Tears For Fears release their first ever live album and concert film, Songs For A Nervous Planet. It's a powerful blend of iconic hits and brand-new tracks, showcasing the enduring strength of their music over the past four decades.
Tears For Fears, the legendary British duo behind some of the most iconic anthems of the ‘80s, break new ground with their first-ever live album, Songs For A Nervous Planet. The album also includes four brand-new studio tracks, including the first single, “The Girl That I Call Home.”
Alongside the live album, the band has made a concert film, Tears For Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film), filmed at the picturesque FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, TN. The film will open at over 1,100 cinemas worldwide. For Curt Smith, this release feels like a chance to showcase a side of Tears For Fears that not everyone has seen. “We decided to film the live show last year (2023). I think a lot of people don't know that we are a good live band, actually! They see a duo, and they think it's going to be two people with a couple of keyboards and a bunch of backing tapes, and that'll be it. Over the years, we've vastly improved since our heyday back in the Eighties.”
His bandmate Roland Orzabal adds, “We’ve never released an official live album, so you could say this is an album forty years in the making.” The collection captures their electric live performances, featuring not only their biggest hits but also newer songs from their 2022 comeback album The Tipping Point.
The 22-track album features live renditions of classics like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” “Shout,” “Head Over Heels,” and “Sowing The Seeds Of Love.” But it’s the four new studio recordings that stand out, showing Tears For Fears are still evolving after all these years. Songs like “Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad,” “Emily Said,” and “Astronaut” explore themes of love, isolation, mental health, and escapism.
The album's first single, “The Girl That I Call Home,” holds a special place for Orzabal. “My wife Emily has been on at me for years to try and write her a love song. So eventually I did it. I was in Hawaii, I took my phone with me and every day I would sing over the backing track, many, many times. But I couldn't for the life of me, think of a title. Then one night, I went to bed and I did that thing where we ask the universe, ‘please gimme a hand, gimme a really good title.’ I woke up the next morning with ‘The Girl That I Call Home.’ And my wife loves it.”