Neon - Making Waves

Pria to Tears For Fears the due Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith met as teenagers in their home city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England.

The duo became session musicians for the 80's band Neon, where they first met future Tears For Fears drummer Manny Elias.

Neon also featured Manny Elias, Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher. Byrne and Fisher went on to become Naked Eyes.

The bands first single entitled 'Making Waves' was released in 1980 and didnt trouble the charts. 

I admit that this is a single that I got because I was into Tears for Fears at the time and not becouse of the cover. I personnaly prefer the B-Side of the single than the A-Side but it is still interesting to listen to earlier material from a duo that went onto to big things later on.

I do have a request.  I never managed to ge tthe bands second single 'Remote Control'.  If anyone has this and is willing to share let me know as I would love to finally hear this.

Click the link below to download the following:

Single Version

Me I See In You - B-Side  

http://www.mediafire.com/?sa9ajv4e1n34y

Tears For Fears - Change

Released in February 1983, 'Change' was a number 3 hit for Tears for Fears in the UK.

The song also gave the band their first charting single in America when it cracked the Billboard Top 75 in August 1983.

Roland Orzabal commented about the song: 'It's not really about much. It's just one of those cheap pop lyrics.'

The real rarity on this single is the B-side. 'The Conflict' was never released on CD as far as I know. It describes a conflict between two individuals. Sung by Curt Smith, this is one of the few songs in the Tears for Fears catalogue on which he shares a writing credit.

Click the link below to download the following:

Video

Single Version

Extended Version

New Version

Joe Negro Punk Disco Mix

The Conflict - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymk56imdoary7

Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Run The World

Tears for fears had a big worldwide hit with 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' in 1985.

In the slipstream of charity projects like Band Aid, Live Aid etcetera, 1986 saw the event Sport Aid take shape.

Tears for Fears were asked to contribute a theme song, which became 'Everybody Wants To Run The World'.

Roland Orzabal explained why the song was recorded: '...to get Bob Geldof off our backs! He gave us so much gip for not turning up at Live Aid. All those millions of people dying, it was our fault. I felt terrible. I tell you, I know how Hitler must have felt.'

Click the link below to download the following:
Single Version
Running Version - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?98c8ry4l8rpuj

Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World

'Everybody Wants To Rule the World' is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.

It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom (the third from their second LP: Songs from the Big Chair) and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985.

In the U.S., it was the lead single from the album and gave the band their first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, remaining there for two weeks. It also reached number-one on both the Hot Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Singles Sales charts in the U.S.

Ironically, considering the song's overwhelming success, 'Everybody Wants To Rule the World' was somewhat of an afterthought during the recording of Songs from the Big Chair. According to Roland Orzabal, he initially regarded the song as a lightweight that would not fit with the rest of the album. It was producer Chris Hughes who convinced him to try recording it, in a calculated effort to cross over into American chart success.

Orzabal would later reveal in a radio interview that the beat from the song was "borrowed" from another UK Top 40 chart hit: 'Waterfront', by Simple Minds who were recording their album Sparkle in the Rain in the studio next door.

Orzabel said that the song was written and recorded in two weeks and was the final track to be added to the Songs from the Big Chair album. The shuffle beat was alien to our normal way of doing things. It was jolly rather than square and rigid in the manner of 'Shout', but it continued the process of becoming more extrovert.

As was the case with the three hit singles from Tears for Fears' debut LP The Hurting, the song featured bassist Curt Smith on lead vocals.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
12 inch Remix
Album Single Mix
Chosen Few Mix
Extended Version
Hot Tracks Mix
Intrumental Version
Spriral Tribe Remix Project
Urban Mix
Pharaohs - B-Side
Interview with Kurt and Roland - Limited Edition Single Extra Track

http://www.mediafire.com/?i6yyl871s81we

Tears For Fears - The Way You Are

After the record company had released several singles from Tears for fears' debut album 'The hurting', the band released a new single, 'The way you are' towards the end of 1983. It was the band's sixth single release overall and their fourth UK top 40.

The single kept the band in the public eye while they were working on their second album. It peaked at number 23 in the UK and as such didn't live up to the expectations caused by the three top 5 singles taken from 'The hurting'.

The single, which heavily featured sampling and programmed rhythms, led to a departure in Tears for Fears' musical approach. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith have been uncompromising in their dislike for the song in the years following its release, Orzabal stating it was "the point we realized we had to change direction", while Smith was even more direct in proclaiming it "the worst thing we've done".

Click the link below to download the following:
TOTP Performance
Rockpalast Performance
Single Version
Extended Version
The Marauders - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?9cb09ssv38nve

Tears For Fears - The Way You Are - TOTP Performance

Tears For Fears - Mothers Talk

After their debut album 'The Hurting' had been a reasonable success, Tears for fears had to come up with a follow-up.

The new album - which would be 'Songs From The Big Chair', released in 1985 - was preceded by the single 'Mothers Talk'.

Roland Orzabal commented: 'The song stems from two ideas. One is something that mothers say to their children about pulling faces. They say the child will stay like that when the wind changes. The other idea is inspired by the anti-nuclear cartoon book 'When the wind blows' by Raymond Briggs.

The single version was different from the album version (and shorter, too) and did not appear on cd as far as I know. 'Mothers talk' reached number 14 in the UK singles chart. But more successful singles were on the way...

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Extended Version
Remixed Version
US Remixed Version
Epire Building - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?q3n7t3qw43pei

Tears For Fears - Mothers Talk - Video

Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter

Tears for Fears released 'Pale Shelter' as a single three times. The first edition, with (You Don't Give Me Love) in the tiel, was produced by Mike Howlett and was released as the band's second single, after their debut single 'Suffer the children'. Both tracks of this single would appear on the band's debut album 'The hurting', but in re-recorded versions.

About the lyric, Roland Orzabal said: 'It's a kind of a love song, though more referring to one's parents than to a girl'. One of the oldest Tears For Fears songs it was recorded, along with 'Suffer The Children', for the duo's first demo tape in 1981. The title of the song is a reference to "Pale Shelter Scene", a 1941 drawing by British sculptor Henry Moore.

The second version was produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Collum, released just after Tears for Fears' debut album 'The hurting' in 1983. To provide a chart push this second time around, Mercury took full advantage of the picture disc and coloured vinyl gimmicks that were popular at the time. In all, eleven different variations of the reissued single were available for purchase. It helped get the single to peak at number 5 in the UK singles chart in April 1983.

The promotional music video for 'Pale Shelter' was filmed in early 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA. The video is notable for a scene in which Orzabal and Smith walk on the tarmac of an airport towards an image of a giant iron burn, with steam coming off the image as they walk over it. It was also notable for a scene in which they walk headfirst into a sea of flying paper airplanes, with one of them hitting Orzabal directly in the eye. The video was directed by music video pioneer Steve Barron.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Extended Version
Cold Shoulder Mix
The Prisoner - B-Side
We Are Broken - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3a7f621beaddef033597b5d7f10aaff85

Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter - Video

Tears For Fears - Suffer The Little Children

'Suffer the Children' is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written and sung by Roland Orzabal, it was the band's first release, recorded in Bath, England shortly after the 1981 breakup of Orzabal and Curt Smith's previous band Graduate. The song would eventually be re-recorded for inclusion on Tears for Fears' debut LP The Hurting.

The original 7" version of 'Suffer The Children' is distinct from the version found on The Hurting by the inclusion of an extra Curt Smith-sung lyric at the beginning of the song. The 12" single features both a remix and an instrumental version of the song.

'Wino' is a short, acoustic song that served as the b-side to 'Suffer The Children'. The style of the song, minus synthesizers or production of any sort, is uncharacteristic of the band's overall body of work. It remains unreleased on CD to this day.

In 1985, following up on the massive success of the band's second LP Songs from the Big Chair, Mercury Records reissued the single complete with a new picture sleeve. It barely missed the UK Top 50, stalling at number 52, after failing to chart altogether the first time around. This release featured the same formats and track listings as the original.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Remix Version
Wino - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c310589c4c399b5577a2d0568e5b24962e

Tears For Fears - Suffer The Children - Video

Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels

'Head over heels' was the fourth single taken from Tears for fears' second album 'Songs from the big chair'. The track was remixed for the single, because on the album the track segued from a studio recording of the track 'Broken' and into a live recording of that same track. Roland Orzabal commented about the song: 'It is basically a love song and one of the most simple tracks that Tears for Fears have ever recorded. It is a love song that goes a bit perverse at the end.'

The single performed well in the UK singles chart, peaking at number 12, but in the US Billboard Hot 100 it fared even better: it reached number 3. The music video is centered around Roland Orzabal's attempts to get the attention of a librarian (played by a Canadian model), while a variety of characters (many played by the rest of the band) take part in shenanigans in the library. The final scene shows Orzabal and the librarian as an older married couple. The video was filmed at the Emmanuel College Library in Toronto, Canada.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Preacher Mix
Dave Bascombe's 7 inch Mix
Power Mix
Hip Hop Mix
When in love with a blind Man - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3cbfb42bb0d868ddcc95965eaa7bc68bc

Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels - Video

Tears For Fears - I Believe

'I believe (A soulful re-recording)' was the fifth single taken from Tears for Fears' 1984 album 'Songs from the big chair'. It became their ninth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at number 23. The song also reached the Top 10 in Ireland.

The song was written by Roland Orzabal who had originally planned to offer it to British musician Robert Wyatt to record, though it was later decided that Tears for Fears would record the song themselves. A cover of Robert Wyatt's 'Sea song' served as the single's B-side. Although the single was not released in America, this re-recording of the song was done in the midst of the band's 1985 American tour.

Click on the link below to download the following:
Video
A Soulfull Re-Recording - Single Version
Album Version
Sea Song - B-side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3737c0f431ac6c63cb8eada0a1ae8665a

Tears For Fears - I Believe - Video

Tears For Fears - Shout

'Shout' is commonly referred to as Tears for fears' signature song.

Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal (with Curt Smith duetting on the chorus), it was the band's eighth single release (the second taken from their second LP Songs from the Big Chair) and sixth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at number 4 in January 1985. In the USA, it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 3, 1985 and remained there for three weeks. 'Shout' would become one of the most successful pop songs of 1985, eventually reaching the Top Ten in 25 countries.

While Tears for Fears' previous single 'Mothers Talk' had showcased a new, more extroverted songwriting style, 'Shout' was a synth-rock anthem, complete with power chords, heavy percussion, a bass solo and female backing vocals. The song even features a lengthy guitar solo, something previously unheard of in Tears for Fears' music.

Roland Orzabal commented: "A lot of people think that 'Shout' is just another song about primal scream theory, continuing the themes of the first album. It is actually more concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when a lot of people were still worried about the aftermath of The Cold War and it was basically an encouragement to protest".

"The song was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the worl".

The single was a big success, topping the charts in Australia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.

The promotional clip for 'Shout', filmed in late 1984, was the second Tears for Fears clip directed by famed music video producer Nigel Dik. It features footage of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset, England, as well as a studio jam with the full band (including Ian Stanley and Manny Elias) performing the song amidst a crowd of family and friends.

The video reportedly cost only £14,000 to produce. Along with the clip for 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', the 'Shout' video had a big hand in helping break Tears for Fears in America, due to its heavy airplay on music video pioneer MTV. Ironically, the band had at one time considered making a second video for the song's American single release, as the original was not considered MTV friendly.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
12 Inch US Remix
Acapella
Dub Version
Uk Remix
Skylark Extended Remix
Onlyver dj hds Remix
Beatchuggers Mix
Dj Alex Tribal Mix
Dj Brian Lindsay Remix
Fergie Extended Mix
Fergie remix
Jakatta Thrilled-Out Mix
Powerhouse Resurrection Remix
Wayne G. Anthem Mix
Track Master Dj 2002 vs White Label Mix
Matt Mix
Razormaid Mix
Paul Hunter Bootleg Remix
Gamover Remix
dj ludovice remix
The big chair - B-Side
Tears for fears vs Evanescence - Shout - Going under ( by Ben-Double-M)
Tears For Fears vs T-Pain - Go Dumb And Shout

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c33fc8a0c06d1660b65621d66e282a0ee8

Tears For Fears - Mad World

These days 'Mad World' is considered to be a balled performed by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules. However the original version was recorded by Tears For Fears. in 1982. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both 'Mad World' and its b-side, 'Ideas As Opiates', would turn up on the band's debut LP The Hurting the following year. The song would eventually become Tears for Fears' first international success, reaching the Top 40 in several countries between 1982 and 1983.

Two decades later, the song made a popular resurgence when it was covered in a much slower, ballad-like style by composersMichael Andrews and Gary Jules for the soundtrack to the movie Donnie Darko. This version reached no.1 in the UK in December 2003.

'Mad World' began life as the intended b-side for Tears for Fears' second single 'Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)'. The band decided, however, that it may be something people would like to hear on the radio and held back its release, instead waiting to issue the song as a single in its own right after re-recording it with Chris Hughes, a former drummer with Adam And The Ants.

Roland Orzabal states that the song came when I lived above a pizza restaurant in Bath and I could look out onto the centre of the city. Not that Bath is very mad - I should have called it "Bourgeois World"! Curt Smith says that 'Mad World' was the first single off the finished album. The intention was to gain attention from it and we'd hopefully build up a little following. We had no idea that it would become a hit. Nor did the record company.

Lyrically the song is pretty loose. It throws together a lot of different images to paint a picture without saying anything specific about the world. It's very much a voyeur's song. It's looking out at a mad world from the eyes of a teenager.

The video for 'Mad World', filmed in late summer 1982, was Tears for Fears' first music video. It features a gloomy looking Curt Smith staring out a window, while Roland Orzabal performs a bizarre dance outside on a lakeside jetty. The clip was directed by Clive Richardson who was notable for his work at that time with Depeche Mode.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Martin Eyerer Mix
Spiral Tribes Mix
World Remix
Remix Version
Mad World Mix
ABH Remix
DMC Remix
Suffer The Children - B-Side
Ideas as Opiates - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3ac81c4906e12f952b8eada0a1ae8665a

Tears For Fears - Mad World - Video