Tears for Fears back for more

MANILA, Philippines - The 2004 release of the critically-acclaimed album, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, heralded the return to the international music scene of Tears for Fears, the iconic pop group acclaimed as one of the biggest and best-loved bands of the post-MTV era in the ‘80s.

With outstanding songs led by the hit single, Closest Thing To Heaven, the reunited tandem of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith instantly made waves with millions as they embarked on a successful world tour in support of the album, performing before sold-out audiences of ecstatic fans from every generation.

With renewed popular interest in its authentic music and style, Tears for Fears eventually returned to the top of the music world and today stands on solid ground as one of pop music’s most successful and productive acts.

Tears for Fears will blow you away with its collection of great hits when it comes to Manila for the much-awaited concert on May 2 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.

Dubbed as Tears For Fears Live In Manila!, the musical presentation from Ovation Productions is the Manila leg of the four-city Southeast Asian tour by the celebrated duo that also includes Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It follows its seven-date tour of Australia and New Zealand this month.

To be featured in the show are the local groups Pupil and Sandwich.

A ubiquitous presence in the early days of music video, Tears for Fears achieved instant success through its 1983 debut album, The Hurting, a sophisticated collection of inward-looking, synthesizer-based pop songs that included Mad World (its third single and recently covered to enormous UK success by Gary Jules), Pale Shelter and Change, which were all Top 10 hits in Britain.

A string of other big achievements came the way of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, who began their musical career as teenagers in the early ‘80s in their home city of Bath, Somerset, England by playing as session musicians for the band Neon before making their professional debut with the mod-influenced band Graduate.

Their second album, Songs From The Big Chair (February, 1985), became an international hit, boasting three Top 5 singles in the US alone (dual No. 1’s Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Shout and Head Over Heels) and ultimately catapulting Tears For Fears to superstardom.

To support the release of the record, Orzabal and Smith went on an extensive world tour that lasted most of the year, a feat matched four years later by the release of the follow-up album, Sowing The Seeds of Love, a joyous, profoundly Beatlesque burst of rich melodic pop accompanied by an equally memorable video.

Featuring the No. 2 smash hit, The Seeds Of Love, the compilation eventually soared into the Top 10.

Tears for Fears was on its way to greater musical heights when, due to professional differences, Smith left the band in 1991, moving to New York City and eventually pursuing a solo career.

With Orzabal solely at the helm, Tears for Fears continued on, releasing three new albums — Elemental (1993), Raoul And The Kings Of Spain (1995) and Saturnine, Martial And Lunatic (1996) — and touring internationally to promote them.

In 2004, the mounting clamor from fans in America, South America and other parts of the globe for them to get back together, however, proved irresistible for Orzabal and Smith that they eventually sat down and resolved their differences.

The dialogue resulted in one of the most dramatic reunions in pop music history and paved the way for the phenomenal comeback of one of the most successful pop acts of the past half-century.

Tears for Fears’ auspicious return to the world music scene was marked by the successful release in the UK and Europe in March, 2005 of Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, the highly-acclaimed first collaboration of Orzabal and Smith in over a decade that featured colorful and Beatlesque songs.

The record featured memorable tracks, notably Closest Thing To Heaven, the comeback single that became the first Tears For Fears UK Top 40 hit in a decade.

Tears for Fears spent the next year and a half on a world tour in support of the album. It has also been to Europe, participating with a 75-piece orchestra and a full choir in Night Of The Proms, an annual show that combines pop music and popular classical music and considered as among the biggest annually organized indoor events in the continent.

Since then, Tears for Fears continued to conquer millions throughout the world with new hits and sold-out performances as it regained and cemented its stature as one of pop music’s most productive and successful collaborations.

The band has sold more than 22 million albums worldwide, including over eight million in the US alone.

Tears For Fears Live In Manila! is presented by Smart Gold, Maldita, Black Sheep by Maldita, Mental, Sandbox, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, etc, 2nd Avenue, Hallmark Channel, Edsa Shangri-La Manila, RJ 100.3 FM, ABS-CBN, MYX, The Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, Magic 89.9, Monster Radio RX 93.1, U-92, 90.7 Love Radio, 97.9 Home Radio, 95.3 FT, NU 107, 96.3 Easy Rock, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Yes FM 101.5, Mellow 94.7, Underground Radio 105.9 FM, 105.1 FM Crossover, ClickTheCity.com, optimaSignsolutions and Focalcast Network.

Tickets are priced at P7,500, P5,500, P4,500, P2,500, P1,000 and P500 and are available at Ticketnet outlets. For details, call 911-5555.