Reunited Tears for Fears Try New Door
Tue Sep 7, 5:55 PM ET
By Margo Whitmire
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Reunited British new wave duo Tears for Fears
will release its first album in 15 years Sept. 14 on a new label
launched by Universal Music Enterprises, the catalog arm of the world's
largest record company.
New Door Records was created as a vehicle to cross-promote new material
by artists with existing Universal catalog. It also has also lined up
Styx, Nanci Griffith and Joe Cocker (news) for releases in the coming
months. The Tears for Fears release, "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending,"
marks its first release.
Tears for Fears founders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (news) scored
such mid-'80s hits as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout,"
but split acrimoniously after the release of 1989's "The Seeds of
Love." Orzabel subsequently toured and recorded under the Tears for
Fears moniker.
After a decade of silence, they rekindled their friendship, and started
tentative work on new music in September 2001. The album was originally
set for release last November via Arista, but the duo left the label
after several release delays.
Tears for Fears is receiving airplay at triple-A and adult top 40 radio
for its first single, "Call Me Mellow." The band will perform various
promotional radio dates through September before embarking on its
official U.S. tour Oct. 21 (the itinerary has not yet been announced).
The group is also scheduled for TV appearances including "The Tonight
Show With Jay Leno" (Sept 14), "Today" (Sept. 25), "Late Night With
Conan O'Brien" (Sept. 21) and "The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn"
(Sept. 27).
Orzabal and Smith said that having their catalog as New Door's major
source of income relieves a lot of the pressure found at traditional
labels.
"It definitely makes more sense to be working with the people who are
working our catalog," Smith said. "Major labels are always considering
quarterly results and budget restraints. You don't have that here, and
it makes our lives considerably easier."
Universal Music Enterprises head Bruce Resnikoff, who will oversee New
Door, said the imprint is employing many of the marketing strategies of
a traditional label, but also will create a direct-response TV
marketing campaign.
"By the band getting back together and us getting involved in this new
record, we have an opportunity to not only take a great record to the
marketplace, but it's the first opportunity we've had to aggressively
market and promote their entire music catalog while the band is
working," he says.
<Reuters/Billboard>