Many Happy Returns, Roland Orzabal!

Wishing Mr. Orzabal many happy returns in the year of 2025 and best wishes to he, Emily and their darling new baby, Eula. Lots of love! Quick throwback to 2024 when we had an online birthday sing-a-long with Lauren. We were so mesmerised by her voice we went silent in awe lol!

In honour of Roland’s birthday, many fans spent their summers sowing the seeds of lovely sunflowers. In addition there were tons of plants, vegetables and a huge harvest of herbs. It’s an online garden party! Special shoutout to Evan Gary Hirsch – The Blue Rocker, Lady Jenny, Andrea from New Jersey, Marlene in New York, Tamara Hanson – Lady Tam of Nash, Sujit of Japan and Craig B. who went all out with their outstanding gardens.

Curt Goes to Camp Out

Curt and singer Linda Perry from 4 Non Blondes sang to campers at Camp Out in California. This is an event that is hosted by Blazing Trails. It was awesome to know the attendees got a chance to hear Curt sing in person. We learned about the event about a month before it took place (thanks Danny C.)! Sadly, there was very little time to wrangle up a troupe of travel fans to be there and support the camp’s cause and incredible musicians. So we were thrilled they shared some photos online.

Curt Smith sings at Camp Out in California 2 August, 2025

Curt’s Interview with Vulture

Psych fans gather ’round. We trust you have not missed this interview but in case you did, Curt had an intriguing chat with Devon Ivie for the publication Vulture. It was a walk down memory lane that touched on the many episodes Curt was featured in during the Psych TV series from 2010 forward. It details how it all came to be. It also inadvertantly explains a lot about the pineapple on stage and James Roday mysteriously in the mix in the back of the room at McCabe’s that one evening. Remember that? Such an incredible night back in November of 2010. It’s all here in the archives and Curt goes all in with details of each interaction with the cast and crew in this specific interview. It’s awesome! The interview has a lot of Curt’s thoughts about the experience and how great it is to work with their team. Well worth working your way past the paywall for the read. He also drops some information goose eggs including forthcoming jam sessions with Roland after Las Vegas. Curt also noted the arrival of Roland’s first daughter, baby Eula. We wish he and good Lady Emily a lifetime of joy with the newest member of their family. Go ahead and read it for yourself. This one is a keepsake.

It’s filled with lots of really good information and glimpses into what the future might be like for Tears for Fears fans (e.g. tours, new music). True fans will enjoy this read. Be sure to check it out here.

Curt Meets Close to Tears

There are currently two Tears for Fears tribute bands that are officially within the Tearsverse. One being Close to Tears. They perform regularly and this month Curt got to see them live. Darren Hull, lead admin of the Tears for Fears Fan Forum and ardent travel fan who has come stateside to support the band, spoke to Curt briefly after the event and asked him what he tought. Curt said he was impressed.

Close to Tears have social media pages where you can follow them. You can find videos of their performance from that special night in the Tears for Fears Fan Forum on Facebook. Darren livestreamed for fans who could not attend. Very kind indeed.

Upcoming Tears for Fears Shows

Friendly reminder that the next Tears for Fears concerts are scheduled for this September and October at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. We’ve been calling it the answered prayer mini-res. Go ahead and finalise your travel plans if you haven’t. When we last checked, flights were reaching astronomical prices on certain airlines. While we think it’s best to stay at Fontainebleau so you can be on site and spend time with other fans without walking all over the place, The Sahara is also featuring discounts around those dates. The concerts are priceless but we understand all who have reached out with a need to strategise financially to make this work. If you’re having trouble getting to the events let us know so we can hop on a call and figure something out. We all want to support Tears for Fears and see them as much as possible annually.

View of Fontainebleau from November 2024

Frequently Asked Questions
What else are you all going to do in Vegas? Each hotel in the area including Fontainenbleau offer a ton of fun but we’ve learned from others they just want to relax. We have found that fans do not like to be bound by a day long itinerary. We also learned that they don’t like running up and down the Vegas strip. Fans want to get a cabana, have a few drinks and lounge til showtime as they chat about the fandom’s memory lane. It’s kind of like what we did years ago when Tears for Fears were at Sunset Station in Hendersonville in 2012 and Red Rock Hotel and Spa in 2011. We hit those cabanas hard…sunburn be damned.

Cabana Nights (and days) 2012 at Sunset Station. We were there for 4 days and it was incredible! Huge thanks all involved in the poolside fun! Thanks Captain Orzabal for putting us in his video with his then band DelaQ. “Roadtrip” was very special dream come true. Cheers.


Who’s coming? How do I meet Tears for Fears fans?

Fans will be all over the place. We don’t have a set schedule of meetups for the series. TFF fans have been pretty open and fast connecting during the mini-res. As mentioned in Q2, there’s the designated space where fans spend time together – around 5-7pm PST in the Fontainebleau Food Hall. Prior to that you can find fans at the pool and some of the numerous restaurants and cabanas. There’s also an incredible spa. Some will be in physical and music therapy as this is a time of healing for many.

Tears for Fears fans having fun in the Fontainebleau Food Hall

Things to remember…

Keep your passport, documents and ID with you at all times. Keep copies of the documents in a safe place in case the originals go missing. Make sure someone in your home town knows where you are and will notice you’re not home if for whatever reason you find yourself having to stay longer than expected when you actually want to go home heaven forbid.

Roll CallWho else is going to the shows?

We had a beautiful series of fans come in from all over the globe in the past and we understand and respect those that are chosing to stay home for reasons brought up in 2024. We are happy to know that we’ll still have representation from the following nations and states:

Evelyn from Austrália, a few from Canadá, one of our friends from Japan and of course the UK. We’ll also have fans flying in from various parts of the south including Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Northeast will be represented by Boston, M.A. and Connecticut and Maine. All of the Southwest crew is scheduled to be in town including all the major cities in California and a possible surprise appearance from an incredible Bay Area musician. As always let’s be friendly! Wear your astronaut pins on your TFF Fontainebleau tshirt so we can recognise each other.

Chris A. always representing the Tears for Fears travel fans as she goes from show to show around the globe!

Notable Birthdays
Started writing this on Kate Bush’s 67th birthday. According to an interview Roland was a part of in 2021 (where he got to detail his top 5 favourite songs) Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill made the list. The song is incredible and the backstory/meaning behind it tracks in so many ways. On her birthday, as a salute to that interview (which occured during a time we were begging for more Tears for Fears in the year of Covid uncertainty and the dawn of misinformation taking over the world) we went down a path that gave details on every one of her songs and albums. It was incredible. If you’re into Kate Bush appreciation the way Mr. Orzabal and the rest of us are…you’ll want to see this. The BBC first published it in 2014.

Tears for Fears get a mention of course… “The willingness to be quiet until it’s time to speak.” 50mins-59mins

Lady FP’s day

Curt’s wonderful wife, Lady FP, celebrated a birthday on the 18th of July! We wish her an absolutely incredible year ahead!

One of our absolutely favourite photos of Lady FP and her family!

Shaun Smith’s Birthday

The awesome Shaun Smith celebrated a birthday on the 6th of August. Shaun is a highlight on Radio Bath and is now busy with the coveted Rock n’ Stroll tours in Bath UK where he leads fans, music lovers and tourists on an iconic walk through the city. Fans get to see where it all began for many of the area’s notable bands including his brother’s band Tears for Fears. Shaun has been interactive with fellow fans and is a truly incredibly friendly face in the Tearsverse. We absolutely adore him and appreciate all of his kindness and contributions. Wishing him an incredible year ahead! Be sure to sign up for a tour here on their site.

Happy anniversary month to the Curry family!

Our Cousin Jack and his good lady dear Dawn “Momma D” celebrated their anniversary this month. They are the original Tears for Fears Travel fans. They’ve seen the band in Germany at their earliest shows as well as multiple tours in the United States. They’ve hosted events and made sure fans were well taken care of on top of looking after them all year long. They are the big brother and sister dreams are made of and we appreciate them every single day! Here’s to many more years of love, loyalty and good health! We want all this and more for both of them. We love you Jack and Dawn!

Cousin Jack and Dawn “Momma D” – the Curry Family.
Tears for Fears’ first Travel Fans with Drummer Genius Jamie
in Texas

Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair 40th Annivesary Revisited. Tamara took the cake with her incredible adventure in Minnesota to one of the iconic Jake Rudh Transmission parties. If you don’t know Jake Rudh of Transmission you’re behind and missing out! She is our featured singer and fan highlight as we celebrate the anniversary of the album! Get it, Lady Tam! Sing it sister!

Our dear Angela C. also had a fun superfan moment. Sing it, Lady Ange’!

Toddlers for Tears for Fears

The demographic for Tears for Fears fans crosses and blends generations. We have fans from 9 to 90 who come to shows with their families. For a lot of us, we were toddlers when Tears for Fears were singing from that big chair. Now they’ve made room for us and we’re making room for more. It’s incredible to see the children singing along word for word at the concerts. That used to be us! So shoutout to all the kids learning the lyrics and happily humming to Humdrum and Humble, Mad World and of course, Shout! Sing it Grayson! *This is Lady Tamara’s nephew. He loves Tears for Fears! He’s one of us!

The Pilgrimage

Several fans went to Bath recently. We refer to holidays like this as taking the pilgrimage. Bath is the most important city to us in the Tearsverse. As shown in past posts, large numbers of fans go annually to visit the city. Happy that we have officials to take us around in future with the Rock n’ Stroll Tour. Megan A. got video and Amanda BT even went out in the rain to capture clips of some of the city’s iconic areas. You can easily spot them in her photos. Slice of pizza anyone?

Huge thanks Megan and Amanda for sharing these with us! What an incredible holiday in Bath!!

Keeping up with the Kids

Raoul Orzabal has won yet another award for his art. Have a look at this!

Raoul Orzabal’s latest winning art piece


Lady Diva Smith had a show recently. If you’re in the New York area, you’ll want to keep a look out for opportunities to see her live. She’s an incredible singer if you didn’t know by now.

Diva Smith in Performance in New York July 2025

Bands Among us

Michael Roland Magno or “Magno” as we in the fan world like to call him, has a new song out. It’s called “I’ve Got You.” Be sure to give it a listen and share. He’ll be playing at the Songwriters Festival in Pensacola Beach next month and is a weekly featured musician at many top tier spots in Atlanta, Georgia – the awesome city he calls home. We appreciate him for coming to concerts with us and always singing and sharing Tears for Fears music at his events! Also enjoy London is Calling…

Soul Twin Messiah has new songs as well. You can find them on YouTube and our Spotify playlist. We’ve spent many hours blasting their music in rotation with Tears for Fears’. Their recent one, Pebble in the Pond, is a salute to Grateful Dead. Many know that we get our inspiration of ongoing travel to support musicians from the Deadheads. So, this song hits home…


In addition to music, these guys will help you sort out your life. They’ve got an incredible focus on alternative ways of living and finding a “better way to be.” Check out this one that touches on rethinking the idea of care and caretakers. S.O.U.L. Documentary video:

One part that stood out was the idea of officers of the law being caregivers. This was something brought up many years ago (early 2010s) when the idea of reimagining “establishing greater peace in one’s home country” was beginning to brew. It’s great to see conversations like these and thought leaders plus influential musicians discussing reimagining “care.” It’s also nice to hear them talking about teaching others in high stress jobs that deal with the public how to care for themselves. We’ll be discussing their music and all we’ve learned from them in this past year (it’s been a year already) during our fan sessions online. This will take place on Zoom calls and any time we get together in person. Looking forward to these helpful and healthy dialogues that have been beyond uplifiting!

Lauren’s Lovely Pen Alchemy

Speaking of uplifting! Did you attend Lauren’s workshop this month?! If you didn’t, you missed out! Be sure to join Lauren’s Pen Alchemy program. She’s been lovingly leaning in and giving us her time. We spent just over an hour with her on the 3rd of August where she walked us through guiding principles and ways to help us identify areas for learning and growth. It was such an incredible experience that led to some deeply needed conversations and rekindling of friendships. We owe her a lot for just “being there.” It’s not everyday you get to have, we dare say, a therapeutic moment with one of your favourite musicians. Don’t miss out. Join Pen Alchemy and get invovled!

Substack articles (in progress):

Speaking of discussions and extended conversations… we, like several other long time social media users, have moved on from Meta products. We’re now on Substack. It provides a space for us to explore topics and connect on a less superficial level. We like getting into the nuts and bolts behind the scenes. Notice we didn’t say private lives. We’re not a gossip column and the only tea we’re spilling is the kind you can actually drink (Thank you, Lisa W of TFF Boston). More to come in the next few months. Meanwhile check out this Tears for Fears fan throwback on the platform.

Concert Anniversaries

So you’re sitting there and all the sudden you remember where you were one year ago that day… and for us there’s a fun Tears for Fears moment to match nearly every day on the calendar! This quarter we’re remembering the following and so much more!


Acrisure in Palm Beach and Hollywood Bowl 1 &2 August 2025

Making a Movie with Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point Live in 11 July, 2023 | Franklin, Tennessee (near Nashville)

Bay Area, Orange County Fair, Sunset Station – Cabana Nights August 2012, Philippines & Japan

The Night the Tears for Fears Travel Fan Torch Was Passed – Tears for Fears Atlanta – 26 August, 2010 to Los Angeles 24 September, 2010 *Thanks so much Curt for getting us on the list at the Bardot Hollywood performance!

We also want to remember the fur babies that were lost at this time. We remember Tamara’s dog Lord Seymour, Lady Shirley of Garbage’s dog Veela and Curt’s dear dog Ivy Smith. We remember them transitioning over that rainbow bridge in August 2023. Their passings were almost back to back. We wish their pet parents comfort at this time of rememberance.



Huge thanks for reading and joining in the online Garden Party for Roland’s birthday. Be sure to post photos from your harvest and tag them #RolandOrzabalsBountifulBirthday! Follow the band on Facebook and Instagram @tearsforfears @tearsforfearsmusic

Cheers,

Tears for Fears Travel Fan team & Andye the Moderator

*If you have any questions about the information featured or wish to add to it, please let us know. Our editor team is on holiday and volunteers are limited so pardon any typos and grammar mistakes.


Tears for Fears Travel Fans Update Q2-25

Before we say one word, let us celebrate the Man, the Icon, the Legend. Many happy returns to Curt Smith!! He’s celebrating his birthday today! It’s such an incredible week because he also has his wedding anniversary on the 29th. We adore him to the moon and back. We appreciate him for making our lives, we dare say and we’re speaking for many, worth living! He has literally kept us alive in countless ways! Wishing him an incredible year ahead and lots of love, prosperity and joy throughout 2025 and beyond! It is a struggle to refrain from writing him everyday to tell him how much we appreciate him. Seriously! He just goes all out. Sweet children, wonderful wife, very kind brothers; the Smith family is where it’s at! When he and Roland walk out on that stage, life just reaches another level of awesome! Wishing them all a great year ahead and super happy birthday to Mr. Smith! Infinite love for him!!!

Kinda don’t need to put this here because most of our subscribers already know that Tears for Fears are returning (just like Roland said back in February) to Fontainebleau in September and October of this year.

Tears for Fears will be performing a total of 6 shows (3 in September and 3 in October). Tickets went on sale the day after the announcement with the official Artist Presale taking place on the 4th of June. Suprisingly, there were not a lot of issues grabbing seats this time. About three people reported the usual struggle with credit card companies suddenly freezing accounts expecting fraud (you’d think the system would stop flagging the purchases by now given all we do is buy concert tickets, pay healthcare/healthclub fees , plane rides and groceries). We counted three complaints on Instagram and one on Threads. Otherwise, it was a decent experience. Gargantuan thanks to Tears for Fears for making Artist Presale a very reasonbable price of $217-$500 after taxes and fees. Platinum, from what we saw on the concert map, is not part of the APS. Those prices are currently in the 700s to 1000s+. We do have one second row center seat available on the 25th of October (a Saturday) if anyone is interested. It is well under the current resale prices.

We expect that this show will feature the new music from Songs for a Nervous Planet. We have a set list floating around for those that want to be familiar with the music ahead of time…that’s a thing we do. We like to know up front so we can sing with the band and let them know we appreciate their work.

This was sent to us from the stage. Don’t mind the blur. We have copies of this if anyone needs a clear one. Before the show starts the stage area is very blue and it glows with this hue. Set lists are placed all over in strategic areas. We do not know if this is the one the band will use for the Autumn 2025 shows but this is the set that was rehearsed for the Fontainebleau 2024-2025 mini-res. Fans have begun putting in requests for David Moyer to return and play The Working Hour. There’s also hope that Quiet Ones stays on the list and perhaps Change will get slipped in there as well. Hardcore fans are also saying Tears for Fears could sit there and read the phone book and they’d be just as happy. We feel ya on that! Several can’t wait for story time.

Should You Go? Again? Yes, here’s why…

It is a straight forward opportunity to stay in an exceptionally nice venue, attend an indoor show free of the troubles of outdoor challenges such as possible rain and excessive heat. In both 2022 and 2023 we experienced some weather related issues (e.g. Texas) that left a few fans saying they would not be returning to certain venues. It’s also a chance to see Tears for Fears multiple times in one place vs. literally scrambling to get back to the hotel and rush to the airport the next morning or attempt to drive overnight to the next city to be on time. We’re so grateful that this curated event gives many a chance to really relax and play for several days. If you’re having issues with attending and need some help, reach out and let us know what your challenges are so we can work through it with you and help find a solution. Fair warning we do conduct extreme logistics to make it possible.

A note from the Moderator – Andye Mod

In our most recent update here in the archives, we were just about to board the plane to go to Las Vegas for the second part of the Tears for Fears mini-residency at Fontainebleau. Let me interject that after the long week there in February, some of us read the entire history of Fontainebleau and it’s not pronounced as one globalist might assume. It’s actually “fountain blue.” It’ll always be Fontainebleau to me but I digress…

Several of us went for pure music therapy with medical teams in tow. Boy were they needed! Soon as we touched down and got settled, text messages came in about people arriving ill. I will save you the details of their graphic sickness but whatever was going around affected a lot of people. I went forward with the dinner party (same menu as last time) minus a few key folks. We discussed our topic of the quarter which is “what is the craziest thing you’ve done to get to a show or extend your time on a Tears for Fears Tour?” Right now, Lisa and Elana take the cake!

We also discussed the music of the many musicians in the fold including Lady Lauren’s new album, the songs on which she’s been featured past and present and her fun online gatherings through the Affirmations series. Fans spent a good two hours discussing the ins and outs of the songs and goings on of Soul Twin Messiah. We took a peek at Mr. Orzabal’s pal, Julian Lennon’s, latest and Mr. Lennon’s health update. It was quite a loaded late night of fun.

Big kudos to long time fans from Tears for Fears Boston, San Francisco and Nevada for spending so much time with everyone after super long drives, 5+ hour flights and workdays. It made that incredible bed feel all the more comforting. Speaking of, Lady Diva Smith stayed at Fontainbleau with her sweet bunny in tow. We adore that beautiful bunny on the blanket!

Shoutout to all who brought their bunnies and plushies to the residency. We need to do a gallery of those!

Her mother, The Good Lady Frances – Lady FP was there as well. So cool to have them around. They are so awesome. Yes, I brought an extra pair of TB earrings for the occasion. #iykyk

31 January Show

The first night was stellar. I learned later during one of the late night chats that the band records their work. I’m not sure exactly what that means and me being the non-nosy parker will not be asking. However, they have a playback of their show and I imagine from my own experience in music and media since age 13 that it’s to listen out for any issues or things that may need correction. Either way, they sound phenomenal to me. Though Curt jokingly pointed out some snaffoos. Of course, we in the audience barely noticed the issues he noted. We were just happy to be there!!

We love these moments…they could talk all day and we’d be thrilled!
(e.g.”Tell us a story!!” – Andye Mod Atlanta/Duluth 2017)

It was a very crisp and clean show. Super smooth! They did gift us with a few stories and dear Mr. Orzabal confirmed that his good lady dear Emily is indeed expecting a child (see first video). We, in the fandom, are excited for them and look forward to any updates they wish to share but are not going to pester them nor their families (or Curt) about the status of the child. When they are good and ready they will let us know and if they don’t that’s fine too. One must remind oneself that a band offers a product of songs and that is what we pay for…anything else is a bonus. We got what we paid for…songs in a live show. To expect anything else is borderline entitlement. I’m saying this to myself as well ::turns off How to Babysit Like an Expert audiobook::

Curt was kind to let us know that he and the band were fine regarding the wildfires that broke out in their area. They were forced to evacuate one night and were able to return home the next. It was a hair raising time for us as fans because we were on the phone, Zoom and other methods of communication watching the fires creep near their houses. All kinds of fasting, prayer and a number of spiritual rituals were taking place as well as slipping in messages stating, “If you need to postpone, just do it. We’ll figure something out.” Lauren noted she felt things would be great by showtime but I personally wanted them to just wait and let things settle down. My concern was they’d be on stage only to get a note that something happened. Then they’d have to rush home to attend to it. Thankfully all went extremely well. Again, that first night was strong and beautiful. Very sorry for fans who arrived so ill they had to miss all the shows and fly right back home. Huge thanks to Fontainebleau staff who were swift to the rescue with all the medical attention needed to get people in a state well enough to even get on a plane.

Also loved Curt’s chit chat re: Las Vegas…

1 February

Early that morning after a gift of delicious gluten free bagels piled high with all the accoutrement one could wish for (Thank you Lisa and Elana), there was physical therapy for me and connect sessions for fans. Those who were trying to rearrange their schedules to get there were successful. Despite some Ticketmaster snaffoos and miscommunications we were able to transfer a lot of the extra tickets we had to fans who could finally get the time they needed to be in attendance. I’ll leave my Ticketmaster/Live Nation thoughts to myself and continue to say I really wish there was a way that we could pay the band directly. It would feel so much better. Again, for those who are always curious about the logistics and true cost of these excursions, we can have that conversation in our “financing a tour” Zoom call which is recorded for transparency. We still recommend having tour soup for a few months each year if you can stand it. *There is an improved one fortified with vitamins. We’re working on a tour soup cookbook as well. We’ll discuss it on Substack.

Fans traditionally gather in the Fontainebleau Promenade throughout the day and before shows…

That night after our ritual prayers before the show, we gathered and took photos. All around us were familiar faces (see what I did there?) and some just coming in from surgeries. It should be noted, come hell or high water, Tears for Fears fans show up! One fan in Germany dropped everything, got freshly tattooed and hopped on a plane to attend every single show saying, “I wish I had done this sooner!”

Fans flew in from Michigan, Toronto, Northern California, Florida, England, Minnesota, New York and several other far off places. These were fans who make it a point to always support Tears for Fears. A few did mention that due to the outcome of the election in November they were not interested in participating in anything in the states. They were protesting the nation regarding the historical comments made by certain members of the current administration. Those fans were missed and we hope that they’ll feel comfortable joining Tears for Fears events in the future.

Rumours & Thieves

There was rumour of one guy who allegedly waited until everyone was entering the venue then slipped in with the crowd. He had been watching an empty seat on Ticketmaster/Live Nation and allegedly was able to claim the ticket by using a screenshot on his phone? The usher allegedly didn’t scan it but just looked at it? How that is possible is beyond many of us. We can’t even walk to the front without getting checked. Again, this is hearsay. Someone told us after the fact. There were also some rather pricey seats on the front row center ($2500 resale seats) that two ladies tried to take. They had been watching the empty seats and went to the front just before the show started. A fellow fan let security know that those were not their seats and they were just hoping to get away with sitting there. The venue staff asked to see their tickets and both ladies just stared at him without saying a word. He asked again and then one of the ladies made the universal sign of “capiche” but that didn’t fly at all. They were asked to move back to their seats on the far-right side of the venue. The two front frow resale seats they attempted to take remained empty the rest of the night but you couldn’t tell because all of us on the front row were standing (except me from time to time due to this illness/injury). No one was the wiser.

My advice to resellers is to just stop. Those tickets retailed at $950 each and there were at least six that were purchased and put up for resale at over $2000 each…again, they all remained empty. Tears for Fears fans (many) literally perch like trick-or-treaters waiting on the next information snack packet to be handed out from the proverbial band candy basket. We know how much we’re going to spend and what seat we’re going to sit in long before it’s ever put on the map. Some of us have been sitting in the same section, same seat since 2012. Attempting to scam us out of hard-earned money that we use to go to these shows for our physical, emotional and mental health will not work. Try it on someone else, do not try it out on us.

A Kind Word From Roland

Roland acknowledged that many of us were attending all the shows. We learned from Curt during one of the coveted chit chats, that Jamie was so dedicated he decided to play on even after a very tough day battling an illness/bad cold. It was the heart of winter and, as mentioend, many sicknesses were going around. It’s a miracle he was even able to play at all. Again, very sorry to the fans who arrived sick after long plane rides and had to be attended to by Fontainebleau staff then eventually go right back home without even hearing one song. Thank you, Jamie for going the extra mile. That was surely difficult.

Jamie plays on! What a work ethic and a hero. Glad he got some great care so he could feel better! We were very worried about him!

While on stage, Roland told Andye that the set list would be a bit different that night. He said they were moving some things around (there’s video of that conversation somewhere). We didn’t know what that meant. He also asked Andye which of his ensembles she liked best, his dark suave jacket or the winter white that he wore in 2024.

“I think he looks absolutely smart in both but told him I love the white one. I said that so that he’d know the self-depreciating jokes he made about himself in October/November re: looking like the Ghost of Christmas Past didn’t suit him (pun intended). He looked more like a smoking hot debonair rock dude, not a “character” in any form or fashion. It was rather upsetting to hear him say that about himself although I know he’s just joking. Still, I want him to own his Righteous Rock Royalty role. He joked that he’d dropped blancmange down the front of the white jacket ::cue the dry cleaners please::. He could turn up wearing a burlap sack and still rock it like no other in my opinion! Werrrk it, Mr. O!” – Andye Mod

Carina and Lauren’s interactions remained a highlight of the event. We really love what they bring to these concerts and many of us are willing to pay whatever it takes to support having everyone currently involved to remain involved. They each put so much energy into their craft. Yes, we have heard these songs live already and yes we get a terrible tinge of sadness as soon as we hear the opening chords of Head Over Heels just before the encore because that means the concert is almost over. But my goodness, we wouldn’t give this up for much of anything.

We learned that it was an abbreviated show. A few songs were missing but it was still an excellent night. Several of us were just happy we didn’t have to go home yet. We still had several days of music therapy and a taste of what a future life with Tears for Fears will be like (*cough* TFF Music Commune of Condos *cough*).

Rock n Roll Respite

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th we were on our own to do whatever we wanted. Andye went to water and physical therapy, others went running up and down the Vegas strip taking pictures and some sat in the Promenade people watching with fans for several hours. Medical teams were still attending to fans and band fan loyalists were checking on Jamie making sure he was hydrated and healing. Our Lady Lauren had gone home to L.A. and was also resting. Other fans tried out some cool restaurants and iconic spots on the Vegas strip.

Craig and sisters Elana and Lisa – loyal fans of Tears for Fears that have been touring since 1985!

It was a much needed three days of rejuvenation and that’s what we’re hoping we see in the next “band fan wish” of a Tears for Fears retirement condo community. LOL. We have already envisioned it. Fontainebleau’s social team thought it was fun and funny. They even retweeted our idea of it back in November before we went home from the first mini-res. Why not invest in a little real estate owned by the band…we’ll be privy to random shows surely! We laugh but we do discuss the idea a lot. Some even cancelled desperately needed home repairs with the hope of the possibility to invest. Those nights knowing the band was nearby and we were just “living” in their midst was an unmatched euphoria. Bring on the forever homes! If Jimmy Buffet can maintain residential property for his fans (may his soul rest) so can Tears for Fears! Call the mortgage brokers, liquidate the retirement residential funds and let’s do this thing!

5 February Show Moderator Notes

“This was my 40th time seeing Tears for Fears in performance/attending a Tears for Fears event. It was also Jamie’s 15th anniversary with the band. I still remember seeing him in those early days…particularly 2014 just before the band played The Working Hour at The Wiltern… he came by and said a quick hello to those of us who’d been outside perched since 1pm for their 9pm show. It was gen am back in those days – we don’t miss that hard concrete or sleeping outside. Check out this photo I keep in my phone. Look at that smile. Bless him. 🙂

Drummer Genius Jamie was kind to stop and say hi (2014 throwback Los Angeles). In 2025 he celebrated 15 years with Tears for Fears!

I was in my 6th or 7th year committed to the travel fan life and I feel unbelievably fortunate to have made it this long. The band has seen me at my best and worst, sickness and in better health. I’ve made some good decisions and some pretty pitiful ones too. Thankfully they’ve been super gracious and patient through it all. I show up as much as I can. Huge thanks to all involved for letting me take part in all the pleasantries of fan life. Each show has been so unique it’s impossible to say which ones were better than others though there are plenty that stand out including the Hollywood Bowl, Oklahoma 2014, The Wiltern 2014, Brit Week 2012, being a part of The Tipping Point movie and these the residencies…which are a miracle and answered prayer!

Curt’s Kerfuffle of Kooks 2012 – Brit Week starring Curt Smith.
We’re all still going to shows!

I sat second row this time vs. first. I didn’t want to ‘be in their face’ like that a third night and possibly risk them getting sick of me. Craig, Lisa, Elana and many others happily persisted through as well having been there in November and for all these additional shows in February. We really gelled and it was good to see Danny, Mike, Yara, our Toronto family, Rachel and her husband, Hadleigh and her family and our dearest Christine and Shelley plus so many others in the aforementioned cities plus the Brasileira European couple that have been to every single tour since 1985. It’s a whole other world, dimension, time and space being around that kind of energy. I have yet to have seen anything compare in my few decades on this planet. I was born the year before Roland and Curt moved forward as “Tears for Fears.” I can still feel the energy of hearing their music for the first time as a child. I still get that same soaring feeling of being lifted right into the cosmos when they walk out on stage. They have elevated us to the euphoric realm of astronauts in outer space and I pray we get to stand by them for a lifetime.”

7 February Show

Craig, Joe from Toronto, Anastasia and friends from San Diego and Santa Clara were there for the final show of the February residency. Roland delighted in his third child on the way and there was a lot of support for this series which allows us to go to the band vs. them flying our way. A lot of us prefer it because it gives us more time and is easier to “go live with them” for a few days vs. trying to hop planes and follow them from city to city. We know many can’t go stay in Vegas for extended periods of time but when one looks at the cost from a travel fan perspective, this was the most economical set of shows we’ve had in a while. No, it was not cheap, most travel isn’t… but it gave us time to be together in a different way. They also nearly sold out yet again. That concert seat map filled up toward the end once the wildfires subsided and people were able to get their schedules sorted. Very sorry for the fans that couldn’t manage it due to the disasters. You were missed and we hope you’re doing better. Here are some snippets from the events…

Gargantuan thanks to the staff at Fontainebleau for the incredible hospitality. As always all our love to the band, their families and fellow fans who make life worth living…we mean that in every sense. The post show superfanitis was so intense this time, a few of us were literally doubled over in pain. Some could barely get through the day. It’s a situation.

Ending on a high note, the band did a very kind gesture of signing items for a fan who was up front. You can see that in the video. Thank you, Craig, for caputuring that. This is a rare scene so congrats to those recipients.

Deep Dives & Podcasts

There were two interviews that stood out recently. One was the conversation that Curt had back in October before we headed out to Vegas for the first part of the residency. It wasn’t published until Q1 2025. It is excellent! Here it is: Rock & Roll Highschool interview with Pete Ganbarg.

Then there was the one with Song Exploder. It was also a double deep dive with both Mr. Smith and Mr. Orzabal adding information that we do not have in the archives. The spirit of both interviews is very bright and you can sense a joy in the interaction between the three of them. Hopefully it’s still available so everyone can listen.

What we’ve noticed is these music shows and podcast hosts of late are doing their homework vs. asking the band about the same thing over and over or harping on that which is not to be spoken of… They are indeed focused on the intricate nature of the music, the deeper meaning, the behind-the-scenes production and engineering plus musical influences of their formative years. In these welcomed deeper dives we loyalists have been given so much more information on top of the incredible things that Dave Mason and Nihal Arthanayake gathered for us back in 2022-2024.

Blueberry-Pineapple Smoothie Curt

Curt attended PsychODelphia which is the Psych conference that may become an annual thing. He was reunited with his buddies James Roday and Dule Hill plus the cast and crew. Several fans went and notably History from the Big Chair was there and got some great photos. Journey to Events provided photos which are what you see below from thier IG. We hope there will be another Psych movie and can’t wait to hear about future conferences. This one was well thought out, highly accommodating from what we could see and also featured several symbols that those in the know would easily recognise and enjoy. Andye the Mod actually owned a Blueberry/Blue Yaris up until Tour 2022. That thing saw some shows (well, the parking lots of many shows)!

Songs from the Big Chair turned 40 years old on the 25th of February this past quarter. We all celebrated online and coincidence or not, thought we were the first to post a group activity, and no we’re not in competition with their social media team wherever they are, but we suggested that everyone contribute a video of themselves singing. We of course loved the video of Lady Tamara singing EWTRTW and having an excellent time at Transmissions – the incredible party hosted by the awesome DJ Jake Rudh in Minnesota. Much like the success of Richard Blade that helped bring the joy of Tears for Fears to the states, DJ Rudh has indepth parties that go above and beyond your typical 80s top 40 bash. He plays deep tracks from ALL the bands. We’re so excited our Tamara has a great relationship with their programme and continues to represent the Tears for Fears fandom at those events. Video coming soon!

Transmissions is the ultimate portal to yesteryear! Follow DJ Jake Rudh on all platforms!

The rest of us had a big slice of cake – all kinds: chocolate, gluten free cheesecake, cookies and then several sprinted out to the featured one-off of Everybody Wants to Run the World (yes run…it exists, surely you didn’t forget about this song) to burn off the excess of sugar and honour Curt’s iconic running days he used to share. Also celebrating a milestone are The Tipping Point in year 3 and the 45th year of Acting My age by Graduate. Artist Ade Beanhead Pridham created some outstanding art to match. Amanda BT has displayed a lot of it plus some other great ones.

Appearances

The Hurting was featured in the series The Last of Us – episode from 4 May. For those that know Andye’s involvement with that part of the television industry, she says she didn’t have anything to do with that. However, she does have their photo everywhere possible and is not the only fan in that area of the television industry. We’re all hoping that The Tipping Point movie does end up on a streaming service soon.

Tears for Fears’ The Hurting featured on The Last of Us on HBO MAX

There’s more…

Lady Lauren Evans has new music! She was also invited to sing the National Anthem again at the 15 May L.A. Dodgers game. That’s at least the third time she’s been their guest. Pretty darn cool.

Lauren also hosted her 4th and 5th Affirmations series – both of which included a sound bath for attendees – and will have had a 6th by the time this note goes out. These sessions are so good. She also sang on the 5th one. That was healing for several of us. If you have not attended one of her weeklong online interactions that culminates with the Afterglow Party, you should. It’s not a gender based event, it’s a harmonious session for humans and we love it! Participants get a chance to really sit down and look at their lives, their perspective and change course if needed with her guidance. We do not offload our woes to Lauren in these sessions but we do feel further guided in efforts to take better care ourselves. Lauren’s Affirmations sessions are highly recommended.

Affirmations series with Lauren Evans – follow @thereallaurenevans on IG for the next one!

She’s also opened her Pen Alchemy Academy which is suited for song writers. If you’re looking to write music, join it. You’ll be in good hands!

Carina Round

Lady Carina also has new music and hosted an online concert experience from her January 2024 shows. The package came with a lot of cool things and she signed (on camera) the vinyls. Several fans flocked online to enjoy it. It was an overwhelmingly incredible event in that she gave more than her level best. She left it all on the stage as some say.

“I tried to hold it together but ended up crying uncontrollably by the 42nd minute mark. Her concert was soooo good!” – Andye Mod

Hopefully she has another opportunity for fans to enjoy her music. She extended this one to the 8th of June. That gave everyone plenty of time to watch. But still hope she does another. She also has really cool merch. So for those that constantly tell us how much you like her, show her some love at the online merch table. Carina also had a birthday on the 20th of April. Hope everyone got a chance to wish her many happy returns!

Professor Doug Petty (read that again, Professor Doug Petty… mmmm dontcha just love how awesome it is to have so much education and talent in one band?), shared this cool gradutation photo. Many will remember that Doug teaches at USC Thorton School of Music. Yes, we tried to take his class but some of us are remote and we can’t seem to find that opportunity in the course options. Hoping to get into some music theory classes with him and anything else he’s involved in there …education is a magic key!

Doug Petty with family at daughter’s graduation on Father’s Day 2025

The Drummer Genius Jamie Wollam is sitting in a state of nirvana with his craft. We say that because how can one improve on blessed perfection like his? He has a lot to offer on his website and continues to be interviewed by music shows as well as share what’s new in his world. Be sure to drop some hearts on his Instagram profile and follow him there.

Jamie on drums playing Tears for Fears’ “Change.”

Charlton and Gootch share a birthday on the 13th of February. We really need to sit down to dinner with both of them and just listen to everything they have to say. We’ll have our annual reading of Charlton’s Book “Exit Strategy” in August (could do with a book signing to be honest). We’ll also be looking to visit (as a group) his additional media industry work that he completed last year.

Tears for Fears’ Band Family and Alumni

Oleta Adams celebrated her 72nd birthday on the 4th of May. We wish her many happy returns and lots of love as she continues to find joy in retirement from touring. We miss her and look forward to seeing her at other events.

Nicky Holland also had a birthday on the 20th of February. Here’s one of her solo songs that we all love so much.

The Marvelous Artists in the band’s family are sweeping and swooshing their paint brushes plus perfecting pictures with their pens. Curt Smith’s youngest daughter, Lady Wilder, recently did portraits for patrons at an establishment. They turned out absolutely super. Raoul won additional awards including RISE Emerging Artist and has been praised in the art society for his excellent and detailed work. Both Lady Wilder and Mr. Orzabal create worlds that you can get lost in for hours.

“I know I’m not the only one who has spent a significant amount of time meandering through their incredible designs and detailed work. You come out of that wishing it was something you could literally step into and maybe never come out! They create the most glorious worlds!” – Andye Mod

Lady Wilder was featured at the FineDayFair and created incredible art for the guests!

Curt’s eldest daughter, Lady Diva Smith, has released two new singles. Both are incredible and have been on repeat in Tears for Fears fan land. They each have videos that we love. She also was part of a very well conducted interview with B-sidestv. You can watch that here:

Rock n Stroll Tours Bath (in Bath UK)

Cool guy Shaun Smith and the beloved John Baker have launched their Rock n Stroll Walking Tour in the great city of Bath. As many will remember our Lady Tamara was privy to such a glorious experience that included a personal tour with the renowned Dave Mason of the media and broadcast industry. To step into history and take the path of the beloved Bath musicians we swoon over daily is certainly sacred. Fans are quickly queuing up for this opportunity. Be sure to put this on your travel list. They also were featured on Radio Bath. This interview won’t last forever, but here it is for now. If you come back in a year and it’s gone, we’re so sorry. You may want to reach out to Dave Mason and team to get a copy.

The Way You Wear It?

People are making their own Tears for Fears merch. It’s become a situation. LOL. There are rugs, bags and so much more. We do enjoy what the band has provided but we’re also diggin’ the phone cases that we’ve seen in the forum and in general. Thanks to those not selling their image and making money from it because that’s a copyright infringement and we don’t want to be rude to the band that heals us.

Musicians Among Us

Soul Twin Messiah released a really good golden nugget of a song called …Only Gold Matters Now and “It’s a Day Worth Imagining.” It’s perfect timing as the economy went bizerk at the time of the release. Not to get deeply political but good gracious it was a wild ride out there and this song was quite comforting in the midst of the angst. As mentioned, STM has a YouTube channel and they are more than just musicians, they are Tears for Fears fans and humanitarians among us. Several of us have spent many a night and early morning watching their content.

When we as fans are together in person we brainstorm and discuss how to give back and improve the society around us. After much research that began almost one year ago thanks to Sharron Foxx, another musician in the fold with great ties to legends in the industry, a few of us literally found the answer to many of the things we’ve been discussing…in STM’s recent work.

This quarter we suggest focusing on the history of how we got to where we are now. When one looks at the origins and influences of Songs from the Big Chair, a lot of people go straight to The Beatles. Roland has spoken in depth about SOL and in the recent interviews mentioned other musicians’ work that was in their ear at the time of production. Go back and revisit those interviews and you’ll “hear” songs like “Woman in Chains” in a whole new way. We certainly did! We have more of an appreciation for it now than ever before.

“What does this all have in common with our love for Tears for Fears? Counter Culture. I won’t go into the deep dive, I’ll save that for our next Substack article (oh yeah, we’ve moved off Facebook and on to Substack– details later). But take it upon yourself to understand the root of this music which can be seen in the videos that were produced by Soul Twin Messiah’s Evan G. Hirsch (The Blue Rocker). They have a library of videos regarding the origins of this change in society that no longer accepted limited roles, classifications for various ethnic groups and other things that were rooted in propaganda. Very grateful for all the work they put into their series…” – Andye Mod

In our next Zoom call we’ll be taking a moment to discuss the era, the timing, musicians and leaders who thankfully swerved society out of a chaotic future. Their efforts allowed a few generations to experience a time of enlightenment before we reached the level of absolute chaos we’ve seen of late. It’s important to remember these movements, their origins and why we still need them. Soul Twin Messiah’s core tenant is LOVE and we know Tears for Fears are all about sowing those seeds. Enjoy STM’s S.O.U.L videos and let’s have a conversation!

Also take a look at these great organizations Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and Marin Shakespheare Theatre. They are worth learning about and will benefit from support.

Gen Alpha Adores Tears for Fears

We have a number of kids in the fifth generation of our fan team that love to get involved with Tears for Fears fan activities. Some even play music. Bobby B-blaze’s son, Keanu Russell, plays lots of Tears for Fears at home and practices their songs using one of Roland Orzabal’s guitars! Kinda helps that he has a big brother named Roland as well. Check him out!

Tamara’s nephew loves to sing “Shout,” by Tears for Fears. Look out for him in the Q3 update on Roland’s birthday!

Sending lots of hugs to all fellow fans. Thank you for keeping in touch and checking in with each other. Stay well, be healthy, follow the band on Instagram and Threads. They do have a shadow presence on Bluesky but it’s not active. We have no comment on the TikTok account because we don’t know who is managing that. Big hugs to Garbage for giving Tears for Fears a shoutout on their latest album Let All That We Imagine Be The Light. Be sure to get a copy and mix it into your Tears for Fears band – fan family musicians playlist.

Post Haste!

Get your tickets for the September and October shows directly from Ticketmaster. We do not recommend using third party vendors. A fan recently purchased from a third party and suddently couldn’t find that party to deliver their tickets. Also, a recent festival had to cancel on the 2nd day. They issued refunds to the point of sale meaning those that bought resale tickets did not get their refunds. The sellers who already collected money for the tickets (likely at a higher price) just bankrolled. The purchaser on the other hand is out of luck. A rule of thumb, buy from the original source. You don’t need to be chasing people for your tickets. Try your hardest to avoid it. If you buy from a fellow fan, they should transfer the ticket immediately, not hold it until the day of the show. Also go ahead and book your accommodations now before occupancy fills up. Remember what happened last fall…the show sold out!

Fontainebleau is located on the northern most part of the Vegas Strip… it’s quiet and serene…

Word of caution for fellow fans, do not put your seat number and section plus order number on social media. It’s not safe. Just say you’re going and let people you trust know where you are sitting. Do not put a screengrab or details of your exact seat anywhere online. We’ll discuss why in our Substack deep dives.

Remember merch has been available through the app on the day of the show (both Oct/Nov and Feb). You likely will not need to stand in line but can order in advance and pick it up once the show is over. Then enjoy a seat in the promendae for the post show wind down with fellow fans.

Countdown to showtime starts now!

Safe travels and travel planning to fans from Japan returning as well as a long time fan from Sweden. Big shoutout to Becky H. for reporting seat corrections that were needed and not originally in order upon arrival during the 30 October show last year. She and a Fontainbleau staff member ensured that the sections were corrected so that everyone got the seats they picked and paid for…both are heroes!

Talk to you soon! Enjoy a slice of one of Curt’s favourites – Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake and Get ready for Roland’s birthday in August! Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

TFF Travel Fan Team Moderators

*pardon any typos, we’re still adding a few things but wanted to make sure we got this out on Curt’s cake day! More to come on Substack!

Tears for Fears Travel Fan Quarterly Update Q1 2024

Dedicated to the Biewen Family

Hoping everyone has had a great start to the new year. Last we spoke we were recovering from a wild weekend at Darker Waves Fest…let’s talk about that first.

photo from official site

Tears for Fears at DarkerWavesFest

The announcement for this show went out just as we were completing hotel bookings for west coast shows including The Hollywood Bowl. The general admission fee was a couple of hundred dollars and the suggested hotels were offering packages that were reaching into the 1000s for the full experience. Though our show budgets (and for some of us, medical fees during the tour) were reaching their limits, that didn’t stop us from making an attempt to go. We immediately got in touch with the ADA team – or reached out to them rather. No response. Then the announcement was made that they had sold out within hours of the presale. So…we were like, “Let’s just get a hotel room anyway and see what happens.” Some of us did, some of us waited until the bills from the main Tears for Fears tour were paid before committing to this…and some just couldn’t do it after attending multiple shows and flying to London for the Pryzm and BBC Radio 2 events. So we didn’t have our 85% rate of representation in that crowd but those that did show up did an incredible job of getting in a day in advance. They set up on-site so we all could experience as much as possible if we weren’t there. Shoutout to all you amazing fans who believe in this type of team work…cause that too comes at a price (monetarily and energy wise).

One of the biggest concerns was how do we get teams to the front to get pictures and do roll call so the band knows we even showed up at all? People flew in early, some waited until the afternoon and found a way to take their time and inch their way to the front. Do not expect to hear the best audio from the  videos that have been posted online. One can only do so much when you’re in awkward spots. The videos from most are incredible but they do not compare to actually being there in person and hearing the incredible output from the sound set up and work that goes into these stages (Thank you Sound King Bill). It’s another reason some of us stopped videotaping because our little ol’ phones (I don’t care what brand) do not capture the true sound. We don’t want to do the band a disservice.

Big props to Luis Vladimir Brenes who was able to capture the whole show. Some things to listen out for are the respectful crowd. They were quiet on songs they didn’t know and soaked it all in. We, on the other hand at shows, turn it into a big ol’ gospel sing a long, hands raised and praising the Almighty for the glorious songs the whole time. This was much tamer. Lol. Also, Roland sang Kanye West’s nicked version of “Memories Fade” to start the song and then moved into the original. His ending of “Head Over Heels” was  especially fantastic as he elongated the ending just a bit more than usual as it flowed into the best part – the “Broken” ending.

Carina was there as supporting vocalist and did the solo version of Suffer the Children. It was beautiful and we love that both she and Lauren have found a way to deliver that song so well in their own unique style. We’d love to have one version recorded featuring Lauren, one with Carina and one with them both singing it together. Just throwing that out there as I look around at my treasure of things we’ve asked for and received.

The Great Parts of the Festival

The wonderful part about a festival is seeing more than one band all in one place. From what we understand and from doing a video walk through with fans on the night before and the day of… the festival was right there on the beach. Right there in the sand. You had three stages from which to walk back and forth from to make sure you caught as many of the bands you wanted to see that day. Thankfully Tears for Fears were headlining so you didn’t have to give up one other band to go see them. Not so for The B52s, another amazing band with lots of Tears for Fears fans. The best strategy we found was to get to the DarkerWaves Stage just before B52s and stay there until Tears for Fears came on. That’s what several did, and they said they were thankful they did as they stood against the rail putting them on the front row.

This is the reality of festivals…some love it, some not so much. The plus side is you get to hear more than one band…if that’s your thing.

During the show, you could hear a pin drop during several of the new songs. It was quite a respectful thing to witness even if we were on someone’s phone watching remotely. After the show, there were so many who commented that they really love the new songs. In a private Darker Waves Festival attendee poll, Tears for Fears were right up there on the best performances list.

The Uncomfortable Moments – Typical Festival Issues

Not sure if this belongs in “the great parts” or maybe “the bittersweet.” Standing around like that from early morning til 9pm at night was a feat and it was also kind of painful (no pun intended). Roland mentioned it during the early part of the show stating that he knew many of them had been out there ALL DAY. He had reason to bring it up because that crowd might have been a lot bigger had several (like A LOT) not posted they were in pain and leaving after The B52s. They simply did not have the energy to stand around like that for hours.

At Shaky Knees Festival we were able to sit down in the VIP lounges until it was time for the show but even that was not as convenient as we were told it would be. Those lounges were nowhere near the stage that Tears for Fears were to perform on despite being told months prior they would be (the final schedule had them at a different one) and the lounge that was assigned to the stage had no seats! Many of us paid over $1000 each for those experiences as did these DWF goers. So… that kind of stuff right there can cause side effects on your concert experience. So, what did the DWF attendees do? Where did these people go? Several posted that they went back to the hotel and watched/listened to Tears for Fears from the balcony (as we had planned upon learning it was sold out).  

Gratitude and Wishes for the Future

We’re grateful that for the first ever Darker Waves Festival, Tears for Fears were promoted like crazy. On nearly every social post they made, Tears for Fears was featured, played, referenced and more. It was incredible. It’s beautiful that the band was the headliner! We won’t ever forget that. Like any first time festival, we and other attendees feel it needs some work. Logistically and price wise, it needs to be reviewed.

What we’d like to see for future from the Darker Waves Fest producers:

  • A reliable livestream option with a safe credit card or PayPal option – for a one-time purchase to view vs. an option that says “free livestream” but we’re taking your credit card info anyway. We don’t believe the live stream option that was floating around was even legit from the festival.
  • An ADA package – just curate something for those who may be injured. Separate entrance, separate viewing stage that is high enough for those in a wheelchair to see over the heads of those who are tall.
  • More water closets, loos, ladies and gents facilities that are reachable by a moving walkway. That long stretch of walking to get there …dude, really?
  • Seats. Let’s face it, we ain’t three year old toddlers looking to run around and roll around in the sand. Build a tent or something and put a limited number of seats with premium prices or ramps or something. If you’re going to charge glam prices, then give us some glam accommodations outside of the four-star hotels so we can attend these shows with dignity. There’s got to be a way to work on that. A line of seats in the middle and on the sides or sloping standing ramps because that sand surface left people who were under five feet tall looking at shoulders all day long.

Please take some time to look at the comments that were made. Here are several other experiences from that day and the general consensus is we hope that the band was joking about doing more festivals. Right now, as Gen Z says, “this ain’t it.

An introvert’s tale of Darker Waves in Huntington Beach, November 18th 2023

‘80s Nostalgia Overdose: I’m happy for all the folks who can say Darker Waves was a blast and can say “best day ever” and such. Good for them. I’m glad they had a good time. Me, not so much.

From Daniel K:

We got to the beach early as we were worried parking would be a disaster. The Darker Waves promoters apparently secured no official festival parking so it was wherever you can find it. Thankfully, we easily parked super close to the festival and had time to meet up with friends for breakfast before the big event! We were off to a great start. The forecast called for rain, but we had beautiful weather all day. All indicators pointed to “Best Day Ever”!

As a hardcore introvert, I’ve always loved introspective bands like New Order, Tears for Fears and the Chameleons. Darker Waves put together 33 “dark themed” bands all playing within a 10 hour festival. I felt super excited for this “once in a lifetime line-up”. So many legendary 80s new wave, punk and goth groups. Feeling good and positive, I was looking forward to a magical day of music, food, beer and fun at the beach. I understand choices and sacrifices need to be made at festival concerts so we picked our “must see” bands. In the end we saw about 12 bands.

We entered the festival gates early and walked the grounds. To our dread, the majority of walking would be on beach sand. There were no set pathways to get from one stage to the next. And disappointingly, the ocean was no where in sight. It was my dream to see this amazing concert at the edge of the continent with the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop. Instead Darker Waves erected an opaque 8’ fence surrounding the entire festival area. This gave the whole place the feel of a sandy post apocalyptic prison. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing until you pour in thousands upon thousands of obnoxious drunk folks aka, the people who were having “the best day ever” I presume.

Once the music started it never let up. With all three stages set up to revolve, as soon as one band finished, the next would start in a matter of minutes. This gave us almost zero breathing room to chill between bands. I guess with 33 bands in one day, that’s required, but it did not make for a fun and pleasant day of music at the “beach” for me anyways. Too many short sets on the various stages overlapped, which made it necessary to leave early or arrive late to the next band’s set. We could have stayed at one stage for the day, but we did not.

Trudging ten miles or more through sand all day will make your legs hurt! The Darker Waves layout was atrocious. Earlier in the morning we were walking around before the show and we saw a bunch of what appeared to be platform risers and rolls of astroturf. It looked to us that the Darker Waves set up was left incomplete. It certainly felt like chaos inside the fences once the crowds filled it up.

The beach is flat! Views on the ground were terrible. The VIP sections and sound booths were major visual obstructions. We missed a couple of bands on our “must see” list just because the layout of the stages were so poorly placed. We couldn’t get from one area to another fast enough through the packed crowds. Especially later in the day when this “sandpit from hell” filled up to the point where it became necessary to physically push your way through. Sure, I’ve been to many shows were you’re down in the pit and people are all pushing against each other. I have no problem with that. But when it’s an entire festival crowd with no clear path of escape, it’s no fun and a recipe for death. A drunk girl almost puked on me when she was being carried away. The festival appeared to be way oversold, to the point of feeling locked in and completely unsafe. Crowd control appeared non existent as far as I could see.

By the time the sun went down It felt like we were being sardined in at every stage. Beaten and deflated, it seemed to me the promoters did not care one bit about creating a positive festival experience. Instead it was about packing in as many people as possible and taking our money. Trying to enjoy the music, stay positive and feel good gave way to misery and spiraling darkness in my own mind. We ended up leaving early. At least getting out of the parking lot was a breeze. The festival title “Darker Waves” might have been more literal if we actually saw the waves, but it’s a great name to describe my mood at the end of the night.

Where there any good points? Yes, quite a few. OMD did an energetic 10 song set of hits. Human League sounded fantastic. We got to see the Chameleons do “Swamp Thing”! We met up with friends and made some new ones too.

But the bad stuff overwhelmed the good moments far too much for me to give this mess of a festival a pat on the back. I’m sure it’s not easy to put on a major event like Darker Waves, but I’ve never been to a festival as poorly thought out as this one. I know there have been far worse examples in the history of music festivals, but for me it was a personal low and major disappointment.

I started the day with high hopes and positive energy and had it squeezed out of me by sundown. To end on a positive note, best example of the worst music festival I’ve ever attended.

Would I return again to Darker Waves? Hell no!

A collection of thoughts and responses can be seen here.

Darker Waves Festival was a great concept and we’re glad they had Tears for Fears as the headliners…we’re always happy to see Tears for Fears invited, booked, featured, and praised for their incredible healing music. Those that could attend, did. Overall, we want to watch and support them in a dignified manner. Festivals will have to change their logistics and provide a more comfortable realistic format to match the pricing tiers so that we can celebrate great bands with glee.

Heaven bless Roland, Curt, Charlton, Jamie, Doug, Carina, Lauren, Bill, Gooch, their families and all the fans who are married to their music. As we told Curt long time back, we’re not going anywhere. We’re a weird inheritance. You’ve got us for life. May we all be able to enjoy this band until kingdom come and even after.

What else is new?

There’s not a lot of heavy music news in the Tears for Fears fan land for this month… in fact the past three months have been pretty mellow. The highlights were some of the fun things the band members got into. We have a no “personal shares” policy so we are not going to post the photos from Roland’s life, their excursions or Curt’s visits to Ohio to see his daughter and catch a riveting football (soccer) match but we will touch on some of music related moments for fellow band members.

If you missed Drummer Genius Jamie Wollam’s interview with N:SHMusic on Instagram, you missed out on a pretty indepth two hours with these great musicians. We learned so much…things we did not know despite being on the Tears for Fears train since 1985. We won’t give anything away. Instead, select the link and listen for yourself. Get a cup of tea, sit back and take notes. Some parts will have you spitting up your tea but hang on….and get a good look at Mr. Wollam’s creative space. It is impressive to say the least.

Moles Closing and Curt to the Rescue!

So, there we were online, enjoying our day…when suddenly we get some news from Lady Tamara and Radio Bath’s Dave Mason that Moles (Yes, THAT MOLES!) was closing. The number of teacups and plates that dropped could be heard crashing all around the Tearsworld. After scooping Andye up off the floor and fanning Lady Tamara back to consciousness, we were left in absolute shock. The good thing is, Curt Smith swooped in with the offer to rescue and help with a community conservatory. This could get the space open again and allow for musicians to play there plus support the staff that will help keep it up.

On 8 December, Dave Mason of Radio Bath conducted an interview with the owner and founder, Philip Andrews, to discuss it further. That’s when we learned that Shaun, Curt’s older brother, noted Curt was interested in supporting a Community Conservatory. Mr. Mason noted on the broadcast how those stateside were ready to roll up their sleeves and handle any administrative duties remotely. We’ll see what happens and hope that can all get straightened out. To lose Moles is like losing a relative. If we can keep that as a historical monument that can’t be destroyed or repurposed for anything but music, that would be ideal.

Lady Lauren with the Queen of Christmas

Some fun news did follow that cheered us up this winter holiday season. We learned that Lady Lauren Evans spent a good deal of time on tour with The Queen of Christmas (and Andye’s new neighbour more or less), Mariah Carey. Several posts from Mariah’s team featured snippets of Lauren living it up with her team. We’re so glad to see her having a good time! Sharron Foxx was able to snag a photo with her during their Ohio stop. Super cool! We hope to chit chat with Sharron this quarter on a group fan call we’re arranging.

Oleta’s December Show

As planned and part of the postponement, Oleta Adams, now recovered from a ghastly bout with Covid, had her December show in Minneapolis and several other cities. She’s already posted her early 2024 schedule and tickets are available. As mentioned previously, attending her shows feels like a piece of a Tears for Fears concert. If you love Seeds of Love and RATKOS you need to see Oleta in person. It’s an incredibly moving experience that will leave you soothed and feeling elated and elevated! https://www.oletaadams.com/

Carina Round’s sold out show featuring the full album “The Disconnection” was a success! There is one more at the end of the month in New York. It’s a can’t miss as this is a really powerful piece of music artistry. If you want to try to get tickets, check here. She added a late show because the 28 Jan 7p show also sold out. We hope everyone that has tickets can go and won’t be delayed by life’s challenges. There were a few of those that happened on the 19th of Jan. So sorry for those fans who could not attend because of that. Hope your situations got worked out.

Upside Down Clinic and Bandcamp

Captain Julian (who celebrated his 60th birthday on Sunday) and his music partner with the Upside Down Clinic, Jon Birch, are busy as they are about release yet another banger of an album. The first one is reallllly good. If you haven’t listened, do so today. It’s a perfect album to loop! They have a Facebook group online that you can join and get the latest on everything they’re doing. Check that out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1560020121198057

Graduate and The Korgis

January is often associated with beginnings and a restart of sorts. Well, two bands, Graduate and The Korgis, remind us of both. Members of Graduate did include Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith for a time. Though they did do their own BIG thing and create Tears for Fears, they continued to work with John Baker, one of the members of the band we know now as The Korgis. In fact, both bands’ members have continued to work together in very unique ways. John Baker detailed his work on several Tears for Fears albums and, as you may very well remember, was at the 2022 Tears for Fears tour spending time with the band, fans and family. It was INCREDIBLE! You talk about overjoyed and excited…IT WAS SUCH AN HONOUR  and full circle moment having him there. Can’t stress that enough.

The Korgis have a new album out and are very active online. They are a fun band and worth adding to your circle of Tears for Fears, Upside Down Clinic, Diva Smith, Quarterboy (Pascal Orzabal) and some of the other works that the band members and their family have been a part of (i.e. Dion Smith and Captain Julian’s earlier band Libre Stone and also Captain’s work with De:LaQ). The music is just unforgettable and brings you into a whole other realm of the Tears for Fears universe.

Raoul and Wilder’s Art

Wouldn’t you just love a nice exhibition of Raoul Orzabal and Wilder Smith’s art? Imagine a modern museum with amazing music (preferably from their relatives) playing along as you wonder through Wilder’s world and Raoul’s intricate pieces. They continue to share some really dynamic and deep works. Visit their sites and see which one you like most. Raoul’s are for sale here.

The Latest from Diva Smith

If you follow her online, you’ll see she’s singing in a variety of cafes and music venues. Her single “Bet” has vanished from Spotify but you can still enjoy it on YouTube. The songs she has been singing at the latest venues are quite nice as well. She’s got such an incredible voice. We can’t wait to see what she does next!!

A Tale of Two Stephens

Stephen K and Stephen M are both active members of the Tears for Fears Travel Fan team and forum. They have clocked their fair share of miles going to shows and being supportive of the band. Stephen K is local to the states and shared a really cool video not long ago in the fan forum. It was a clip of Tears for Fears on PBS’ Reading Rainbow, hosted by the award-winning Levar Burton (known to many as Gordy on Star Trek). This was especially poignant for us as we watched Reading Rainbow as children and then watched Tears for Fears on MTV. During one episode of Reading Rainbow, Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers were featured. They are a spectacle of grandeur that is located in Los Angeles in the historic area of Watts. His story is quite riveting and we were thrilled to have passed by his famous towers while we were in L.A. for the later part of the 2023 tour. It was like being a kid all over again, reliving the good parts of childhood. Speaking of the good parts, Stephen M. received this incredible statue as a gift. It’s called “The Little Dancer Age 14” (created by artist, Degas) though for many of us it’s “the ballet dancer from “Change.”” How cool is that!? Who else remembers dancing to this song then stopping to step in time with the dancer in the video? Ah childhood. Glad we’re old enough now to go see the band without a chaperone.

Speaking of birthdays, we’ve had some pretty cool ones of late. Roland and Captain Julian’s mother had her birthday in early December. Curt’s daughter Wilder celebrated hers toward the end of the month on 27 December. Then Captain Julian’s daughter Genevieve and TFF Travel superfan Moderator Andye had theirs on the 28th. Eileen I. had one on the 29th and as mentioned, Captain Julian’s had his 60th on the 21st of this month! Many happy returns to everyone!

Anniversary of the Kitchen Appliances

Speaking of anniversaries…so this photo is surfacing again…and from what we remember, it circulated about two months after an infamous post on the now obsolete Tears for Fears dot net. We used to throw out ideas and wish lists like crazy in that forum. This was long before Facebook – we had to bookmark the site and we hopped on daily and spent hours chatting with fellow fans and preparing for concerts. The site was managed by a now absent moderator and she likely loathed several of us for all the wild ideas we brought forth…one being the suggestion that Tears for Fears have an estate sale. We mentioned them selling everything from saltshakers to socks. Andye brought up a toaster and discarded footwear. Roland didn’t find it funny at all. He made a mention of it in a response that went something like, “Yeah after I auction off my socks…and if you believe that…” or something to that nature. Conservative fans who didn’t put up with any type of jokes or fun were quick to dismiss the ideas as horrible and completely unworthy of being mentioned in such a sacred space. Roland did auction off a pair of jeans from the tour later on. As far as Andye is concerned, bring on the toasters! “I got a fiver on it! No, make that $500!” We gotta have a little fun sometimes.

Your Concert Health – tools to make it better

What’s not fun is missing out on concerts if you’re sick. We know that our bodies change over time and no amount of exercise and eating right can stop the inevitable weird things our systems are prone to do or develop. One way we have found to stay well is through deep tissue massages, keeping inflammation down and of course watching what we eat. Sure, we love a big bag of skittles in honour of Curt but we’re not having a bag a day (at least not anymore…that was high school lol). If you’re having trouble with your health, inflammation or feeling just awful, consider music therapy and non-inflammatory sprays like TheraPainPlus. That’s what got Andye through the summer and, for those following along, she’s now in remission for some of the ailments developed in recent years that left her in the wheelchair many saw her being pushed around in during the tours. If you’re not feeling well, don’t suffer alone. Reach out, let us know what’s going on and we’ll direct you to the therapists and physicians we’ve used within the circle of the Tears for Fears fans that may be able to help. We wish everyone a great year ahead and we’ll be back on with more band land news in the coming months or sooner!

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow the band’s official account on the following platforms:

@tearsforfears @curtsmith on Facebook and Twitter

@tearsforfearsmusic @curtsmith on Instagram

For fan travel info @papasfans on Twitter, TFFTravelFans on Instagram

Tears for Fears Travel Fans’ Quarterly Update

Dedicated to the birthday week lovelies, Lady Wilder Smith and Young Lady Vivi Orzabal, plus dedications to the Curry family and Radio Bath who have been super supportive of the band and Travel Fans worldwide!

!!SO MUCH GRATITUDE!!

We got more than we asked for or expected from the band in the fourth quarter. The new music, more new merch, great notifications, email, reminders, tour schedule and the requested ticket options were incredible to say the least. These gifts were followed by a number of truly impactful and touching interviews with Roland and Curt. Big shout out to Gwen of TFF UK for often making sure we had those interviews as soon as we woke up. As far as the year goes, we had a ton of great gifts from the band’s families as well. Be sure to revisit their music and art noted in the Q2 & Q3 updates of this site. Shoutout to the Curry family for providing some great pieces from Raoul Orzabal’s artwork. Truly extraordinary! Also, big high fives to the families who bought their children tickets to the shows! There were lots of cool photos of kids getting their concert tickets for their birthdays and as holiday gifts. Proves how multigenerational the band is as we’ve noted for several years now.

The Second Single

Most of you have already heard it and play it often. For those that haven’t, it’s called ‘No Small Thing’ and as much as it has excited many, it has also flustered some. Thankfully, for most it was a “wow, they went there, good on them” moment. Not going to sit here and act like everyone embraced it immediately. After watching and reading comments for several days after it was released, here’s what several of us noticed. There were a number of men who said they didn’t “get it.” They questioned why the band did not (in their opinion) produce a “catchy pop song with a hook.” Dudes, since when have Tears for Fears produced music for superficial reasons? For some of us, we feel just producing pop for pop’s sake is a cheap distraction. Instead, the guys gave us a rich and bold song that acts as a mirror to look at ourselves – be we the problem or part of the solution (and or, may we dare say, the picked on – which in itself can make one think of how one can improve one’s situation). The song shows us who we are as a global community. This is what Tears for Fears have done so eloquently, in their way, for years.

It’s a very strong song and just like Darren Hull, moderator of the Tears for Fears Fan Forum says, (paraphrase) “get a good headset and have a listen – it makes all the difference.” And it does. The song is what you’d want in a strong smart global leader. If humans could embody this song, we’d be close to Utopia.

It came at a very auspicious time, as with The Tipping Point. The 3rd of December is a very tough day for a few fans. It’s the anniversary of family members’ passing, our condolences. The song thankfully comforted several of those individuals experiencing loss and we’re all just taking a moment to accept we’re in the middle of a world at a crossroads. We hope the band will include this song on the tour. We all need a moment of reflection as we enjoy our freedoms – or what’s left of them. *Several pieces of imagery in the song feature photos that coincidentally reflect recent laws that have caused major issues for some citizens or in some cases were created to protect the freedoms of others. The reactions that followed the song’s release revealed a lot about certain individuals – some of whom we may need to just stay away from because the root of their “anger” was inequality and that’s not the way of TFF or their music. Thankfully, as the weeks went on, posts emerged noting how people play the song daily, or in the morning and how it is the first song on their minds at the start of their day…and, by miracle, a lot of former critics said… “We get it now and we love it!” Thank goodness.

The Tickets & The 2022 Tour

We examined things that went well with the ticket buying process and things that may need to be addressed. The prices for the tickets ranged from the low $100s up to $495 before taxes and fees. The higher end tickets included some great incentives such as VIP entrance, lounges for some venues and the beloved soundcheck plus other gifts. This coincidentally matches a request made back in 2019. So that was a good thing. Many feel this offering will make up for the absence of meet and greets due to Covid. We can add this to what went right as we kind of got what we asked for two years ago. We got a presale code that allowed us to buy our tickets ahead of others. We did not have to fight with scalpers who often bought the tickets for $150 then drove the price up 300% on a third-party site. This also removed the need for those desperate to be able to see the band, from going bankrupt purchasing third party seats only to find out that some of them are not even valid tickets. It also eliminated the pain of sitting in a Ticketmaster waiting room one hour early only to still find that premium seats were completely gone. So we got a deal this year, gifts and great seats all for one price. Now let’s pray Covid and all its complicated restrictions are removed by then so we can go to the shows with ease and little to no anxiety.

So, what went wrong? Some fans reported they didn’t get the code until late at night. We don’t know why and we should really investigate what happened. Some thought they could only use the code once which meant they bought one ticket with the code and then fandangled a way to get tickets to other shows when they should have been using the same code for every venue. Many of us were online trying to explain to others and hopping on calls throughout the day to show other fans they can use the code and go to more than one show.

But overall, that code saved us! Would really appreciate that becoming a standard with the band and the ticket distributor.

A lot of us bought a lot of extra tickets because some just weren’t able to get tickets at that moment. We do recognise there was some sticker shock for some. Looking back at prices, $400 is the highest we’ve ever paid for a show in the past and that was 2017 when the guys tagged along with H&O (Shaky Knees $1000 each tickets were the exception as that was a 3 day festival with free beer all day). Knowing this, we have, as mentioned, purchased extra tickets. We distributed some already to those we knew needed a few more days. Here’s what tickets are left that we know of. They are all for face value, no one is selling for higher than they paid.

Reach out to us on Facebook if you need one of these. We’ll get you in touch with the original purchaser.

2 Orchestra seats for Atlanta

2 VIP for Cincinnati

1 extra non-VIP for Cincinnati

2 VIP for Cuy OH

1 extra non-VIP for Cuy OH

2 left side orchestra non-VIP San Diego (on hold)

2 center for Los Angeles

1 right center Los Angeles

2 VIP Irvine TX (Dallas)

2 extra Irvine

2 VIP Tampa

RSVP to the Show

Right now when you search Tears for Fears + city of the show you plan to attend on Facebook, it should produce an event page where you can note you’re attending. The purpose of the event pages are to help fans connect and travel together if they wish. These are fan generated event pages meant for fan generated fun.

Annual Holiday Song

Curt’s WamU video in Psych 3: This is Gus is the holiday song this year and it was so damn good, people took cold showers to calm down after watching it. That ice cream though… If you haven’t seen the new Psych movie featuring Curt and all his pals, you need to go watch it. It’s funny and you’ll be rewatching the ending if not the whole movie at least three times. It’s delicious! Here’s some behind the scenes chatter on it – minus Curt though, damnit – where is he in this!? And who is serving ice cream sandwiches?

More Music:

photo by Wiley Price of SLA

TFF Alumni member, Oleta Adams, had a great start to winter. She was featured in a holiday parade and also performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and IN UNISON choir. It was absolutely beautiful! Be sure to catch her on tour in spring 2022.

Michael Wainwright also has a new holiday song called ‘Don’t It Feel Like Christmas‘ and we’re super thrilled! Be sure to get your copy of that!

Libre Stone released a beautiful enriched black vinyl of their latest album Mark of Cain. It’s a real beauty. Like a black stallion horse, it’s got power and is an awesome album for a road trip. We’ll definitely be playing it as we get around town.

TFF for a Good Cause

The UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, Nordoff Robbins uses music to enrich the lives of people with life-limiting illnesses, disabilities and feelings of isolation. They are currently partnered with the band on this marvelous piece of art. It’s the audio from EWTRTW. The music therapist within the travel fan team, Deb, would be able to better explain how powerful music therapy is for patients. This is another amazing way to salute the band all while participating in a wonderful cause. It looks like all are signed and you can also choose framing depending on which option you pick. Be sure to have a look.

Next Steps:

So now, we count down to the 25th of February, an auspicious date. This is the day that the new album is released (and coincidentally the same date that the band’s SFTBC album was released in ’85). The Tipping Point will be available in full and our merch will be released from SandBoxLLC. If you haven’t purchased it, please do not hesitate because the album and merch might all be sold out by that time. Go ahead and grab your tour couture and garb now!

Also take time to listen to the interviews. There are many and they are so important to understanding the roots of the band if you have, for some odd reason, never done that deep dive. You will love them more and feel closer to your fellow fans as we surge forward in support of the band’s extremely healing work. Here are a few of the ones that really stood out:

Consequence of Sound

Consequence of Sound – a second one

#474 Greatest Music of All Time Podcast

NME

SDE – on how Tipping Point unlocked the whole album

Tape Op

The Creative Independent

The Stereogum

Rolling Stone

The New Cue

Rocksonteurs

Retropop Magazine

Ken Bruce – BBC2 (all week featured Curt Smith from 2-7 Jan, 2022

My Turning Point

Fans’ Reality

We have to understand we have a bit of a threat on our hands. While many are so eager to get the vaccine and said they’ll get as many vaccines as necessary, some people can’t do that. For medical reasons and more, some just aren’t physically able to take the current Covid vaccine. There’s also questions about the health and safety of vaccines and how many are too many. Therefore, a lot of Covid testing has to take place if current venue rules stay in place. Prior to the show, those without the vaccine(s) have to be tested and if they are positive they are mandated to rush away and isolate. What a heart crushing and horrible thing to endure. If you are for whatever reason testing positive (Vaccinated or not) you can’t enter most venues as of now – we hope that as this virus goes away the rules will change. Because, here’s the deal, you spend all that money on a great seat, you’ve got your tour couture on and all of the sudden you can’t even enter and are sent away like an outcast? We get it…health and safety first. We want everyone to be able to get to the show and actually get in. So, for now, consider isolating and testing two weeks to a month prior to the show. Make sure you’re in best health (take your vitamins, exercise, sweat in a sauna, eat more veggies, etc.) and ensure that you are travelling with healthy people. If you have to take a flight, be sure to wear a mask or maybe rent a car, disinfect it and drive to the venue yourself. Our goal is to get to the shows and actually enter, Covid free and spend the summer together.

Meanwhile, please know that we’ve got some great moderators out there in a few groups. Shoutout to the fan forum for providing a free ticket opportunity recently. The Travel Fans were approached by Live Nation for a ticket giveaway but as with all things we get band permission first before conducting giveaways in their name. We’ll let you know how that goes. Right now, interacting with fellow fans on Facebook and Twitter is enjoyable. Yes, sometimes there’s a lot of repeat information and often the same songs and photos show up but the moderators have been great about deleting things that were previously posted. The Travel Fan team and the TFF Fan Forum will continue with the Tears for Fears Tuesdays #TFFTuesdays. We’re chatting and happily highlighting cool things from the band. Be sure to join in and interact with other fans!

Be good to yourself, be good to each other! Thanks for reading! Have a great new year!

Follow @tearsforfears @curtsmith @jameswollam @stone_libre @realoletaadams @papasfans @radiobathDAB

The Tipping Point …A Summary of the Single’s Release

Dedicated to Shaun Smith and the Friday Night Fry Up team at Radio Bath! Thank you for making release day a two-day party! THAT was awesome!

It’s been an exciting three weeks to say the least. First Tears for Fears win an Ivor Novello award on the 21st of September 2021. Then we get a single release of Tipping Point from the anticipated album whose title the majority of us who huddle daily had solidly confirmed as early as 2017…and really, there was hinting of it prior to that. Music writers were discussing in depth by 2017. Many of us have had a sixth sense about the album. For example, we took one look at Curt’s tweet featuring Cinta Vidal and her gallery and said, “That has a Tears for Fears feel to it…possibly the cover artwork?” And what do you know? There it is…

Artwork by Cinta Vidal

Many thanks to Robert for confirming our prediction the morning of the release! We were right!

Much like Libre Stone featuring Captain Julian Orzabal, Roland’s brother’s band, the guys came correct with it by having not only the CD ready but all merch in place plus the video. All dropped simultaneously and we lept on that immediately. Note that they obliged us by having their names down the side of the sleeve. They know we LOVE that! We always want the name of the band on as much merch as possible. Represent!

One of many official items in the merch store…

There’s also the Super Deluxe option which includes the colourful vinyl and the cd plus the bonus tracks.

Standard copy will include:

  1. No Small Thing
  2. Tipping Point (the single)
  3. Long, Long, Long Time
  4. Break the Man
  5. My Demons
  6. Rivers of Mercy
  7. Please Be Happy (revised since we last heard it sung by Roland)
  8. Master Plan
  9. End of Night
  10. Stay (revised since we last heard it)

Deluxe copy will include:

All of the above plus ‘Let It All Evolve,’ Secret Location,’ and ‘The Shame’

That Video! It was directed by photographer and director Matt Mahurin. Many thanks to David Wild for that confirmation.

Two of the first radio stations to announce that they would play the single from the album were Radio Bath in Curt’s hometown and BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball Breakfast show. Zoe had Curt as a featured guest. From what we learned from him, he was able to join the broadcast from his home in Los Angeles. While he and Zoe spoke, fans from all over the globe tuned in awaiting this moment. Fans as far away as Malaysia were tuned in and kudos to them. High five to everyone stateside who stayed up almost 48 hours planning and prepping for the moment. By 5am ET, we not only heard the new song, but had purchased our merch and shared the release on a number of Tears for Fears fan huddle spots (e.g. Tears for Fears Travel Fan page, Tears for Fears Fan forum, Tears for Fears Peru, etc.). From Facebook to Twitter and beyond, the Tipping Point single was spreading like wildfire to much praise and adoration. The random few who dared to deny its excellence were quickly shut down by numerous people including some negative guy who thought he was special because he had 10K followers on YouTube. That lackluster count was also shut down and he was left looking like a clown. Everyone else has not only applauded the Tipping Point but are writing about it within media and corporate circles.

“A fair number of corporate leaders in various industries got in touch with me by phone and text noting how much they loved it – including one from a certain famous soda company. I heard from colleagues past and present and made sure to share it with fellow media peeps. However, I do hope they are remaining vigilant in their entertainment news beat and will reach out to the band or management without prompt. I also plan to gently check-in with producers to see if they have any interview plans.” – Andye

Meanwhile, the print media in music has jumped right on it. The best thus far is The Guardian interview, first shown to us by Gwen of Tears for Fears UK. Take a moment to read it. It is important.

More articles featuring the band’s release:

Rolling Stone

NME Japan

Spotify has them on the cover of the Legends category playlist.

Omgahd, Like Where Have They Been?”  RIGHT HERE, THEY NEVER LEFT! PAY ATTENTION!

The number of people coming out of the woodwork on Instagram with this question is astonishing. The good thing is none of those people self-proclaimed to be their number one fan…cause if they did we’d need to have a serious intervention to bring them off that high horse. The band has been producing music and they have given us all kinds of treats and music since ELAHE. Curt was kind enough to re-release Mayfield AND put together an incredible bundle for us with candy and keepsakes. He even put a full long-sleeved shirt in some of the bags. If you go to shows you’ll see people with yellow bands on their arms, lanyards that say VIK and they’re probably carrying a bag of Skittles because that is the official unofficial candy of Tears for Fears. He also had several events in L.A. and was a featured guest at Brit Week 2012. There was also this album ‘Deceptively Heavy,’ online chats and promotions around his frequent appearances on Psych with James Roday and Dule Hill. Roland joined Twitter for a few years and released Sex Drugs and Opera: There’s Life After Rock n’ Roll which included a book signing at the Winstar Hotel show in Oklahoma. Then, there were 2 Record Store Days where we got ‘Ready Boys & Girl,’ Massey Hall Toronto concert. There was also The Greatest Hits with ‘I Love You But I’m Lost’ and ‘Stay.’ That’s not something to ignore, it was fresh new music! They did this ALL WHILE caring for their families – with pets, two children each, getting their now young adults to University and helping them with their careers in music and art/design. Roland’s wife passed and he somehow pushed through the tears and found a way to create steeped in grief. No, they haven’t gone anywhere. We’ve all been walking side by side this whole time…which brings us back to the article.

If you note, the article describes how the band is living their life all while managing a music career. Meanwhile, in fan land, several of us are hilariously in our “between concerts routine” …like birds on a wire we’re perched and ready with our packed bags, checking the time for the daily Tears for Fears fan huddle hour online, checking Twitter for official band member tweets, and putting away travel money so we can leap up and get to a show at the drop of a hat.

The Family Is on a Roll!

As mentioned in the quarterly update, Libre Stone’s album has arrived in the mailbox of many and fans are loving it! Be sure to join in the fun!

Andye has put this playlist together featuring not just (the) ‘Tipping Point’ but also the aforementioned that the band released since 2013. There’s also Quarterboy – Roland’s son Pascal’s music as well as ‘Bet’ by Curt’s eldest daughter Lady Diva Smith. Be sure to purchase their music and enjoy the Spotify Playlist so the analytics behind it all will capture our enthusiasm for their music. The algorithm will work that into featured areas of the site and more will begin to listen to it as well. It has also been advised by fan forum moderator and members that it sounds even better when you listen with a good set of headphones…like, the real deal headphones. Try it and see the difference for yourself.

What’s next? Curt is going to be on Psych 3 singing “Thong Song” with Mr. Hill. Get your cold water ready…just kidding. Seriously, Curt will be on Psych 3: This is Gus (The Sequel to the Sequel). The movie streams on PeacockTV on the 18th of November, 2021. Peacock is currently free but you can get a premium membership that is so worth it! Check it out!

Courtesy CD/Silver Kitty Twitter

And of course, the band noted that additional concert information and plans will be coming up in some weeks…so, watch their space, this space and subscribe to their site so you don’t miss out. We’ll be here with summaries but it’s always great to see that email in your inbox from Tears for Fears!

For those in the Tears for Fears Fan Forum, there will be a t-shirt coming out soon. It looks really good. We’ll discuss that more when the purchase link is ready. Thanks for reading! Enjoy your band merch! *Little tip – that merch might release before the cd…if it does then you’ll want to make two separate orders. One for the merch and another for the cd. Read the fine print when you purchase.

Thanks again,

Tears for Fears Travel Fan Moderator Andye

Follow @tearsforfears (TW) @tearsforfearsmusic (IG) @curtsmith (TW) @stone_libre @LibreStone (IG) @pascalorzabal (TW) @papasfans (TW) @tfftravelfans (IG)

Another BIG THANKS to David and Mr. Mahurin as well as Shaun Smith and team at Radio Bath!!!

TFF Travel Fan Quarterly Update – Q2

Summer is almost here and that means another year to celebrate Tears for Fears and their turn around the sun. It’ll be the guys’ 60th starting with Curt Smith on the 24th of June and Roland Orzabal on the 22nd of August. We’re dedicating every TFF Tuesday from now til the last bit of cake in August to celebrate their lives and contributions to music! We’ll have fun facts, travel fan flashbacks, giveaways and more!

The Tears for Fears Travel Fans and the TFF Fan Forum have already started with some cool gifts and trivia. Be sure to join the forum for daily discussions. Congrats to the most recent winners including those who guessed which two songs from ELAHE had not been performed live. That was a tough one! Be ready to answer questions like these and get entered to win some pretty cool keepsakes and merch. Big TFF high five to Craig, Mary, Lisa and Pam on their recent wins as well. Craig won an autographed Seeds of Love Album and Lisa won a digital copy of Roland’s book, SDO. More to come!

Rockin’ n’ Rollin’ with Radio Bath

There are a lot of people involved in keeping the legacy and life of the band alive and well despite this past year of extended pauses for musicians and shows worldwide. Radio stations like Radio Bath and their Friday drive time led by Shaun Smith (yes, he’s Curt’s Brother) have kept us energised and excited about music past and present in addition to sharing the band’s music with multigenerational audiences. Radio Bath provides a classic radio experience that many of us who were toddlers in the 80s and 90s will remember. Back then, you turned on the radio and the DJ decided what would play along with a long list of requests from listeners. The cool thing about Radio Bath (located in the band’s hometown) is you actually get to hear the songs you requested. Each time we’ve requested a song – be it during New Years or a random Friday afternoon – it gets played. One of their loyal listeners is our very own super travel fan, Tamara Hanson, author of BunnyLou’s Adventures. She tunes in not just on Fridays but throughout the week. She’s great friends with the Friday Night Fry Up team as well – another absolutely awesome show that features the music you want to hear! We’re beyond grateful for the radio station and encourage you to click here and listen as you catch up on band land news. We’ll have that link at the top of the menu for fans to listen to while they visit the site and enjoy photos and information from the archives. You can also listen throughout the week, get to the know the team and have a blast!

Well Done, Diva!

While we await the new music from Tears for Fears, their children sure are taking care of the waiting aches. You talk about talent…maaan, these young men and women are THE BEST! We’re pleased to say we’ve been serenaded by this single of Lady Diva Smith (Curt’s daughter). If you haven’t heard her new song ‘Bet’ take some time to listen and watch the video. She worked really hard on this and put her soul into it. It’s absolutely phenomenal! Congrats to her! We hope she’ll go on tour or make some appearances with the band next year. This was truly impressive!

Stepping Out’ with Janice

In addition to Diva’s great work we were excited to hear from our friend Janice Whaley, who collabed with Curt on ‘Trees’ a few years ago. She’s got a new album out and her single share was promoted by Curt as well. Janice is an inspiration in many ways and we encourage you to follow her as she is a pillar of strength and super talented.

Roland’s Sons

Raoul Orzabal Art is Available for Purchase

Raoul, has an amazing series of art that has won awards of which we’ve mentioned a few times before. Our moderator Andye received a piece of his art recently and it is stunning and large! It will be framed and put on display. “I wish I could wear it, it’s the perfect print for haute-couture. I’m obsessed with this piece!” – Andye

photo by @bendath – Pascal referred to it as an “accidental photo,” how brilliant it turned out.

And we courage you to continue to keep Pascal (Quarterboy)’s music in your iPod and music list. He’s just confirmed he has new music on the way. You can find him on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and more. He’s an outstanding artist that we hope will tour also. Heck, why can’t the kids just be a part of the show open as well? We’ll pay and we’ll enjoy it! It would make for a very long show but we are here for it. Bring it on! Diva, Pascal and an Orzabal art show in the background of the music…we’re ready to petition for that!

Captain Julian just finished work on a new album as well and let us know his new music will be ready soon, that’s exciting!

Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Orzabal!

It’s not often we discuss the band’s family as we believe in privacy but they did make the following rather public. It’s very special. Mazel Tov to Roland and Lady Emily! They finally got a chance to have one of their first wedding ceremonies. Lady Emily wore a lovely white gown with complimenting flowers. She looked beautiful! We’re excited for them. Following that were several photos and fun moments shared including a curious Mr. Orzabal with his camera taking pictures. He looks like he’s having a great time and a great life. We wish him and them well!

Countdown to the 60th Bite of Birthday Cake!

Okay everyone, it’s the incredible 6-0 (which by today’s standards and longevity is equal to 30 years young) and we want the band to feel loved. Be sure to dedicate a few of your Tears for Fears Tuesday uploads to their coming birthdays. Post your big wishes for their future filled with lots of success, love and hugs. If you’re posting a video we may ask to use it in a montage that will be shared with the band. All those tagged with #TFFBDay will be included in a drawing for a cash gift card – there will be two winners. One announced in June and another in August. *Video or posts referencing any type of impatience for the new album release will not be included. We encourage everyone to share their appreciation for the band and note one of your favourite moments in the history of Tears for Fears. We’ll have a great summer together celebrating the band’s music and legacy.

Big Superfan Shoutouts!

Brian W made this! We love it!

So many fans take the Tears for Fears 365 life to a whole other level and it is not going unappreciated or unnoticed. Brian Wenner created the above incredible four leaf clover tribute piece, Carbrona’s nephew Alex was seen sporting his Songs from the Big Chair t-shirt and carrying iconic sunflowers – he’s just a toddler but he’s one of us. Remember when we were toddlers running around singing the lyrics with loyalty like this little kid? Love it! We also want to send some love to Ski, Becky’s husband who has been supportive of her band loyalty. We wish him good health! Big hugs to super fan Bobby Russell who sends out cool texts to fellow fans from moments on the front row. He’s always giving us a much needed reminder of the fun we’ve had with the band over the years. Patty in California recently retired from her service with Marriott hotels. We’re grateful to her for answering all of our questions re: reservations and accommodations when we were planning events. Our Lady Gwen has created a lovely sanctuary with the sun and the moon leading – this is the best backyard garden ever!

Speak to you soon!

That’s all we’ve got this time around. It is crucial to do your daily check-ins and spend time with fellow fans online just to say hello. As we move toward 2022, being able to recognize names and do roll calls will help you have a more engaged fan experience. When we plan events and more, we can easily go down the list of comments, responses, likes and tweets and make sure we get you included in anything we do together. We never promise that Roland, Curt, Charlton and team are going to show up, but obviously they do often enough and you don’t want to miss that. Stay in touch! Enjoy the fan family life. Big thanks to those past and present who have made fan life so much fun! You are loved, missed and appreciated! Big hugs to our global fan family in West Africa – nations including Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Ghana, The Gambia and Cameroon! So many fans in those beautiful countries! We see you!

Before we go, enjoy this throwback video from Nick’s archives

Cheers!

-Tears for Fears Travel Fan Team (@papasfans on Twitter)

Follow the band @tearsforfears on Twitter @tearsforfearsmusic on IG @curtsmith on Twitter and @curtsmithofficial on Facebook. All band members and some of the technical crew have accounts. You can find them online using their names. Charlton Pettus, Jamie Wollam, Carina Round, Doug Petty, Bill Lanham to name just a few.

*Travel fan activity moderator is Andye Andinha @andyeisthenews on Twitter