Tears For Fears - The Hurting
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 07.03.1983
"Say what you want, Say what you will, 'Cause I find you think what makes it easier, And lies spread on lies, We don't care, Belief is our relief, We don't care"
Everyone has their own way of coping with the small or large traumas that life throws their way. For the young Roland Orzabal, it was writing.
Writing became his refuge from a harsh everyday life. It was a life that included a father suffering from post-traumatic stress after returning from the war (he had served in World War II), and who would beat Roland’s mother, who worked as a prostitute to make a living.
The songs Roland began writing at the age of seven gradually took shape over the years. Eventually, together with his friend and musical partner Curt Smith, they formed their debut album as the band "Tears for Fears". "The Hurting", released on March 7, 1983, is essentially Roland’s memoir and Curt’s as well, a way for them to release everything that had weighed on their hearts for years. Instead of sharing it with a psychologist, they shared it with all of us.
Roland Orzabal was born in August 1961 in the port city of Portsmouth. The son of an Argentine/Spanish father, he began writing songs at the age of seven. Later the family moved to Bath, where he met Curt Smith, a Bath native who was two months older and had taught himself to play guitar.
Early on, the two joined forces in the ska/mod revival band "Graduate", which managed to release one album, "Acting My Age" (1980), and recorded another album that was ultimately shelved after the band broke up.
After a short period during which the duo joined the new wave band "Neon" as session musicians, Orzabal and Smith formed "Tears for Fears". "Neon" drummer Manny Elias joined them, while Ian Stanley completed the quartet on keyboards.
Orzabal and Smith, who at the time were influenced by synth-pop artists such as Gary Numan, "OMD", and "Depeche Mode" (the similarity to "Depeche Mode" can be heard especially in the songs "The Hurting" and "Suffer the Children"), recorded their first album, "The Hurting", which was based on the book by psychologist Arthur Janov.
According to Janov, the way to cope with childhood trauma is to cry and scream in order to release the pain and overcome it. Orzabal and Smith became familiar with Janov and his book "The Primal Scream" while they were learning to play guitar. Their teacher was the one who introduced them to the book, which had also inspired John Lennon at the time.
"Tears for Fears" take the place that is supposed to be the safest and most protected of all, the home, and turn it into something dangerous. They shattered the myth that childhood is the happiest time in life. In almost every song, the pain and suffering emerge from the lyrics written by Roland Orzabal. In "Mad World" he sings the haunting line: "The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had." And yet the song itself is rhythmic, almost cheerful, at least if you are not paying attention to the words.
The goal Orzabal and Smith set for themselves was to speak openly about their sadness without fear. Their message was that trauma does not have to make us miserable for the rest of our lives, and that it is acceptable to feel anger toward the people who brought us into the world but failed to care for us properly.
"You don't give me love, you give me pale shelter," sings Smith in another single from the album, "Pale Shelter".
To be honest, the album is filled with a striking contrast between upbeat, almost joyful melodies and what feels like an indictment emerging from the lyrics in nearly every song.
Looking at Curt Smith today, it is hard to believe that this is the same person who once thought it was perfectly normal to be arrested by the police for stealing violins as a birthday gift. "He was far more rebellious than I was," said Orzabal.
Beyond the well-known hits and the three singles "Mad World", "Change", and "Pale Shelter", the album is almost free of weak moments. Orzabal and Smith sang about things that may be uncomfortable to talk about, but in the end, they are speaking to all of us.
The most important message you can take from this album is simple: go hug your children.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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