Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith started the new wave group History Of Headaches in 1981. The band loves to be inspired by successful artists Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel. Soon they changed the band’s name to Tears For Fears. The duo will also be joined by keyboardist Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Eliias. The success of Tears For Fears is not so clear-cut. The band was not taken very seriously in the early 80’s. That changed with the arrival of their second album Song From The Great Chair, which also included the hit single Shout. The band will be on the NPO Radio 2 Top 2000 six times in 2021. Shout took 943rd place. See a list of other bands here.

shout

The hallmark of Shout is a buzzing, repetitive chorus. Tears For Fears was inspired by psychologist Arthur Janoy, who wrote the book in 1970 Primal Scream release. Americans are the founders of primal therapy, which is based on the idea that psychological problems often arise from unresolved childhood trauma. According to Janov, the way to process such trauma is to literally shout it out – the main screamright

Inspiration for more artists

Tears For Fears wasn’t just inspired by Janov for the title track. The band’s name is also inspired by his therapy. This is a figurative reference to the therapy, as it emphasizes your true emotions. Janov didn’t just influence the music of Tears For Fears. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were known as his patients in 1970. On his solo debut John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band can be heard in the opening song Mother how the former Beatle de main scream used in his music. Scottish alternative rock band Primal Scream (known as Single Rocks) also got its name from the Janov method.