Tears for Fears announces ‘Songs From the Big Chair’ 35th anniversary

Set will be available as Limited Edition Picture Disc and Super Deluxe 4 CD/2 DVD box set

Spring 2020 sees the 35th anniversary of Tears For Fears iconic ten million-selling album Songs From The Big Chair on March 13th via UMe/Virgin. The 35th celebrations will include the release of a Picture Disc of the album and a reissue of the much sought after super deluxe 4 CD/2 DVD box set which currently changes hands for hundreds of dollars.

Songs From The Big Chair was Tears For Fears second album and spawned classic worldwide hit songs such as the US No. 1 singles “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” and “Shout” as well as “Head over Heels” and “Mother’s Talk.”

Upon its first release, Songs From The Big Chair spent 30 weeks in the UK top ten album chart, a whole year in the top 30 and only left the charts 18 months later. The story was very much the same all over the world, the album spent five weeks at No. 1 in the US, and much like the UK, it was in the Billboard Chart for 18 months.

“Pop music was still a growth industry. It hadn’t sort of stagnated, stalled, diversified into streaming like it is nowadays,” comments Roland Orzabal. “We were young, we were both good-looking and we had the right music. As we move further and further from that decade and you keep hearing “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” in various forms I do think it is an era-defining album.”

“You would never normally get three songs that strong in an album,” states Curt Smith. “But balance that out with tracks like ‘Listen,’ ‘The Working Hour;’ all those things that give it air and give it time to breathe I think is what makes it something more than just the sum of its parts. I think the album had a lot more depth than a lot of those other albums of that time. And albums of more depth tend to stick around longer.”

The album is being made available for the first time as a limited edition picture disc, and due to overwhelming demand, the super deluxe version will be reissued. The 4 CD/2 DVD box set features a multitude of remixes, live tracks, BBC sessions, B-sides, previously unreleased tracks and 5.1 surround sound and stereo mixes of the album mixed by four-time Grammy nominee, Steven Wilson.

4 CD/2 DVD | Picture Disc

CD 1: Songs from The Big Chair

  1. Shout
  2. The Working Hour
  3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
  4. Mothers Talk
  5. I Believe
  6. Broken
  7. Head Over Heels
  8. Listen
  9. The Big Chair [B-Side]
  10. Empire Building [B-Side]
  11. The Marauders [B-Side]
  12. Broken Revisited [B-Side]
  13. The Conflict [B-Side]
  14. The Working Hour (Piano Version) [B-Side]
  15. Pharaohs [B-Side]
  16. When in Love with A Blind Man [B-Side]
  17. Sea Song [B-Side]

CD 2: Edited Songs: 7″ Versions

  1. The Way You Are (7” version)
  2. Mothers Talk (Short Version)
  3. Shout (Edit)
  4. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Single version)
  5. Head Over Heels (Dave Bascombe 7” version)
  6. I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)
  7. Everybody Wants To Run The World
  8. International 7″ Versions
  9. The Way You Are (Edit)
  10. Mothers Talk (US Remix)
  11. Shout (US Single Version)
  12. Everybody Wants to Run the World (Running Version)
  13. Head Over Heels (Hughes 7″ Edit aka Radio Mix)
  14. Mothers Talk (Video version)
  15. Listen (Clean intro)
  16. Interview with Curt and Roland

CD 3: Remixed Songs: 12″ Versions, Dubs and more

  1. The Way You Are (Extended version)
  2. Mothers Talk (Extended version)
  3. Shout (Extended remix)
  4. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Extended version)
  5. Broken / Head Over Heels / Broken (Preacher Mix)
  6. Mothers Talk (Beat Of The Drum Mix)
  7. Shout (US remix)
  8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Urban mix)
  9. Mothers Talk (US remix alternate)
  10. Shout (Dub)
  11. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Instrumental)
  12. Shout (Acapella)

CD 4: Unreleased Songs: Promos, Demos & Live tracks

  1. Head Over Heels (Radio 1 Richard Skinner Session) [At the BBC]
  2. The Working Hour (Radio 1 Richard Skinner Session) [At the BBC]
  3. Broken (Radio 1 Richard Skinner Session) [At the BBC]
  4. Mothers Talk [Live at Massey Hall]
  5. Broken/Head Over Heels [Live at Massey Hall]
  6. Memories Fade [Live at Massey Hall]
  7. The Working Hour [Live at Massey Hall]
  8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World [Live at Massey Hall]
  9. Shout [Live at Massey Hall]
  10. Mothers Talk (Early mix)
  11. The Way You Are (Early mix)
  12. Broken (Early mix)
  13. Shout (Early mix)
  14. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (alt 7″ with brass)

DVD Audio:

  1. Shout [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  2. The Working Hour [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  4. Mothers Talk [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  5. I Believe [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  6. Broken [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  7. Head Over Heels [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  8. Listen [Steven Wilson 5.1 Mix]
  9. Shout [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  10. The Working Hour [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  11. Everybody Wants to Rule the World [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  12. Mothers Talk [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  13. I Believe [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  14. Broken [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  15. Head Over Heels [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]
  16. Listen [Steven Wilson Stereo Mix]

DVD:

  • Scenes From The Big Chair (985 documentary) (1 hr 14 mins)
  • Interview with producer Chris Hughes (2005) (35 mins)
  • Music Videos
  • The Way You Are (Music video)
  • Mothers Talk (Music video)
  • Mothers Talk (alternative UK video)
  • Shout (Music video)
  • Everybody Wants to Rule The World (Music video)
  • Head Over Heels (Music video)
  • I Believe (Music video)
  • Mothers Talk (US version)
  • Everybody Wants to Run the World (Music video)
  • Tears for Fears at the BBC
  • The Way You Are (Top Of The Pops)
  • Mothers Talk (Top Of The Pops)
  • Mothers Talk (Top Of The Pops)
  • Shout (Top Of The Pops)
  • Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Wogan)
  • Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Top Of The Pops)
  • Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Top Of The Pops)
  • The Working Hour (Wogan)

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com