During the early 80s, Tears for Fears an English pop rock duo was formed by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal

It was founded after their first band The Mod-Influenced Graduate, which was formed in 1979 was disbanded; they were originally linked with the new wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but afterward branched out into mainstream pop and rock, which then led them to their International Chart Success.

The band sold 22 million albums worldwide; in the United States alone they sold around 8 million copies.

How Tears For Fears was founded

Orzabal and Smith crossed paths when they were teens in their hometown in Bath, Somerset. Both of them became session musicians for Neon, a three-piece Australian rock band from Melbourne, Australia, during this time they met Manny Elias the future drummer of Tears For Fears. Neon also featured Rob Fisher and Pete Byrne who then became Naked Eyes, a British synthpop band. Orzabal and Smith’s professional first appearance came with a New Wave/Mod Revival act called Graduate. During the 80s, Graduate released their second single called “Elvis Should Play Ska”. Backed up by “Julie Julie”. Both tracks appeared on their debut album, Acting My Age. The Bath, England new wave band lasted five singles and two albums before disbanding in 1981.

In the year 1981, artists such as Brian Eno, Talking Heads, and Peter Gabriel influenced Smith and Orzabal. They then decide to leave the Graduate and later on formed a band called History of Headaches, a name that was later changed to Tears for Fears. The idea in the first place was for Smith and Orzabal to form the groups’ nucleus and get nearby musicians to help out.

Primal Therapy inspired the bands name, a trauma-based psychotherapy created by the American psychotherapist and psychologist Arthur Janov. Janov’s patients included John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Primal therapy became very influential during a brief period in the early 1970s, after the publication of Janov’s first book, The Primal Scream. It inspired hundreds of spin-off clinics worldwide, and served as an inspiration for many popular cultural icons like John Lennon and Tears for Fears.

In 1981, A&R manager Dave Bates had Tears for Fears sign a record contract with Phonogram Records, UK. Tears for Fears single “Suffer the Children”, Written and sung by Roland Orzabal, was the band’s first release, recorded in Bath, England shortly after the 1981 breakup of Curt Smith and Orzabals earlier band Graduate. The song would eventually be re-recorded for inclusion on Tears for Fears’ debut LP The Hurting in 1983; the album was released having the same label in November 1981. The single “Pale Shelter” Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, was originally the band’s second single release in early 1982.