Mercury 824300
Producer: Chris Hughes
Track listing: Shout / The Working Hour /Everybody Wants to Rule the World / Mother’s Talk / I Believe / Broken / Head Over Heels / Listen
July 13, 1985
5 weeks (nonconsecutive)
The British duo Tears for Fears didn’t initially take America by storm. The Hurting, the first album by school chums Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, peaked at number 73 in the U.S., as did the group’s first single, “Change.” Yet in the U.K., the duo, named for a concept in Arthur Janov’s book The Primal Scream, found success quickly. On the strength of three top five singles, The Hurting hit Number One in its second week on the U.K. charts.
The success, however, brought on high expectations for the young band. “It was a very high-pressured time,” says Orzabal. “We were under so much pressure to keep putting out hit singles in England. That, in a sense, is how Songs from the Big Chair started. The record company would hear a song and say, ‘Yeah, that’ll do’ and we would record it and put it out.”
“Mother’s Talk,” which peaked at number 14 in the U.K., was the first of two new singles that would eventually turn up on Tears for Fears’ second album. The other was “Shout,” which climbed to number four in the U.K. “When ‘Shout’ started off, it was just this chorus going around and around,” says Orzabal. “I had this idea that it would be like ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ But we all got a bit tired of it and decided that it needed a verse.”
To record the material, the group stuck with former Adam and the Ants drummer/producer Chris Hughes, who had co-produced The Hurting. The album’s title, Songs from the Big Chair, was inspired by the film Sybil — the “big chair” was a place where the girl with 14 different personalities felt comfortable. However, recording the album wasn’t necessarily a comfortable experience for TFF. “I aimed so high and I beat myself up when I didn’t make records that were of the quality that I desired,” says Orzabal.
For example, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” the first American single from Songs from the Big Chair, almost didn’t make it on the album. “It was an afterthought,” says Orzabel. “I had the song, but I really didn’t care for it much. But Chris Hughes was enthusiastic about it. So while recording the album, myself and [keyboardist] Ian Stanley would improvise the song.” Eventually, Hughes talked Orzabal into including the on the album. The final version, recorded in a week, was the last track recorded for Songs from the Big Chair.
In the U.S., “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was released as single from Songs from the Big Chair. On June 8, it hit Number One. Just over a month later, TFF scored their first One album when Songs from Big Chair hit the top in its 16th week on the chart. On August 3, less than month later, the group scored their second U.S. Number One single with, “Shout.” Today, Orzabal still finds group’s success mind-blowing: “I’m one of these people that never feels like gotten anywhere. I’m still surprised when people know who I am and have heard of the band.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of July 13, 1985
1. Songs from the Big Chair, Tears for Fears
2. No Jacket Required, Phil Collins
3. Around the World in a Day, Prince and the Revolution
4. Reckless, Bryan Adams
5. Beverly Hills Cop, Soundtrack