Many Happy Returns to the Beloved Curt Smith!
This year has been one of good will and good times in that the opportunities to see live music from the Tearsverse were themed with love and care. We’ve had a blast and now it’s time to celebrate Curt’s annual turn around the sun! As expected we’ve been keeping up with some of Curt’s fun and fascinating excursions. Let’s chat about it over a piece of Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake (or gluten free carrot with extra cream cheese icing #IYKYK) and pretend we’re also having fun in Italia. He confirmed that he’s there. Glad to see him enjoying this annual holiday in such a gorgeous country!
Joey’s Song (Curt and Diva)
On the 9th of January 2026, Curt Smith of Tears for Fears and his daughter Diva Smith performed at Joey’s Song’s Freezing Man Festival benefit concert. The event took place at The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. Several fans stated that Curt and Diva’s presence filled the venue with a warm family connection vibe. As many know, this festival is built around music, community, and epilepsy research. Diva also had her own set performing some of her own music.
Curt and Diva performed an acoustic set which included “Mad World,” both seated with guitars and microphones under blue and purple stage lights. The next day Curt and Diva returned for “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” complete with the iconic hand gestures and “jeito” or way the band does it. Fans in the know were thrilled to see it performed in that manner and the crowd as a whole went wild. The appearances mattered not only because they connected multiple generations of Tears for Fears listeners, but also because Joey’s Song raises money for epilepsy research and support services in honor of Joey Gomoll. Together, Curt and Diva’s Joey’s Song performances felt like a heartfelt bridge between legacy, family artistry, and a charitable cause. It turned this live music fest into something deeply purposeful. *There are additional videos on our Substack page as well as photos from fellow fans in attendance. Make sure you find the video of them singing The Maze by Manchester Orchestra. We have a copy but the quality isn’t great. You’ll want to see that from start to finish in the highest resolution possible. Exquisite!
Huge thanks to all the fans that attended in person and those who gathered online for the virtual stream. Stephen K., Jesse T. and Mandee are MVPs!
Roland Orzabal’s New Book
If you don’t know by now that Roland Orzabal’s new memoir is titled Welcome to Your Life: Love, Death & Tears For Fears and comes out on the 4th of August you’re out of the loop. Make sure you join one of your favourite Tears for Fears social media groups in the Tearsverse and keep up with Tears for Fears information. The TFF Travel Fans are on Substack, Facebook, WordPress and more sending out information and related TFF news weekly. Opportunities to purchase a signed copy of this book have been circulating from two sources. Be sure to use the ones that the band has endorsed or check with your local bookstore to see what you can pre-order. There is an audio edition as well that you can get from Audible. We have hosted a book club in the past and it has been revamped with Zoom chats and other conversations. We read all of the books authored by those associated with Tears for Fears. Roland, Charlton and Lauren have each published books as has Roland’s brother Captain Julian Orzabal. There was lots to keep us busy. We even read a great book on finance thanks to Anthony, a fellow travel fan. Stay involved and have a great time doing it.
Pre-order option for Roland’s book
The memoir is expected to cover both the story of Tears for Fears and Roland’s own life beyond the band. He mentioned a lot about astrology so we can expect to learn more about the topic as we read. It’s a subject that should be taken seriously and carefully and not just for fun or to try to predict the future. There’s full on science behind it as with Astronomy which is a different discipline. We have scholars on both subjects in our travel team, and we do enjoy discussing all we learn.
We are under the impression that the central themes include identity, love, grief, recovery, fame, creativity, and the emotional cost of success. The prediction is that it’s also a look back on Tears for Fears’ rise from Bath, England, through New Wave, MTV, and worldwide success in addition to difficult chapters. Official activities around the book have not been etched in stone. In the past, we met up with Roland with permission before a show (thanks to all involved with that) and got our books signed. As of today, we do not have any confirmation on book tours, etc. At this point, we’re just happy a book is forthcoming and that some of them will be signed in advance. We wish Roland absolute success and are truly grateful he’s sharing his life with us.
Band Family
Jamie Wollam has been active on Instagram which is updated to note cool finds and things he’s involved with as a drummer. We especially appreciated learning about Drum Month from him. Be sure to follow and interactwith his profile on the platform. He always has cool shares.
Our dear lady Carina Round went on tour with Puscifer for their Normal Isn’t album era. She also had a birthday on the 20th of April. Like Curt and his daughter Diva, Puscifer also played at The Sylvee in Madison Wisconsin. How uncanny! Of late she’s available on Cameo. Be sure to check out her website and see the cool things she’s doing.
Lauren Evans is a big part of our joy with her awesome offerings through Pen Alchemy. She sends out incredible email with prompts to help us all cope with our daily lives during these trying times. While life isn’t easy for many at any time, it has been especially trying of late in certain areas of our lives. These email messages have been instrumental in guiding us all in a variety of ways. We are truly grateful.
Lauren had an event at the start of the year called Rooted to Rise. We also learned that she was a part of another performance in February but we do not have photos from that. As you know she’s a beloved singer within the L.A. Dodgers world. On multiple occasions she has led the American National Anthem there at their stadium in California. We’re excited about all that she is doing and hope that we can spend more time with her online until we meet up in person again.
We haven’t spoken to Charlton or Doug in a while. We hope they’re doing great. So much love and appreciation for both of them!
Kids In the Family – All Grown Up!
Raoul Orzabal, Roland’s eldest son, is still winning awards for his incredible artwork. That is fantastic! Both he and his brother shared with us his latest honour. It is impeccable work and we are still reeling with joy being able to own some of it. Be sure to enjoy all that he shares: https://www.raoulorzabal.com/
Pascal, Roland’s second son, is also busy but with theatre work. You can see him in SuperAgent which is showing on the 13-15th of August this year at The Courtyard Theatre as apart of the Camden Fringe. Get your tickets!
Diva Smith (Lady Diva Smith if you’re in this camp) just finished another tour featuring music from her latest EP. She spent the release day for the EP in Atlanta, Georgia which was a big deal for our moderator.
“I said years ago when she was singing on her father’s holiday songs that it’s very likely she’ll have her own shows. It will be a full circle moment to see her on stage with an incredible set of music. Fast forward to now and it’s happening in cities near all of us! What a dream come true and a super blessing!” – Andye Moderator
The tour featured Diva as the opener for Holly Humberstone. You can find all of her new music on YouTube, Apple Music and other music spaces. We did not see it on Bandcamp. Pascal has Quarterboy’s music on that platform but we have not seen Diva there which makes it challenging for some fans to support her financially – we’re aware of that. We want to make sure our purchase of her music goes directly to her so we hope that she’ll consider direct payment options to buy her music in future. She’s very important to us.
Wilder Smith, Curt’s second daughter, is currently trending in the postcard world. She created some beautiful ones of late in addition to her art. If you haven’t visited her website, please do. It’s a lovely place to get lost in joy and wonderment. We find it calming, serene and uplifting. Thank you, Lady Wilder!
In other news…
Again, we reopened the Tears for Fears Travel Fan book club and completed all readings. We are now, counting down to Roland’s book release in August. Rumours of a tour next year are just that – rumours. We also understand that there will be new music prior. The dates are not etched in stone and it’s all talk. So, as always, perch and prepare. Much love and healing to all who are retired from concert travel. You will always be with us in spirit. Andye remains on sabbatical but is available on the zoom calls.
Notable Dates
We enjoyed some really cool anniversary dates in the Tearsverse. Add these from Q1 and Q2 to your calendar and party with us online and in person next year. We’ll be publishing our TFF 365 calendar in the future so we can honour all the Tears for Fears releases, anniversaries, charting dates and more.
25 February – Anniversary of Songs from the Big Chair and The Tipping Point
7 March – Anniversary of The Hurting
1 April – Celebrating the day of Tears for Fears first concert at the beloved Moles in Bath UK.
27 January – Captain Julian Orzabal’s birthday
3 February Lauren Evans Birthday
13 February – Charlton and Gootch’s birthday
20 April – Carina Round’s birthday
10 May – Jamie Wollam’s birthday
Have a great summer! Live it up like Curt in Toscana! Get yourself some Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake and make the most of the season!
Thanks for reading!
- TFF Travel Fan Team Mods
*This publication may get updated again after intial publishing. Thank you for your patience as we coordinate information.
Tears for Fears Travel Fans 