Category: Tears for Fears Regional Fan Club News & Online Fun
There are a many different fan clubs generated by fans in various nations and regions of the world. Here are a few of those dedicated groups who meet up regularly.
This post is dedicated to Shaun Smith – Curt’s brother. He’s super kind and very nice! That’s also his photo above. He took that great photo during the show and permitted us to use it. We’re very grateful. He also recorded Shout for us! Tilt your head a little. It’s the best part of the song. We’ve embedded it from his page. An edited version in horizontal is below that.
And here’s Curt Smith looking out in the audience. Isn’t this the cutest?
There were some really great moments in the show today. Both Roland and Curt gave great shoutouts. From Roland sending out a loving salute to his family and house manager to Curt showing some love for North Carolina fans who came all the way to Cardiff…the love was flowing making for a very special and intimate night. You can’t beat that!
Below are some of the fun moments fellow fans and friends captured. Enjoy – more to come as we fill each synopsis with great moments from the tour and travels.
— Peter Thomas – Yes, It's Me 🏴 (@peterthomas44) February 3, 2019
Here’s some photos from MVP Gwen. For all those cheering for her to get a moment to chat with Curt, she got it! She also got to speak to Roland this evening as well and got an autograph. We’re super happy about that. We trust in the future there will be a fan conference so we can all take several big group photos against an amazing backdrop with Roland and Curt on SOL royalty chairs. Oh we’ve got plans!
Call Me Mellow followed by fun moments of conversation with the audience and additional songs. Enjoy and please leave a message for the videographer, Gwen. As you follow along you’ll see she has taken time out to go to 12 shows. She’s an incredible person and she deserves a great deal of respect and love. She’s an honourary member of the band practically at this point.
We’ll add some video in as we get it. A few are working on theirs and a few others need go get permission to post and share on a public site. Stay tuned!
There’s a space between your conscious, subconscious…that part of you that undergoes the out of body experience. For those that attend Tears for Fears concerts, it’s the moment where the show open begins. It’s begun with Lorde, previous to that was Dance of the Knights by the genius Tchaikovsky. But let’s back up just a bit. There’s also the walking into the venue. It feels just like the steps one imagines the astronauts take as they head to the ship. You’re walking and waving, excited as all get out. You’re about to experience something greater than most humans get to partake of in a lifetime. You feel blessed, special and carry a sense of “is this really happening?” Then, the aforementioned takes place. The rocket has launched, you are about to be propelled into an entirely different state of mind, state of being…your world is literally being rocked. Then they appear…Jamie heads to the drums, Doug Petty goes to the keys, Carina Round far right mic, Curt and Roland…and by this time the crowd is SO LOUD. Somebody starts crying, men and women are screaming as if their bride or groom has walked into the room on their wedding day or in some cases as if it’s the winning goal of the world cup. Children’s chins on are the floor because they’ve never seen their parents SO excited since they were born. It’s completely EUPHORIC! People are going insane!
And here’s why. Please enjoy the show synopsis from Killarney, Ireland. This post is dedicated to Gwen, who has dedicated her life this year to following the band for 12 shows. She was gracious enough to capture this show in it’s entirety LIVE for everyone to view in real time – making it possible for anyone who didn’t get a chance to travel to experience the “Tears for Fears Experience.” There’s no other way to really describe it. It’s an experience!
“My entire body feels like it’s being lifted up into another realm. It’s like your soul is floating and you know you may or may not be alive…because it feels too good to be true. There have been times I shake my head during the concerts as if something is hurting me because for a moment, I can’t tell if I’m daydreaming this as the little kid hoping one day I’ll get to see them. Or am I really back in the mid 90s as the pre-teen who was walking around venues where they once played, fasting and chanting for their reconnect. Or is this one of the many moments where I’m remember being at one of their shows? Then I realise it’s all REAL. That’s them, there they are and here I am. It’s a really WILD feeling to see your deepest Tears for Fears wishes and visions come to life over and over again. I encourage everyone to go to a show just once and experience the euphoria. It will blow your mind! You will never be the same! And you’ll want to do this again and again. The shows get better and better every year…which means they are immaculate!” -Andye, TFF Travel Fan Team
“Today is one of the best days of my life so far!” – Gwen, TFF Travel Fan Team
So…we got to meet and chat with @charltonpettus this afternoon, great guy and so gracious. Then half an hour ago we had a wonderful chat with @jameswollam@jwdrum who we met in 2017 also. Incredibly intimate gig coming up. 🌻 pic.twitter.com/130bNgcb5A
The Stone Forums captured the show as well – here’s EWTRTW in an very beautiful TFF blue…
Badman’s Song
SHOUT!!
It couldn’t have been that perfect, could it? Oh yes…yes it was. So much so that Patrick O Shea was furious when concert goers (note we didn’t say fans in this case) arrived late to the perfection. “A great show, very enjoyable, however the constant procession in and out to the bar was ridiculous, if you want to see Tears for Fears live, go to their concert, if you want to drink go to the pub, also the amount of people who arrived in late at the start of the concert, from the bar was very insulting to the band. Tears for Fears created a great atmosphere, you did not need to drink as well.”
We hear you Patrick. Don’t arrive late if you can help it. You miss the best parts. The chatter, the conversations and all that the band is known to delight their audiences with at each show. Every concert is as intricate as a snowflake. It’s unique and even more beautiful than the last. You want to soak it all in. Speaking of soaked. It began to rain and the weather was not so cool following this show. As we lead into details on Dublin. Tamara, Gwen and crew literally stood in line for HOURS in the cold, wet air of Dublin to make sure they had front row. That’s part of the travel experience when there’s a GA option at a show. We’re not fans of Gen Am but when it’s available it means we’re going to be close to the band. So we get up at the crack of dawn and stand at the venue so we can soak up all their energy during the show. And that’s exactly what they did! Be sure to read about it here.
Thanks so much for taking a moment to recap the show with us and our fellow team members, fans and friends! Subscribe and share with fellow fans you know. Get yourself some tickets and head out to a show!
-Tears for Fears Travel Fan Team
Follow everyone on Twitter @curtsmith @tearsforfears
Travel fans on Twitter @papasfans
Buy Tickets and Merch – tearsforfears.com
Tears for Fears is a clean band. They don’t make unsavoury news or cause problems that make anyone wish they had never followed, or invested emotionally or otherwise in their work, music and events. Since Friday morning, numerous conversations have been “floating” about Tears for Fears and the future of all that encompasses them – from band members to fan life. This occurred after our moderator wished Curt a happy rehearsal. While “enough” veered off in an unsavoury direction of assumption and panic from his response which made us aware that he wasn’t present, a gargantuan number of fans have rerouted by focusing on how the band has healed them personally. That’s what’s so great about this band and the fans! Something odd might happen from time to time – nothing dangerous or worthy of tabloids – but no matter what, we’re always brought back to the band’s genius work. It’s all genius work. Every single song is a piece of genius work. Few will argue with us on that.
Rick Beato, who hosts the show “What Makes This Song Great?” took some time to explore and highlight the genius of “Head Over Heels.” We fans lovingly call the song HOH (literally saying the letters) for short when writing about it and now we’ve come to say it while chatting amongst ourselves the same way we call TFF’s 2004 hit Everybody Loves a Happy Ending “ELAHE” ( but in this case ‘eh-LAH-hee’). HOH is one of those songs that will make your knees buckle. As soon as you hear the first chord (or for some ‘that first note’) YOU KNOW what it is. Then there’s the build in the song that often involuntarily prompts fans worldwide to begin playing air drums and keyboard before bursting into first verse with whatever item in your hand you have – be it a hairbrush as you stand at the mirror getting ready for work or a mobile phone – as the microphone.
The way in which Mr. Beato highlights the genius of this song is unreal and simply spectacular. It’s “genius” in itself. Please take a moment to watch it and bask in the beauty of the spectacular way in which this song is constructed. Let this song heal you! Use it right now to think of amazing moments for which you are truly grateful this band (Curt, Roland and team) exist. Think of the alumni (Nicky, Oleta, Manny, Mr. William, and many other contributors) and current members (Charlton, Jamie, Doug, Carina) that help keep this healing alive. Feel the gratitude, put your intent toward the continuation of the band and their contributions to music and deep thought. Their work is worth twice their combined weight in gold! Go on…bask!
Every now and again you run into someone that isn’t aware that (insert band) is still touring. It’s overwhelming when you have so much information on said band and you don’t know the person well enough to even say, “Hey, did I hear you say you like Culture Club?” For many of us, finding out that someone isn’t aware that Tears for Fears have had newer music past Seeds of Love is enough to make us faint and fall out. Who else has chocked on their drink or clutched their pearls on those rare occasions you hear someone ask, “Whatever happened to Tears for Fears?” By the time you get your bearings the person has already wondered off and it’s too awkward to say anything in passing.
But there you are the loyal soldier of sound attending shows, active on the bands’ social and interacting with other fans. You are the meat and potatoes of the music industry! But so are the bands. These guys are spending their days and nights working hard to get music to us, leaving behind families and relatives, other money making opportunities to bring you a song from your past. It’s a cyclical support and each of us plays a part. So pat yourself on the back and dance your arse off at the show. May we always be able to support and be there for one another…long live the band and fan relationships!
Enjoy some snippets from the recent 80s Music Extravaganza Tour and two artists from Retro Futura’s summer sensational series!
Wow! Whether you were on site or remote, we got to see a great show yesterday evening. Curt Smith and members of Tears for Fears including the awesome Rev. Charlton Pettus, author of Exit Strategy, performed one of their iconic acoustic sets last night at Cafe Pinot in Downtown Los Angeles. What a joy! We’re so happy that several amazing people were able to attend and represent! This post is dedicated to each of you and a BIG HONOURABLE mention to Artemisa, OWN Ambassador, for her check-ins, attendance at the show and continuous shares and follow-ups throughout the night. Such a lovely gesture.
There’s still an opportunity to help others by visiting the Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles site. You can also follow them on twitter @TheHHCLA. Tell them you learned about them from Curt Smith of Tears for Fears. Let them know his fans are all about caring and supporting their efforts!
Kevin Ryan, a contributor to the Observor, owned by Guardian Media Group – UK, reached out to us recently to answer questions re: our dedication to Tears for Fears. If you’d like to participate please answer the following and send them to PapaSFans@gmail.com. We’re going to combine all these answers per question and note your first name and last initial then send them off to Kevin. We’re looking for the first 10 people to respond by Sunday June 11th, one of the TFF Atlanta Concert Anniversaries. All who submit get entered to win some Tears for Fears merch store cash.
Kevin also invites everyone to come out and listen to the Tears for Fears Tribute/Cover Band (Cheers for Tears) that will be having a show in Dallas on 16 June at the Granada Theatre.
Questions – please send these to PapaSFans@gmail.com
1. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to get an idea of where you are and what you do so that I can describe Tears and Kooks as a truly international community.
2. What has drawn you to Tears for Fears? Did you have an experience that pulled you in, when you decided that you need to see every TFF show you can?
3. There are a few bands I travel extensively to see, so I completely get it, although it’s hard to describe. How would you describe your Is it a hobby? Is it fair to compare it to being a football supporter or the like.
4. What are your thoughts on tribute bands, in general? Have you seen any TFF tribute bands?
5. How many times have you seen TFF? (Including solo tours)
6. How many your dates do you typically make it to? And what do you expect each time?
7. Are you a musician? If so, do you play TFF songs? In a tribute/cover band?
8.This is a bit vague, but what, in your opinion, makes TFF unique and magical? (Feel free to use different adjectives)
9. Is there anything I didn’t ask that I should’ve? Anything you’d like to add?
Thanks for participating!
-Andye, TFF Travel Fan Team Moderator
Good News! Mari Moon, an organiser with Plato de Oro Dinner & Auction, sent this message to us this week. We are permitted to attend and take part in the Plato de Oro Dinner & Auction which will feature Curt Smith and members of Tears for Fears (likely Charlton, Doug and Jamie). This is a great opportunity to donate and be a part of an amazing cause. Read more…
Tears for Fears Travel Fans and Kooks! You’re invited on SUNDAY, JUNE 3 @ Cafe Pinot in DTLA to a special, intimate performance by CURT SMITH and the TEARS FOR FEARS band at Homeless Health Care Los Angeles’ Plato de Oro Annual Fundraising Dinner & Auction. It will be a spectacular night of music, dinner and cocktails at Cafe Pinot in DTLA, and an exciting silent & live auction.
Tickets are $250 and sponsor tables are also available. We’re already close to selling out so please buy your tickets soon! For tickets, go to hhclaplato.org or click on the link below. To know more about the wonderful charity you’ll be donating to, please visit hhcla.org. See you on Sunday, June 3! Get excited!!
Stay at the Line Hotel near the Wilshire Hotel. It’s a nice spot and you can Uber to the venue. Because this is such short notice we are willing to send a proxy on our behalf. You can reach out to us on the Tears for Fears Travel Fans & Kooks FB page if you plan to attend.
Those nearby do your best to attend. Otherwise consider making a donation. Hashtag it #TFFFan so they know that the band’s fans are supportive of their work. Our goal is to push and promote philanthropic causes and teams. We’re not just enjoying the music, we are helping people as much as we can.
If you’ve been following this Travel Fan blog for any length of time you will know how much FUN it is to see Curt Smith in Los Angeles. It’s a really big deal and it’s spectacular! You’ll be happy you went!
You must be living under a sound proof rock if you’ve not been bombarded with the news about Tears for Fears and the numerous times they’ve been on the BBC in the past six months! It’s brilliant and soul stirring all the same. Week after week there’s a post about a replay of the 2017 appearances. So here we go again with another chance to see them live and we are all steeped in excitement!
This time it’s for 27 May. Tickets already went on sale – this was another one of those reasons to always have your Travel Fan Cash Stash stacked as much as possible so you can be “perched” to purchase the good stuff.
If you’re familiar with how Coventry works, click for direct ticket link. Otherwise you may want to explore the site first with “purchase the good stuff.” As for accommodations and where we plan to stay. Our suggested hotel is the Ramada Hotel and Suites simply because we can’t find much closer that we like. However, do note that there are plenty of others at reasonable rates. You’re looking to pay about $100USD a night for this one after taxes and fees. That’s not bad. You will want to go through the website directly simply because we’ve seen way too many third party snafoos. Now, if you’re one of those Travel Fans that NEVER has a problem with discount sites and third party vendors, you go right ahead with your bad self and book through whomever. But we’re going to play it safe, get the membership and book directly through the hotel to take advantage of the perks that booking through the brand entails. Those who travel with us regularly will understand! Some of us will already be in the UK at this time so airfare is not what we’ll focus on but if you’re flying in just for this show – we suggest booking with Delta NOW for the best prices.
Because the venue is so close to the suggested hotel, you can get there in 6 minutes by ground transportation. Otherwise it’s a 30 minute walk to the venue. So just take ground transport and save your dignity vs. arriving bloody warm and tired.
There are tons of places to eat and hang out! That means it’s a perfect opportunity for a fan meetup. We’ll go ahead and make an event page on the main TFF Travel Fan Facebook page for each of the events including this one so that loyal travellers can plan accordingly and know who all will be in attendance. Numbers have grown exponentially in travel fans. We used to be about 75 per show – 80% of the time and now it’s in the 100s. Very hard to find venues to accommodate us all at once. So let’s just say we’ll see each other there!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment or an email on Facebook or Twitter. We are connected 20 hours out of the day and are pretty quick to answer. Can’t wait to see everyone partying in the name of Tears for Fears!
*Dedicated to the 40,000+ people that have visited the TFF Travel Fans site! WE appreciate you!
2017 was an impressive year but steeped in emotion for all those involved with Tears for Fears on every level. The tour was amazing and eye opening, bringing out loyal fans from all over the globe to the states and to specific global cities to celebrate all things Tears for Fears. The band managaed a devastating family tragedy and released new music that, as mentioned in past posts, left us …wait for it…shook…as f… yeahhh, that. There was also the refreshed website and reappearance of the online store. While quite a few people are still waiting for their cds and vinyl to arrive from said store that we promoted as the only place one should buy merch, those that did receive it agree that the upcoming album is going to be one heck of a masterpiece that may change our lives forever.
The camaraderie among fans in 2017 was pretty cool! The mutual respect online and interaction from one fan page with another was very nice. The focus on the music returned vs. the sole focus on how hot the band members look in their jeans. Given each one is married we try to find self-control in the crushing on Curt and Roland department. 😉 We saw a resurgence of followers from the UK and Europe join in the conversations and work to get to the closest show possible. Next year they’ll be treated to some pretty cool venues in a variety of major and trending cities. Fans have not only signed up for multiple shows, they are planning on bringing their spouses and families. Tears for Fears is a multi-generational experience. We as 365 fans know that TFF are timeless and literally move a multitude of age groups across many cultures. We need these shows as much as we need daily meals and water. The band’s shows as well as their music have become a life necessity…like medicine. Makes one long for the day concert tickets and airfare are covered by health insurance…what Tears for Fears give us is much more healing than any chemical produced by a pharmaceutical company.
On top of that, we saw the return of the Curt Chat, this time partnered with Spotify which made for quite a nice experience that brought a ton of us together to hang out with the Good Man Smith accompanied by the new Greatest Hits album.
So, what’s next?!
There were so many gatherings and meetups, virtual and IRL that it feels like we’ve got a pretty good thing going on a BIGGER level. So, several of the travel fan team plan to host Tears for Fears Fan Appreciation gatherings in Atlanta and Los Angeles, our two HQs. The goal is a big dinner, listen to music and share concert stories…and maybe a few surprises.
The first one was actually in Boston, a sort of test run. Deb and I went out to tour Jamaica Plain in Boston and even passed by Charlton Pettus’ elementary school. We sat in the park, went out for lunch, visited Cheers in Boston and toured the city. It was pretty darn awesome! So, it’ll be cool to do this on a much bigger scale in between concerts. The conversations have begun on and offline and we’ll be sure to keep that info noted here in the Travel Fan Blog. Here’s a snippet of the Boston Road Trip…
So here’s to 2018! So many opportunities to see the band and they haven’t even announced the full schedule as of yet. We know the idea of flying all over the globe for the upcoming dates may not seem realistic. But as we say…just get the tickets…everything will fall into place. Let us know if you have any questions or need help with accommodations. We’ll be updating the schedule and adding details as we go along…
See you at the meetups and the show!
AA – Travel Fan Team Moderator
*Moderator’s Thoughts
To underestimate the intuition of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal is foolish. These two didn’t dive into the deep – they set up shop in that space and are truly ruling the world with some REAL TALK! These two know stuff…a lot of stuff. They are walking third eyes. They not only “know” stuff that’ll not only make you think but will slam your arse down on the curb or have you laid out on the sidewalk …wait for it…shook af!
#ILYBIL – is almost like a spiral down into the rabbit warren. The video speaks volumes without saying too much or even changing scenes. It’s all in that bar and a back room with insightful characters. It looks to touch on the dilemma of the Twin Flame concept. Also, you’ve got the cute mature couple who are enjoying their life in fashion, the JFashionista in the Tokyo Street capris and captivating spectacles casually minding her own business but you know she has all the answers as she’s seen it all before, the love interest to whom the main character clearly can’t commit because well…there’s a number of scenarios here. We don’t see any type of drug or addiction here…it looks like complications from ASD. Then there’s the lovely bartender who grows a third eye and we can only again suspect that it can be from a number of perception issues. Perception is one of the key themes of this video and it is brilliantly done. For me, it’s like looking at the answer to some serious situations occurring in my “waking life.” After speaking to so many other fans they too can resonate which speaks to the power of the band’s ability to do this on a massive level!
There is so much going on with only a whisper of the Good Man Smith and Sir Orzabal in a promotional frame. For me personally, the story hits home in regards to people so caught up in self-absorption they don’t even realise it or are inconsiderate to those their self-harm actually hurts. They may be medicating for legitimate purposes but they are killing everyone else emotionally as they attempt to live. It also speaks to the existence of people who seem to get in their own way – I actually met someone like that…wait for it…on the 5th of November long before this song was released. I have the proof. Not to mention that the dance the couple engage in has a level change that is unique to a particular partner dance from my culture – again, I’m just shook! This whole video and its messaging has eerily and yet comfortingly (probably not a word) hit home for me in a way that makes me feel we are all spiritually connected more than any of us could ever comprehend. It’s like looking at a scene from my life from the past few years.
Each time I look at it, I cry, it’s hard to watch because it just gets in your head and touches the core. Everyone I spoke to locally and online says it is so relatable it’s jarring…again we are all spiritually connected and can resonate with these scenes.
What does this video say to you, do for you, make you feel?! These are just two songs from the coming album…TWO…brace yourselves guys…these upcoming concerts following the release of the album are gonna look and FEEL VERY DIFFERENT. Be ready to set up shop in the deep…they have turned that BIG CHAIR into a chariot ride into some mind blowing surreal situations by which many of us shall be touched. Gonna be a powerful and emotional clap section at these shows…
Now, we can’t deny this video is still unavailable to many stateside and that is excruciating and it feels rude even if it isn’t or directly tied to negligence on anyone’s part. So, Gwen – a wonderful and generous fan who stays in touch and continues her TFF Travel Fan excursions this coming year during tour 2018 – has provided this link that allows stateside fans to view it with ease. She is this month’s Travel Fan MVP!
Again, discuss, cry, chat, shout and let it all out…this album is about to take us places. Embroidered handkerchiefs will be available…
Thanks for reading,
AA, Tears For Fears Travel Fan Moderator
Tears for Fears Travel Fans 