Put The Needle On The Record - Week #42

Put The Needle On The Record Week #42 Tears For Fears - The Hurting

For this weeks feature we go back to March 1983 and the Tears For Fears album "The Hurting".

This album always reminds me of the days I lived in a crummy bedsit in Eccles, Manchester, as it was an album I constantly played during the few years I lived there....not the happiest of times I must add!

Anyway to the album.......This was the debut album by the band consisting of the duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, both had been in a previous band called Graduate and interestingly before they renamed themselves Tears For Fears, their band name was History Of Headaches!! Thank god they saw sense and came up with Tears For Fears, the name is taken from a book by Psychotherapist Arthur Janov, the book also inspired the tracks "The Prisoner" and "Ideas As Opiates".

For the album the band decided to change producers and worked with Chris Hughes, which meant they re-recorded the tracks Suffer The Children" and "Pale Shelter" for the album. Did you know thet their breakthrough hit "Mad World" was originally considered as a B Side!

It is without doubt one of the classic albums released in the 80s and I have to say it is a very strong album, however, I never liked "The Prisoner" or "Ideas As Opiates", other than those 2 tracks the rest of the album is outstanding.

In all 5 singles were released, "Suffer The Children", one of my favourite tracks on the album, was released in 1981 (which didn't make the UK Singles Chart at the time but was a minor hit in 1985 reaching number 52 in the UK Singles Chart), the original version of "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)" (which was released in early 1982 and also failed to chart), "Mad World" (which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart), "Change" (which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart) and a new version of "Pale Shelter", one of my all time favourite records (which reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart).

The album reached number 1 on the UK album chart.

Track Listing

The Hurting
Mad World
Pale Shelter
Ideas As Opiates
Memories Fade
Suffer The Children
Watch Me Bleed
Change
The Prisoner
Start Of The Breakdown

If you have this album in your collection, dig it out and give it a spin!