When Tears for Fears hit the stage at Firstbank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee, on July 11, 2023, there were no tears but some fears.
“We walked on stage and I felt like a deer caught in the headlines,” says singer and guitarist Roland Orzabal, half of the duo. Curt Smith, his musical partner, agreed: “We put on a brave face.”
The reason the duo were uneasy was because cameras were about to capture, for the first time, a Tears for Fears concert destined for the big screen. “Tears For Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film)” premieres in over 1,100 movie theaters worldwide on Oct. 24 and Oct. 26.
“We normally look far more relaxed and are enjoying ourselves far more. We weren’t as much that night because we were very conscious of being filmed and being recorded,” says Smith. “But, consequently, it was probably one of the best performances we ever did.”
The irony is that any nerves aren't evident, with Smith at one point during the show quipping, “This young man to my right, his name is Roland. I would say his surname but I can't pronounce it.”
Old and new and live
The concert is a mix of old and new songs, with plenty of room given to the duo's 2022 album “The Tipping Point.” Fans will also hear the classics: “Everybody Wants To Rule the World,” Shout” and “Head Over Heels.”
“We listened to a lot of the tapes and a lot of the performances. And there was something about that night — because we were so damn nervous, we actually played better,” says Smith.
The concert film is only the latest output from the duo who were relatively quiet for 17 years before releasing “The Tipping Point,” which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, the same spot their “The Seeds of Love” reached in 1989.
Tears for Fears have turned the concert into an album — “Songs For a Nervous Planet,” out Oct. 25 — and added four previously unreleased songs with it, like an EP on top of the live set. They also plan a three-night concert at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Oct. 30, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
Orzabal jokes he and Smith are finding a new gear after “a long gestation period akin to that of an elephant.” They switched managers — the old one insisted Tears for Fears modernize and seek out hits — and “it’s almost like the brakes were taken off.”
Four new songs
The new songs include Orzabal's love song to his new wife “The Girl That I Call Home” and Smith's airy “Astronaut,” which was left off “The Tipping Point.”
That album was heavily informed by grief, loss and mental anguish. The title track is about dementia, “Break the Man” is about patriarchy, “My Demons” is an examination of violent extremism and “Rivers of Mercy” is a prayer about social unrest.
The four new offerings have a different feel, more positive. “I think that it does give you a little insight into where we are now, whereas ‘The Tipping Point’ kind of was driven a lot by pain,” says Smith. “These new four tracks are not and I think they have a separate life.”
Orzabal and Smith decided to make a live album and concert once they fitted songs from “The Tipping Point” into their concert set. One thing they noticed was the title track had a lot in rhythmic common with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
“Putting the new songs against the old songs was great because they not only sounded extremely coherent, they were as good as they were quality-wise,” says Orzabal.
Both projects feature guitarist Charlton Pettus, drummer Jamie Wollam keyboardist Doug Petty and singer Lauren Evans. Tears for Fears got concert-ready by “flying under the radar,” as Orzabal calls it — playing wineries, casinos and festivals.
“We had a pretty good set and a running order,” he adds. “All we then had to do before the last tour was slotting ‘The Tipping Point’ songs.”
The duo made their mark among the first wave of electronica that ruled the early 1980s airwaves, with hits including “Mad World,” “Pale Shelter" and “Shout.”
Next year marks the 40th anniversary of their 1985 No. 1 album “Songs From the Big Chair,” with its mesmerizing hit song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
“I’m sort of drawn to the simplicity of it, you know?” says Smith. “It really is open and airy and welcoming, even though it has pretty dark lyrical content. It’s sort of bright and breezy.”
