Six years after their last album, 2004’s Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, Tears for Fears is proving that they are not yet ready to write that ending. The duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith will kick-off their U.S. tour at City Hall with a free concert in Orlando at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28 and then at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Wednesday, Sept. 1.
“Expect us better than before,” vocalist Curt Smith says. “We don’t think we’ve reached that point where we’re ready to stop and say we’ve done the best we can do. And as long as we enjoy it, we see no point in stopping.”
Tears for Fears debuted in 1983 with the album, The Hurting, which spawned such hits as “Mad World” and “Change.” Then, in 1985, they reached international fame with the chart-topping album Songs From the Big Chair, which yielded the hits “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout” and “Head Over Heels.”
In Between the Lines
Throughout their songwriting career, Tears for Fears has been known for instilling their passion for psychology and global politics into their music. “Shout,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “The Seeds of Love” are succinct examples. Yet Smith revealed that he’s received some negative reactions to his having strong viewpoints in the form of posts on his websites and even letters to his home.
“They say, ‘you’re from Hollywood’ or ‘you’re a celebrity, what do you know?’” Smith recalls. “I want to respond, ‘I’m not allowed to have a political viewpoint? Have you not listened to the lyrics to our songs?’”
Smith prides himself on his progressive views and says when he receives such feedback, it simply makes him stick up even more. He is currently backing Tommy Sowers (D-Mo.) for Congress and said he received a threatening letter at his home because of it.
“That pisses me off,” he says. “It’s as if they’re trying to say, ‘I know where you live.’ So, now I’m chairing an event for him. That’s how I respond.”
Smith is also an advocate for civil rights and as a California resident was thrilled by the recent overturning of Prop 8.
“Victory!” he proclaims. “I am indeed a gay icon. I lived in New York and now in L.A. and it’s something you become aware of early on. Especially in America, the LGBT population is much more vocal, which is a great thing!”
Outwardly vocal on his website, Smith backed Barack Obama’s presidential election and says he still stands behind him. He prides himself on being “objective and calm” when it comes to other people’s views and loves to discuss politics with fans.
“One who was a staunch Republican completely changed her views on gay marriage through educated discussions. I, unlike a lot of people, understand that [civil rights] is a legal argument not a religious argument,” Smith says. “I understand that those who don’t think like me need to be educated, not berated. For me, it’s a no brainer that the LGBT community should be given the same rights as everyone else, but unfortunately you have to convince everyone else. It just takes time.”
Tears Without Fears
After leaving Tears for Fears in 1990, Smith released four solo albums. Orzabal kept the band name, releasing three more albums. He has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.
“I wanted to step outside of being the artist,” Smith says of the nine year split. “I couldn’t deal with the fame side of it—the pressures that come with that—the record companies and public not allowing you to have a private life. Then, by the time I came back, I was more comfortable in my own skin and able to deal with it.”
The two have been touring on and off since their 2000 reconciliation. Before going on tour with Tears for Fears later this month, Smith has been working on another solo endeavor. “Stripped Down Live” is a live music web series that showcases an eclectic mix of musicians. A different artist or band is featured each week and performs live. He says the premise came after doing a talk show appearance with actor Kevin Pollack. He wanted to create a show that featured one artist for a whole hour.
“I didn’t want it to be big-scale, hence why it’s in a small garage,” Smith explains. “I’ve been trying to find really good artists that don’t really get air play and are preferably articulate. A show like that doesn’t exist.”
When not filming or touring with Orzabal, Smith does a few acoustic, solo shows around L.A.
With his own web series, cameos on television shows and being such a large part of music history, it seems only natural that Smith could be a contender as a judge for a musical talent show like, American Idol. When asked if that was a consideration, he was caught a bit of guard.
“I was actually called in to meet with the producers,” Smith says. “Being a fan of the show from the start, I was just pleased that they even thought of me. I asked them how and why they even thought of me and they said, because we heard you were charming. Although it didn’t seem like I was what they were looking for, especially since I heard they were considering Steven Tyler and J-Lo.”
Everybody Loves a Happy New Beginning
“It’s luck,” Smith says on the band’s continued success. “To be honest, all we can do is go into the studio, make albums we love and keep improving. We try to do better than we did last time.”
He says he would like to see a new Tears for Fears album released early next year.
“We have newer songs but we haven’t put them together yet, as well as a ton of live recordings we never finished,” Smith says.
The tour will feature the songs people want to hear but updates of a few of them.
“Not because we’re sick of them but because the emotional content has changed,” Smith says. “If you’re not feeling it, then you’ve got to update it to make it about what you’re feeling now. Then there are songs you don’t touch because they’re right the way they are.”
Smith enjoys touring now that he’s older, more established and more knowledgeable of the business.
“We’re better as musicians and singers,” Smith says. “As far as performing, as long as we like it and we have an audience, we see no point in stopping.”
see+hear
Who: Tears For Fears
Where: City Hall, Orlando;
Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
When: Saturday, Aug. 28 in Orlando
and Wednesday, Sept. 1 in Clearwater
Tickets+Info: WMMO.com/dcs; RuthEckerdHall.com
