Roland Orzabal

Orzabal met Curt Smith while both were in their early teens in Bath, Somerset. In the late 1970s, they formed a mod music group, Graduate, along with three other members. Following the release of their debut album, Acting My Age, the group disbanded and Orzabal and Smith went on to form Tears for Fears, a new wave/synthpop outfit directly inspired by the writings of the American psychologist Arthur Janov.[3]

Orzabal in 2019

After a decade of major international success, Orzabal and Smith acrimoniously split in the early 1990s. Orzabal continued to work as Tears for Fears after he and Smith parted ways; the subsequent albums Elemental (1993) and Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995) are effectively solo works by him in all but name. Elemental was a success being certified as Gold status in the US and Silver in the UK, while Raoul took a more artistic direction but garnered less chart success. In 2001 he released his first proper solo album, Tomcats Screaming Outside, under his own name.[4] Orzabal and Smith had reconciled by that point and were working together on Tears for Fears's next album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004).

As a songwriter, Orzabal is a three-time Ivor Novello Award winner.[5] His first award was in 1986 for "Songwriter of the Year" following the release of Tears for Fears' second album Songs from the Big Chair for which Orzabal wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks.[6]

Orzabal and Smith were responsible for discovering pianist/vocalist Oleta Adams, whom they invited to collaborate on their 1989 album The Seeds of Love. Adams appeared on several tracks on the album, most notably the hit single "Woman in Chains", which she performed as a duet with Orzabal.[7] Orzabal then co-produced Adams' album Circle of One (1990). The album reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 20 in the US, and featured her transatlantic top ten hit "Get Here". Orzabal also co-wrote the lead track "Rhythm of Life" for the album, which was originally intended for The Seeds of Love. As well as playing guitar and singing backing vocals on the track, he also appeared in the song's accompanying promo video.

In 1999, Orzabal co-produced the Icelandic singer-songwriter Emiliana Torrini's album Love in the Time of Science, along with Tears for Fears associate Alan Griffiths. The pair also wrote two tracks for the album.[8]

Orzabal's talents as a songwriter were recognised again after Michael Andrews and Gary Jules recorded the song "Mad World" for the film soundtrack Donnie Darko in 2001.[9] Their version was released as a single in 2003 and became the Christmas number one single in the UK that year, ultimately becoming the year's biggest selling single. The song was originally composed by Orzabal and was Tears for Fears' first hit single in 1982. In 2004, the song won Orzabal his second Ivor Novello Award, as the songwriter of the Best Selling UK Single of 2003.[10] In September 2021, Roland Orzabal was awarded his third Ivor Novello Award along with Curt Smith for their Outstanding Song Collection by Tears for Fears.[11]

Orzabal has written a novel, a romantic comedy entitled Sex, Drugs & Opera, published in 2014. It tells the story of a middle-aged pop star, Solomon Capri, who is semi-retired but is approached to take part in the reality show Popstar to Operastar which he sees as a way to rejuvenate his career and his waning marriage. The story was inspired by Orzabal's own experience as he was approached by the ITV show himself, though did not take part.[12][13]

• Tomcats Screaming Outside (2001)

• Acting My Age (1980)

• The Hurting (1983)
• Songs from the Big Chair (1985)
• The Seeds of Love (1989)
• Elemental (1993)
• Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995)
• Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004)
• The Tipping Point (Upcoming; February 2022)