Songs from the Big Chair

Songs From the Big Chair
Studio album by Tears for Fears
Released	25 February 1985
Recorded	1983–1984 at Wool Hall Studios, Beckington, near Bath, Somerset, UK
Genre	Rock, new wave
Length	41:19
Label	Mercury (U.S.) Phonogram (UK)
Producer	Chris Hughes
Tears for Fears chronology
The Hurting (1983) Songs From the Big Chair (1985) The Seeds of Love (1989)
Singles from Songs From the Big Chair
"Mothers Talk" Released: August 1984 "Shout" Released: November 1984 "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" Released: March 1985 "Head Over Heels" Released: June 1985 "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" Released: September 1985

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Q	(1985) (1999)
Robert Christgau	B
Rolling Stone	(favorable)

Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British rock band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985 on Phonogram Records, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at #2 in the UK (where it remained in the Top 10 for over six months and in the Top 40 for over a year) and reached #1 (for five weeks) in the US. It contained a string of international hit singles, including: "Mothers Talk", "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head Over Heels".

Background and reception

The album title was derived from the 1976 television film Sybil about a woman with multiple personality disorder who only feels safe when she is sitting in her analyst's "big chair".

In a retrospective review published in Allmusic, Stanton Swihart commented "In the loping, percolating 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', Tears for Fears perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-'80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic. Songs From the Big Chair is one of the finest statements of the decade."

Once the band had finished a lengthy touring and promotion schedule for the album, they took an extended hiatus from the music industry. In 1989, their third album, The Seeds of Love, marked their return. A companion video documentary entitled "Scenes from the Big Chair" was released in late 1985.

The album has been included in the book compilation 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Slant Magazine listed the album at #95 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".

Re-issues

In 1998, MFSL remastered and re-issued the album with two bonus tracks ("Shout" [Extended Mix] and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" [Extended Mix]).

The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 1999 with bonus tracks, including b-sides and remixes. The tracklisting is based on the Special Edition cassette version of the album, which featured five B-Sides as bonus tracks - including three tracks("The Conflict", "The Marauders" and "Broken Revisited") from the The Hurting period. In addition to these tracks, it includes two remixes.

The album was re-released again in a Deluxe Edition 2-disc format in 2006 with the full collection of B-sides and many alternate versions and remixes of the album's tracks.

Track listings

Original release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shout"	Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley	6:32
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 reprise)"	Orzabal, Curt Smith	5:02
8.	"Listen"	Orzabal, Stanley	6:50

• "I Believe" is dedicated to 'Robert Wyatt (If he's listening)'
• In some US editions, the live reprise of "Broken" was omitted, and the end of "Head over Heels" led directly into "Listen." On these same US editions, the full 5:06 version of "Mother's Talk" was replaced with the 3:53 short version.

1999 Remastered CD Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"The Big Chair"	Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes	3:21
10.	"Empire Building"	Smith, Orzabal, Stanley	2:52
11.	"The Marauders"	Orzabal, Stanley	4:16
12.	"Broken Revisited"	Orzabal	5:16
13.	"The Conflict"	Orzabal, Smith, Stanley	4:05
14.	"Mothers Talk (U.S. remix)"		4:13
15.	"Shout (U.S. remix)"		8:02

• "Head over Heels/Broken (live)" is erroneously listed as "Head over Heals/Broken (Live)" on the remastered CD.
• "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) on the remastered CD is the correct version of this remix, but has had additional reverb applied to it. The 1999 remaster is the only CD on which this "extra reverb" version can be found.

Deluxe edition (2006)

Disc one

1. "Shout" – 6:33
2. "The Working Hour" – 6:31
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. "Listen" – 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) – 3:43 (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes)
14. "When in Love with a Blind Man" – 2:22 (Orzabal, Stanley)
15. "Sea Song" – 3:51 (Robert Wyatt)
16. "Broken Revisited" – 5:16

Disc two

1. "The Way You Are" (7" version) – 4:49 (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Elias)
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" (David Bascombe 7" Mix) – 4:15
6. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" – 4:41
7. "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) – 4:13
8. "Shout" (U.S. remix) – 8:02
9. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (Urban Mix) – 6:06
10. "Shout" (Dub remix) – 6:49
11. "Mothers Talk" (Beat of the Drum Mix) – 8:54
12. "Broken/Head over Heels/Broken" (Preacher Mix) – 8:00

• Track 4 was intended to be "Everybody Wants to Run the World" but was mistakenly replaced by a repetition of the album version (incorrectly labeled as the '7" version', but such a version does not exist); the album's liner notes confirm this.
• Track 7 is labeled "U.S. remix" on the packaging but is in fact a different version from the real "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) on the original vinyl singles. On CD, the real "U.S. remix" can be found on the compilations The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tears for Fears and Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears.

Personnel

Tears For Fears

• Roland Orzabal – guitar, keyboards, lead vocals, grand piano on 5, vocal styling on 8, Bass synth & LinnDrum Programming on 1, Vocal Stylings on "Listen"
• Curt Smith – bass guitar, vocals (lead vocals on 3 and 8)
• Ian Stanley – keyboards, Synths, LinnDrum Programming, arrangements on "Listen"
• Manny Elias – drums

Additional personnel

• Chris Hughes - producer
• Dave Bascombe – engineer
• Paul King - management
• Tim O'Sullivan - cover photography

• "Shout": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Chris Hughes – drums
• "The Working Hour": Jerry Marotta – percussion, Will Gregory – saxophone solos, Mel Collins – saxophone, Andy Davis – grand piano
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World": Neil Taylor – second guitar solo, Chris Hughes- Drums & Midi Programming
• "Mothers Talk": Stevie Lange – backing vocals
• "I Believe": Will Gregory – saxophone
• "Broken": Neil Taylor – guitar solo
• "Head Over Heels": Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Andy Davis – grand piano, Annie McCaig – backing vocals, Marilyn Davis – backing vocals
• "Listen": Marilyn Davis – operatic vocal

Charts and certifications

Album

Chart	Country	Provider(s)	Peak position	Certification	Sales
UK Albums Chart	United Kingdom	BPI	2	3× Platinum	900,000
Austrian Albums Chart	Austria	IFPI Austria	22
Canadian Albums Chart	Canada	CRIA	1	7× Platinum	700,000
French Albums Chart[citation needed]	France	SNEP	12
Media Control Charts[citation needed]	Germany	IFPI Germany	1	Gold	250,000
MegaCharts[citation needed]	Netherlands	NVPI	2	Platinum	100,000
New Zealand Albums Chart	New Zealand	RIANZ	2
Norwegian Albums Chart	Norway	IFPI Norway	17
Swedish Albums Chart	Sweden	IFPI Sweden	25
Swiss Albums Chart	Switzerland	IFPI Switzerland	5
US Billboard 200	United States	RIAA	1	5× Platinum	5,000,000

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak 1984 "Mothers Talk" UK Singles Chart 14 Irish Singles Chart 23 1985 New Zealand Singles Chart 50 1984 "Shout" UK Singles Chart 4 1985 Austria Top 40 6 Canadian Singles Chart 1 Dutch Mega Single Top 100 1 French Singles Chart 21 German Media Control Charts 1 Irish Singles Chart 5 Norwegian VG-lista 5 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart 16 Swiss Albums Chart 1 US Billboard Hot 100 1 1985 "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" UK Singles Chart 2 Austria Top 40 19 Canadian Singles Chart 1 Dutch Mega Single Top 100 2 French Singles Chart 18 German Media Control Charts 11 Irish Singles Chart 2 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Swiss Charts 13 US Billboard Hot 100 1

Year Single Chart Peak 1985 "Head Over Heels" UK Singles Chart 12 Canadian Singles Chart 8 Dutch Mega Single Top 100 29 German Media Control Charts 55 Irish Singles Chart 5 New Zealand Singles Chart 12 US Billboard Hot 100 3 1985 "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" UK Singles Chart 23 Irish Singles Chart 10 New Zealand Singles Chart 28 1986 "Mothers Talk (US Remix)" Canadian Singles Chart 87 US Billboard Hot 100 27

Preceded by No Jacket Required by Phil Collins "Reckless" by Bryan Adams

Billboard 200 number-one album 13 July 1985 – 3 August 1985 24 August 1985

Succeeded by Reckless by Bryan Adams "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits