'', which picked up where ''Seeds'' left off.

Besides ''Songs from the Big Chair'', Orzabal and Smith did release three other albums. First there was ''The Hurting'' in 1983, which sounds more like an angst-ridden Music/DepecheMode album; this is where the single "Mad World" came from, which later got a [[CoveredUp more popular cover version]] by Gary Jules that was used on the ''Film/DonnieDarko'' soundtrack. Second was the aforementioned ''Songs from the Big Chair''. ''The Seeds of Love'' came about in 1989, and was a lot more experimental, psychedelic, and rockier than the previous albums, although it did spawn a couple of hits ("Sowing the Seeds of Love" and "Woman in Chains"). After their breakup, Roland Orzabal would release [[IAmTheBand two essentially solo albums]] under the band's name (with collaborators Alan Griffiths and Tim Palmer co-producing and providing additional instrumentation, alongside several other musicians on ''Raoul and the Kings of Spain''; Griffiths also co-wrote most of the songs on these albums) before Smith rejoined the group. The duo released the reunion album ''Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'', which picked up where ''Seeds'' left off.

* CoolOldGuy: Now both in their 60s, Roland and Curt have managed to win over the younger generation, as evidenced by the hot anticipation of their comeback album ''The Tipping Point''.

** "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)" is the only track on ''[[GreatestHitsAlbum Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82–92)]]'' that wasn't carried over to its successor compilation ''Rule the World: The Greatest Hits'', owed in part to the fact that it was a very blatant diss track against Curt Smith that was rendered moot by his return to the band in 2001 (although it ''did'' resurface on 2001's ''Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears'' and 2006's ''Tears for Fears - Gold''). Because of this, it's also their only single not available on streaming services.

** The cover of 'Elemental' features Orzabal standing to the left of the photo. The right side of the photo, where presumably Smith would have been, is empty.

** The cover of 'Elemental' features Orzabal standing to the left of the photo, the right side of the photo, where presumably Smith would have been, is empty.

* LargeHam: Orzabal. He was a bit of a ham back in the days of ''Songs from the Big Chair'', but interestingly enough, the older he got, the hammier he was. Smith, while more understated at times, still had his moments. But they are both twice as hammy when performing live.

** TFF collaborator Michael Wainwright admitted in a [[https://twitter.com/wainwrightweets/status/1323089487413551105 tweet]] that Smith was hot, hot enough that Wainwright initially believed that he must have been staring at a photo of a hot ''[[DudeLooksLikeALady woman]]''. He obviously wasn't aware that Smith was a RareMaleExample of ShesGotLegs who sometimes wore short shorts.

** As you can see in [[https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49413854928_4dddf9760a_o.jpg this magazine's picture,]] Smith has [[ShesGotLegs shapely legs]] [[GenderInvertedTrope for a man]], and his [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/c1f146aa18dbadc62da4f4cb88b7ec10/tumblr_mpsoveKtTQ1sr0850o1_1280.jpg shorts]] were on the [[https://i.imgur.com/dw8OeLi.jpg shorter]] [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/85/11/8a/85118a17463a93cd6f0146742800f59b.jpg side]] to show them off. Even Orzabal confessed that he [[EatingTheEyeCandy enjoyed]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim watching]] "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t50wSqF09A&t=5m11s Curt jogging every morning with his hairy legs and shorts, all smiley and handsome.]]"

* LoudnessWar: Both ''Music/EverybodyLovesAHappyEnding'' and ''The Tipping Point'' come it at just [=DR5=] compared to the '80s albums' [=DR12-13=] and the '90s albums' [=DR9=].

* LoudnessWar: ''Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'', as well as all their remasters. Fans were justifiably annoyed about the brickwalling of ''The Hurting'' reissue because it included many tracks that were on CD for the first time, but it turns out the band wanted them mastered that way. Averted by the original releases of the early albums; the original release of ''The Seeds of Love'', for example, is [=DR13=]. Probably a case of Keep Circulating The Tapes.