Songs from the Big Chair

Songs From the Big Chair
Studio album by Tears For Fears
Publication (s)	February 25, 1985
Label (s)	Phonogram , Mercury Records
Format (s)	CD, LP
Genre (s)	Rock , new wave
Title (number)	8th
running time	41:19
occupation	Vocals / bass: Curt Smith Vocals / guitar / keyboard: Roland Orzabal Keyboard: Ian Stanley Drums: Manny Elias
production	Chris Hughes
chronology The Hurting (1983) Songs From the Big Chair The Seeds of Love (1989)
Single releases August 6, 1984 Mother's Talk November 19, 1984 Shout March 2, 1985 Everybody Wants to Rule the World June 10, 1985 Head over heels September 30, 1985 I believe

Songs From the Big Chair (dt. Songs from the big chair ) is the second studio album by the British band Tears For Fears . The album was released on February 25, 1985 at Phonogram and Mercury Records and is assigned to the genre New Wave . With this, the band achieved their worldwide commercial breakthrough. The album spent five weeks at the top of the US Billboard 200 and has won five platinum records the RIAA records Platinum for more than five million records sold and three British Phonographic Industry (BPI) recognized for more than 900,000 records sold. The album also made it to the top of the German album charts and was awarded a gold record by IFPI Germany for more than 250,000 records sold. With the singles Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World , the band achieved two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 . Everybody Wants to Rule the World won the 1986 Brit Award for Best British Single. Orzabal received the 1986 Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Songwriter.

Origin and style

The album title goes back to the TV film Sybil , which has won several Emmys , and whose protagonist suffers from a multiple personality and can only feel something like happiness when she is sitting in her therapist's large armchair . The Big Chair , published as the B-side of the single Shout , contains samples from dialogues from the television series.

Orzabal and Smith changed the sound of the successor to The Hurting from the melancholy and often strange and humorless mood of the debut to a brighter and more cosmopolitan sound. They stayed true to the cast of The Hurting ; Chris Hughes acted as producer as on the debut and helped Elias program the rhythms. Hughes even sat on the drums himself when recording Shout . Mel Collins was also back for the saxophone part of The Working Hour . The songs are again from Orzabal's pen, but band members Ian Stanley and Manny Elias became more involved in the compositions and are co-authors of Shout . Producer and drummer Chris Hughes was also involved in the creative process and is co-author of Everybody Wants to Rule the World alongside Orzabal and Stanley . Other musicians are Neil Taylor on guitar, William Gregory on saxophone, Andy Davis on piano and, in addition to Hughes, Jerry Marotta on drums.

Orzabal also remains faithful to the texts influenced by psychology and especially primary therapy. Shout in particular is often associated with the work Der Urschrei by Arthur Janov , from whose work the band name goes back. In interviews, however, Smith said several times that the text should encourage protest. I Believe was written by Orzabal with Robert Wyatt in mind, is dedicated to this musician and, apart from Broken, the only solo composition by Orzabal.

Track list

1. Shout ( Roland Orzabal , Ian Stanley) - 6:33
2. The Working Hour (Orzabal, Stanley, Manny Elias) - 6:31
3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Orzabal, Stanley, Chris Hughes ) - 4:11
4. Mothers Talk (Orzabal, Stanley) - 5:06
5. I Believe (Orzabal) - 4:54
6. Broken (Orzabal) - 2:38
7. Head over Heels / Broken (Live) (Orzabal, Curt Smith ) - 4:32
8. Lists (Orzabal, Stanley) - 6:54

The album was re-released in 1999 as a digitally remastered version on CD. In addition to the recordings from the original album, the following titles were used as bonus tracks:

1. The Big Chair (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) - 3:21
2. Empire Building (Smith, Orzabal, Stanley) - 2:52
3. The Marauders (Orzabal, Stanley) - 4:16
4. Broken Revisited (Orzabal) - 5:16
5. The Conflict (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley) - 4:05
6. Mothers Talk (US Remix) - 4:13
7. Shout (US Remix) - 8:02

The album was released again in 2006, this time as a deluxe edition on two CDs and again with numerous additional pieces, mostly remix versions.

CD1

1. Shout - 6:33
2. The Working Hour - 6:31 am
3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - 4:11
4. Mothers Talk - 5:06
5. I Believe - 4:54
6. Broken - 2:38
7. Head over Heels / Broken (Live) - 5:02
8. Lists - 6:54
9. The Working Hour (Piano Version) - 2:08
10. The Marauders - 4:16
11. Empire Building - 2:52
12. The Big Chair - 3:21
13. Pharaohs (Single Version) (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) - 3:43
14. When in Love with a Blind Man (Orzabal, Stanley) - 2:22
15. Sea Song ( Robert Wyatt ) - 3:51
16. Broken Revisited - 5:16

CD2

1. The Way You Are (7 "Version) (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Elias) - 4:49
2. Mothers Talk (Short Version) - 3:53
3. Shout (Edit) - 4:03
4. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (7 "Version) - 4:08
5. Head over Heels (Dave Bascombe 7 "Mix) - 4:15
6. I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording) - 4:41
7. Mothers Talk (Remix) - 4:13
8. Shout (US Remix) - 8:02
9. Shout (Dub Remix) - 6:49
10. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Urban Mix) - 6:06
11. Mothers Talk (Beat of the Drum Mix) - 8:54
12. Broken / Head over Heels / Broken (Preacher Mix) - 8:00

Publications and chart successes

album

The album, released on February 25, 1985, stayed in the British and US album charts for more than a year and was awarded numerous platinum and gold records. By the time the remastered version was released in 1999, more than eight million records had been sold in the United States and Great Britain.

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	1 (27 weeks)	27
Austria (Ö3)	22nd (4 weeks)	4th
Switzerland (IFPI)	5 (16 weeks)	16
United Kingdom (OCC)	2 (83 weeks)	83
United States (Billboard)	1 (68 weeks)	68

Singles

Four singles were released from the album: Mother's Talk was
released on August 6, 1984 . Shout was released on November 19, 1984 , followed by Everybody Wants to Rule the World on March 18, 1985 and Head Over Heels on June 10, 1985. In Great Britain, I Believe was also re-recorded on September 30, 1985 (A Soulful Re-Recording).

The newly texted version Everybody Wants to Run the World was only published in Great Britain in May 1986 on the occasion of the “Sport Aid” initiative and reached number 5 in the UK single charts.

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1984	Mothers Talk Songs from the Big Chair	-	-	-	UK14 (9 weeks) UK	US27 (12 weeks) US	First published: August 6, 1984
	Shout Songs from the Big Chair	DE1 (20 weeks) DE	AT6 (2½ months) AT	CH1 (15 weeks) CH	UK4 (20 weeks) UK	US1 (19 weeks) US	First published: November 19, 1984 Sales: + 800,000
1985	Everybody Wants to Rule the World Songs from the Big Chair	DE11 (17 weeks) DE	AT19 (2½ months) AT	CH13 (8 weeks) CH	UK2 (25 weeks) UK	US1 (24 weeks) US	First published: March 2, 1985 Sales: +650,000
	Head over Heels Songs from the Big Chair	DE55 (4 weeks) DE	-	-	UK12 (9 weeks) UK	US3 (20 weeks) US	First published: June 10, 1985
	I Believe Songs from the Big Chair	-	-	-	UK23 (5 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 30, 1985

reception

The Musikexpress attested the album a "musically and lyrically rather combative tenor".

Allmusic's Stanton Swihart describes the album as “a giant step forward, based on the support of overt emotion and loving, drawn-out melodies that are so much based on soul and R&B music as on immediate pophooks,” and awards four and a half stars out of five.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Liner notes on the remastered version by Sean Egan
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Chart sources:
   • Tears for Fears in the German charts at Officialcharts.de
   • Tears for Fears in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at
   • Tears for Fears in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
   • Tears for Fears in the Official UK Charts (English)
   • Tears for Fears on the US charts on Billboard.com
3. ^ Christian Graf: Rock Music Lexicon . Europe / Vol. 2, L – Z. Taurus Press, Hamburg 1986, ISBN 3-922542-22-0 , p. 435-866 , 734 .
4. ↑ Songs from the Big Chair at Allmusic (English)