Songs from the Big Chair

Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British pop band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK (where it remained in the Top 10 for over six months and in the Top 40 for over a year) and reached no.1 (for five weeks) in the US. It contained a string of international hit singles, including: "Mothers Talk", "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head Over Heels".

The album title was derived from the 1976 television film Sybil about a woman with multiple personality disorder who only feels safe when she is sitting in her analyst's "big chair".

The record remains highly regarded:

In the loping, percolating "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," Tears for Fears perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-'80s while impossibly managing to also create a dreamy, timeless pop classic. Songs From the Big Chair is one of the finest statements of the decade. [1]

Once the band had finished a lengthy touring and promotion schedule for the album, they took an extended hiatus from the music industry. In 1989, their third album, The Seeds of Love, marked their return. A companion video documentary entitled "Scenes from the Big Chair" was released in late 1985.

In 1998, MFSL remastered and re-issued the album with two bonus tracks ("Shout [Extended mix]" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World [Extended Mix]").

The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 1999 with bonus tracks, including b-sides and remixes. Three of the tracks ("The Conflict", "The Marauders" and "Broken Revisited") are actually from the The Hurting period.

The album was re-released again in a Deluxe Edition 2-disc format in 2006 with the full collection of B-sides and many alternate versions and remixes of the album's tracks.

All CD versions of this album have the channels reversed except for the MFSL. The vinyl versions of this album have the correct channel orientation.

Original release

1. "Shout" (Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley) – 6:33
2. "The Working Hour" (Orzabal, Stanley, Manny Elias) – 6:31
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (Orzabal, Stanley, Chris Hughes) – 4:11
4. "Mothers Talk" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 5:06
5. "I Believe" (Orzabal) – 4:54
6. "Broken" (Orzabal) – 2:38
7. "Head over Heels/Broken (Live)" (Orzabal, Curt Smith) – 4:32
8. "Listen" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 6:54

1999 remastered CD bonus tracks:

9. "The Big Chair" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) – 3:21
10. "Empire Building" (Smith, Orzabal, Stanley) – 2:52
11. "The Marauders" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 4:16
12. "Broken Revisited" (Orzabal) – 5:16
13. "The Conflict" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley) – 4:05
14. "Mothers Talk (U.S. Remix)" – 4:13
15. "Shout (U.S. Remix)" – 8:02

• "Head over Heels/Broken (Live)" is erroneously listed as "Head over Heals/Broken (Live)" on the remastered CD.
• "Mothers Talk (U.S. Remix)" on this CD is the correct version of this remix, but has had additional reverb applied to it. The 1999 remaster is the only CD on which this "extra reverb" version can be found.

Deluxe Edition (2006)

Disc one

1. "Shout" – 6:33
2. "The Working Hour" – 6:31
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" – 4:11
4. "Mothers Talk" – 5:06
5. "I Believe" – 4:54
6. "Broken" – 2:38
7. "Head over Heels/Broken (Live)" – 5:02
8. "Listen" – 6:54
9. "The Working Hour (Piano Version)" – 2:08
10. "The Marauders" – 4:16
11. "Empire Building" – 2:52
12. "The Big Chair" – 3:21
13. "Pharaohs (Single Version)" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley, Hughes) – 3:43
14. "When in Love with a Blind Man" (Orzabal, Stanley) – 2:22
15. "Sea Song" (Robert Wyatt) – 3:51
16. "Broken Revisited" – 5:16

Disc two

1. "The Way You Are (7" Version)" (Orzabal, Smith, Stanley ,Elias) – 4:49
2. "Mothers Talk (Short Version)" – 3:53
3. "Shout (Edit)" – 4:03
4. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World (7" Version)" – 4:08
5. "Head over Heels (Dave Bascombe 7" Mix)" – 4:15
6. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" – 4:41
7. "Mothers Talk (Remix)" – 4:13
8. "Shout (U.S. Remix)" – 8:02
9. "Shout (Dub Remix)" – 6:49
10. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Urban Mix)" – 6:06
11. "Mothers Talk (Beat of the Drum Mix)" – 8:54
12. "Broken/Head over Heels/Broken (Preacher Mix)" – 8:00

• Track 7 is labeled "U.S. Remix" on the packaging but is in fact a different version from the real "Mothers Talk (U.S. Remix)" on the original vinyl singles. The real "U.S. Remix" can also be found on the 2001 CD compilation Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears.

1. "Mothers Talk" AUG 1984 (IDEA7)
2. "Shout" NOV 1984 (IDEA8)
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" MAR 1985 (IDEA9)
4. "Head Over Heels" JUN 1985 (IDEA10)
5. "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" SEP 1985 (IDEA11)
6. "Mothers Talk (US Remixed Single)" 1986
7. "Everybody Wants to Run the World (Theme for Sport-Aid Week)" 1986 (RACE1)

• Roland Orzabal – guitar, keyboards, vocals, grand piano on 5, vocal styling on 8
• Curt Smith – bass guitar, vocals
• Ian Stanley – keyboards, vocal arrangements on 8
• Manny Elias – drums

Additional personnel

Dave Bascombe - Engineer

• Shout : Sandy McLelland – backing vocals, Chris Hughes - drums

• The Working Hour: Jerry Marotta – percussion, William Gregory – saxophone solos, Mel Collins – saxophone, Andy Davis – grand piano

• Everybody Wants to Rule the World : Neil Taylor – 2nd guitar solo

• Mothers Talk : Stevie Lange – backing vocals

• I Believe : William Gregory - saxophone

• Broken : Neil Taylor - guitar solo

• Head Over Heels : Sandy McLelland - backing vocals, Andy Davis - grand piano, Annie McCaig – backing vocals, Marilyn Davis – backing vocals

• Listen : Marilyn Davis – operatic vocal

Album

Singles