Big thanks to those who participated in the online birthday fun for Roland Orzabal. Penny Dahl won the day with another amazing display that gave a salute not just to the man, but to the Seeds of Love album. She won an Amazon gift card and a copy of the Tears for Fears Massey Hall Vinyl. We learned after the fact that Roland had a lovely cake along with other niceties for his special day. Many thanks to his dear Emily for sharing the photos.
So, what are Roland and Curt doing right now? Well, unless you’ve been avoiding social media, you’ll know that they were finally able to announce one of the shows for 2022. On the 9th of July, Tears for Fears will be a part of the Lytham Festival in Lancashire. See the abbreviated info below.
Tears for Fears w/our beloved Alison Moyet plus Natalie Imbruglia (famous for ‘Torn’) Fast Facts:
- What: Lytham Festival Tickets https://www.lythamfestival.com/tickets/
- When: 9 July, 2022
- Where: Physical location of the Festival: Lytham Green, Lytham St. Anne’s, Lancashire, FY8 5LB
- Accommodations: hotel suggestion: Hy Hotel on Clifton Street
- Suggestion: 5 Day Pass so you can see Duran Duran as well or 1 day pass if you can’t stay a week
- Ticket Price: Approximately $70 USD with fees included (based on the current conversion rate for Sept 2021)
- Several fans already have tickets to this, so get yours and be ready to meetup and hang out with the fan family. Be ready to get there early, as early as is allowed.
What else are they doing? Promo stuff ::enter all of us with our hands flailing in the air in excitement:: !!! That’s all we can say at the moment because the band hasn’t released official word on what that promo stuff is just yet. But if you checkout certain photos and tweets from hard core fans and Curt, you’ll already know what the promo stuff is. Someone took one look at the visuals and knew immediately. We’re not confirming anything until Tears for Fears does. That’s just how we roll. That’s their business to announce first. Thank you for understanding – we are so excited it’s hard to sleep. xxx Also, Doug seems to have taken a teaching role? Not sure what that means for his part in the band but given we can expect a lot of shows for the summer, he may have that time off from his University.
The New Album
There was confirmed word that the band would not tour again unless the new album was finished and ready for play. The album is complete and management is working on all the things that come with that. We expect that the album will be released between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. We do expect to hear new music at the 9 July, 2022 show. It’s pretty much guaranteed.
In Related News and Tangents:
Libre Stone: Captain Julian Orzabal (Roland’s younger brother) and Dion Smith released Libre Stone’s 2nd set of work – Mark of Cain. It is now available on their site. They have merch, FB and IG pages to interact with the band and we’re loving it. They did this right. They came correct with great music and all the merch and accompaniments one would want with a band. Be sure to buy your copy, download the album, leave reviews on all platforms where you have purchased the album and continue to interact with the band and fellow fans on social media. We’ll be sharing a list of venues we’d like to see them play in the future. Dion Smith is also sharing some great musical insights. Checkout one of the videos from his series featuring his guitar expertise.
Shout out to our sponsors and April Russell for surprising Bobby B-Blaze with some jackets and cool Libre Stone merch. Bobby is a loyal Tears for Fears Travel Fan who is known for helping fans get to shows. He has often driven cross country and back again ensuring fans get from their front door to the show and home again. He deserves the world and a bag of gold (and some bitcoins).
Pascal Orzabal (Roland’s beautiful second son): Pascal has released a total of 4 songs online thus far and you can buy your copy on iTunes, Soundcloud and listen to him on other music platforms including Spotify. Please be sure to like, subscribe and follow his work. It’s really powerful stuff. If you loved The Hurting and Roland in the 1980s, you’ll have a huge appreciation for his son’s ultra-modern sound that has many tones of that era married with all things modern and future forward vibes. We’re going to do a playlist with all their music together. Checkout this video interview.
Diva Smith (Curt’s first angel daughter): Included in that set of music will be Diva Smith’s ‘Bet’ of which we have talked about previously. What an incredible family the band members have!
Wilder Smith (Curt’s second angel daughter) is doing design at college. We’re extremely happy for her. Hoping she opens an agency so we can get a logo commissioned and blessed by her.
Raoul Orzabal (Roland’s beautiful first son) has grown to become an outstanding award-winning artist and we’re obviously buying his work because it’s so good you want to leap into the paintings and live a second life!
Darren and friends including current band members and alumni are actively sharing and posting in the forum. Tamara Hansens’ Tears for Fears Tuesdays (#TFFTuesdays) are still going strong in that space and each Friday members, which include TFF Travel Fans, listen in to Radio Bath which includes the Friday Night Fry Up. During ‘drive time’ and on into the night, DJ Shaun Smith (Curt’s Brother) and DJs from the FNFU interact with fans. It’s a really great way to glide into the weekend and get into a feel good mood. It’s very therapeutic! Be sure to log in weekly to the Fan Forum and set your notifications to receive updates from the Travel Fan site so you can keep up with everything that is going on and make new music friends.
Tasha LaRae’s Gratitude Hour
Singer, songwriter and Arrested Development Alumni (a band Tears for Fears named as the best opening act – and rightly so. We were there and they brought the house down in an incredibly energetic show on 26 August 2010) hosts a gratitude group where everyday friends gather to hear a word from her and a guided gratitude activity each day. Once a week the team have a live hour together to play games, chat and express what’s on their minds. It’s also very therapeutic and super chill! It’s the moment of peace in the week you didn’t know you needed…really helps you reflect and find a place of solace. Currently, the attendees are other musicians, actors and of course Tears for Fears hard core fans all enjoying a moment of absolute peace once a week.
Dave Grohl/Nandi & Mandi
So, those following along closely know that the Dave Grohl is a big Tears for Fears fan. He wanted to do some work with the band and who knows, it may happen. The Foo Fighters, the band Dave leads after the retirement of Nirvana due to tragedy, have a fan named Nandi Bushell who lives in Ipswich. She is an outstanding musician at such a young age and if you haven’t seen her, you need to… Well, a fan in the Tears for Fears Fan Forum where Darren from TFF UK is a moderator led us to Megan who did just as much justice to a young lady quickly nicknamed Mandi as she gave salute to ‘Break It Down Again (BIDA)’ – please enjoy and send her some encouragement on that specific video!
Advice: As we prepare to move into 2022, please be mindful of the following:
- You need to get a passport. Even if you do not plan to fly around the globe with other fans or you have no interest in leaving your location, get a passport. The world is very different now and you never know when you may have to up and leave without much notice be it for a great opportunity or some other reason. A passport is under $200 USD. If you’re having trouble getting or paying for a passport, let us know.
- Prepare for Covid restrictions. We don’t know when it’s truly going to be over and how long half these restrictions and requirements will be in place. Denmark has dropped their requirements but few other countries have. For those in the states, the vaccine is being pushed and expected along with Covid negative tests. So, if you can’t get the vaccine or don’t feel comfortable getting it, be sure to note where you can get a rapid Covid test or get a take home test so you can obtain proof of a negative status and be able to attend any events coming up without interruption. Nothing we’re doing personally in the fan lane will require a vaccine. You just need a negative Covid test and a mask as that’s the only thing we can ensure will keep people safe. Why not a vaccine mandate? We’ve seen that people can still catch and spread Covid even if vaccinated so a negative test and a mask are expected. The band and venues may have other rules…but these are ours.
- Band Changes and Features – They look amazing and perform live even better than they sound on the actual cassettes, CDs and vinyls we listen to…and they may look different from the last time you saw them if you haven’t been following along and spending time with all of us online. We saw that some aren’t comfortable with them not dying their hair dark colours to give an illusion of something superficial and unnatural. Five people had the audacity to show their discriminatory feelings in public on social media. That sentiment is called ageism and discrimination. We have seen those 5 people’s rude actions online and those individuals were named and will be blocked. There is a collective zero-tolerance policy toward any type of discrimination toward the band or fan family.
- As always , remember that our fandom is not a competition. We’re all in this to ensure we all get to shows and support the band by being present and wearing their name. Together online, all groups’ goals seemingly should be focused on the promotion of music. If one group announces information before another it is almost impossible to know where one got the information without key identification markers. But if you take a photo from that post or information, be sure to credit the source from which you got it or give a shoutout to those who made it known. Way too many people took photos off of Roland’s wife’s photo page and then said they found them elsewhere. We know that was false.
- We’re all one big street team. As for the Tears for Fears Travel Fan team – we don’t claim one sole owner of the team because there isn’t one. Andye is the moderator but we all work together to get information to each other. None of us claim ownership nor note it is as “our group.” We are a team. We tag and join in with the Tears for Fears Fan Forum moderated by Darren and give nods to the teams in France, Japan, The Philippines, Germany and beyond. We think team work first. No one owns this band. We are all faithful volunteers. Cheers to a successful Q4 2021-2022 music extravaganza and fun online and in person!
So, that’s it for the news as we conclude the quarter. More will be coming…just as the band said. Enjoy these photos from Curt in the countryside enjoying a morning run and one from David Wild! Be sure to follow everyone online.
Curt in the UK – Jam time 
Curt on the plane with his Doc Martens 
David Wild with Curt and Roland
- @tearsforfears
- @curtsmith
- @DivaSmith IG
- @quarterboy IG
- Pascal Orzabal Art
- @librestone IG
- Libre Stone on Facebook (interactive Group)
- @papasfans
- TFF Travel Fans IG
- Tears for Fears Travel Fans & Kooks
Thanks for reading,
– Andye,
Tears for Fears Travel Fan Moderator
Tears for Fears Travel Fans 