Why did Tears for Fears split?

Tears for Fears are an English pop-rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith following the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate.

Tears for Fears were part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US.

The band’s debut album, The Hurting (1983), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, Second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), reached number one on the US Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the US.

Songs from the Big Chair contained two Billboard Hot 100 number one hits: “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. The latter song won the Brit Award for Best British Single in 1986.

After the release of their platinum-selling third album, The Seeds of Love (1989), Smith and Orzabal had an acrimonious split in 1991.

Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name as a solo project, releasing the albums Elemental (1993) and Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995). Orzabal and Smith reconciled in 2000 and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004.

The pair have toured on a semi-regular basis since then. After almost a decade of development, the band’s seventh album, The Tipping Point, was released in February 2022.

Why did Tears for Fears split?

After The Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith had a vicious falling out and parted company in 1991.

The split was blamed on Orzabal’s perfectionist technique to production and delays caused by Smith’s jet-setting lifestyle and intention to slow down the pace of their work.

Another aspect of the break-up was the band’s manager, Paul King, who declared bankruptcy in 1990 and was later convicted of fraud in 2004.