Tears For Fears
Tears Are Not Enough

While Tears For Fears might have been a household name among music fans in the late '80s and early '90s, the name Roland Orzabal is more likely to prompt a reaction such as, "Orza-what?" But Orzabal was one half of the synth-pop duo, joining Curt Smith in a pairing that ruled the world, if you will, with such broody hits as "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," "Pale Shelter," and "Shout." That duo fizzled in 1992 after three albums and all kinds of internal strife, although Orzabal recorded as TFF for two more releases--1993's Elemental and 1995's Raoul And The Kings Of Spain. But finally, in 2001, six years later, Orzabal stepped out from the TFF shadow to begin his career as a bona fide solo artist with his first
official solo album, Tomcats Screaming Outside. LAUNCH caught up with the electronic music wiz, learning what it's like to go it alone after so many years successfully tucked away as part of an erstwhile worldwide sensation, as well as revisiting his TFF past.

LAUNCH: The obvious question to start with is, what took you so long to make a solo record?

 ROLAND: It didn't take that long. Well, I came off the road in 1996, having been on a world tour promoting Raul And The Kings Of Spain, which is the last Tears For Fears Album. And I'd been doing Tears For Fears since the age of 18, when myself and Curt formed the band. And I'd been on a journey, which was almost slightly out of my control, you might say--especially in terms of the music I was writing, I was almost possessed by some sort of musical spirit that sort of helped me along the way. And when I'd finished Kings Of Spain I kind of felt like that was it. I kind of felt that I had put it all together in a beautiful poetic package and in my mind I'd made sense of a whole bunch of stuff from my childhood, et cetera, et cetera. So I then felt strangely uninspired--I didn't know if I wanted to continue making records, or produce, or whatever. So I started listening to music which had no meaning, essentially instrumental stuff, like drum 'n' bass and trip-hop, where the vocal was just part of the decoration. My assistant was friends with a lot of guys from Bristol, like Roni Size and DJ Krust, and he would bring in a lot of stuff, and that was the starting point, really. And I knew it wasn't Tears For Fears, 'cause Tears For Fears was always about something--it was almost evangelical. And so I wanted to try and write about nothing, if that was possible, and I didn't want to do something that was directly related to a previous work. And that's why it took a long time.

LAUNCH: Was releasing an album with your name on it a liberating decision?

 ROLAND: Well, the thing is that at the end of 1996, things had come to a natural conclusion. I was no longer with a major record label, my manager--who I've been with for several years--we decided to go separate ways, so I was out of the loop entirely. And another reason why I decided to come off the road was I had two boys at home in need of a father. There's a whole bunch of reasons why I didn't want to carry on doing what I had been doing. Was it liberating? Absolutely. I was tired of the expectations that go along with that kind of name, and I wanted to put something out under my own name, where I had no expectations. I had no record company, I had no manager, I had no one coming into the studio telling me whether it was good or bad, right or wrong, and I could just do what I wanted.

LAUNCH: Sounds like a good place to be.

ROLAND: Yeah, I think for me personally, in terms of my career and my history, it's an important record to me.

LAUNCH: What sets Tomcats Screaming Outside apart from Tears For Fears, aside from it being a solo record?

ROLAND: Well, what I would say is the record has many, many different styles. I started initially trying to get away from that previous sound--I would say you're going to find a lot of uptempo stuff: Drum 'n' bass is up to about to 160 beats per minute. There's some stuff, sort of rock-meets-jungle, that's up to 140 beats per minute. There's some trip-hop stuff, there's a lot of electronics on the record. But yes, I had a choice to make, between either making a purist record and making a bunch of good songs...and I took the bourgeois compromise.

LAUNCH: Because ultimately, you're a songwriter's songwriter.

ROLAND: Well, I tried desperately to get a way from myself and sounding like myself, and I had developed around the time of Kings Of Spain a very strong musical personality--something that, as a kid, I was always struggling to do. I was always thinking, "Why can't I make a record that's unique, why can't I?" And I did. I did it, and once I had, I wanted to get away from it.

LAUNCH: Tears For Fears always had an introspective feel...you were trying to get away from that?

ROLAND: Yeah, that's right. If you listen to the very first Tears For Fears record, it was called The Hurting. It was inspired by a California psychologist, Arthur Janov, who wrote about primal scream therapy and all of that kind of stuff. The record was accused of--at the time, I wasn't very happy about it, but it was absolutely right--as being very depressing. And as an
adolescent I dropped out of school and became unemployed and yeah, I suffered from depression, big-time. And Tears For Fears for me was a journey out of depression and into mania. No--I became more of an extrovert, sort of masculine. Masculinity. So, again, I didn't want to write personally; I was tired of looking at my past and looking within and doing that
kind of stuff. I had reached a part of my life where it was by far the most stable period, and all the volatility of my childhood seemed to be under control until last Tuesday. I mean, I always moved as a kid. That's one thing. Now, all of a sudden, I'm in my house 10 years, kids going to school doing the school thing...kind of all the things I really wanted.

LAUNCH: I'm happy for you--long may it continue! Now, you produced the album by [Icelandic female singer] Emiliana Torrini--did that have an effect on where you were headed on this new record?

ROLAND: Yes, absolutely. The thing is, as I said before, I was trying to get away from my sound, I was trying to get away from my musical personality, and I was trying to get away from doing what I did best. And so I started to experiment in a very ambitious way, with trip-hop and drum 'n' bass and all that kind of stuff. And I used to get very, very disappointed and frustrated that every time I opened my mouth, it would sound like me--naturally--so I got a phone call from a guy called Scott Roger, who manages Bjork and who used to tour-manage Tears For Fears, and he said they got this artist on One Little
Indian, which is the same label Bjork is on, and that they're just looking for someone to help her along in her direction. And I listened to her demos and there was one thing which was kind of similar to what we were trying to do. So it was absolutely perfect. This was just the right people coming together at the right time. So then we did some work with her, and there was this huge explosion of creativity. It all sounded like it was all coming from the same source, and all the lyrics started sounding like it was all coming from the same part, and the thing was a very, very pleasurable experience and didn't take very long. And then once I'd finished that, I listened to what I'd been doing. Because I took a real break. A real break. I put my stuff on the shelf. I listened back to it and I realized that--after listening to a young girl singing for quite some time, and how feminine Emiliana's record really was--I listened to my record, and it was really fast and lots of adrenaline, lots of testosterone. And I all of a sudden got it, and it's OK. It's OK to sound like that! And that enabled me to finish it off.

LAUNCH: Interesting.

ROLAND: Not really. It would be if I hadn't said that.

LAUNCH: You talked about the influence of newer music...do you hear a Tears For Fears influence in modern music?

ROLAND: Not really, no. I mean, people that say they're fans and say they've been influenced melody-wise. I can't fathom it. I can't! I mean, I think with music, what goes around, comes around. You can do one thing, maybe one track, and it would influence one band, and another track would influence somebody else. Lots of people I can't believe ever listened to what we did, especially in the early days, and sort of analyzed it, because they're maybe just doing sort of very straightforward grungy rock. And you go, "I don't hear it." So I really don't know.

LAUNCH: How is the music industry different today from how it was back then?

ROLAND: Well, that's a difficult one. I've seen many, many changes. I've seen artists become more and more powerful, or that was certainly the case at one point. Or maybe it was just paranoia, and that's been sort of knocked on the head, especially in England, where you've got a lot of manufactured artists, which works perfectly for the music business--it's a
fantastic marriage. I think all the big artists renegotiating their deals--you can see it. You can see it with people like Prince, where in the end he just goes underground, because I don't know if it's a battle you can ever really win against a huge industry that is kind of self-serving. So yeah, I've seen a lot of changes. But I'm a little bit out of the loop, and I don't really like that mentality. 'Cause I like music and I like to hear when someone's thought really hard on something and been able to put it in musical terms to a point where it may influence people and enlighten them, and I don't really enjoy pop for pop's sake.

LAUNCH: What about the tools that you use? I know that you have a home studio.

ROLAND: Oh yeah, when we first started all those years ago, trying to make a record was like trying to get blood out of a stone. We had two or three synthesizers and a drum machine, and it was a nightmare getting sounds, and the whole thing was just a very, very painful experience. Now they make records for you, all these people that produce technology with
samples and sample CDs. It's quite ridiculous. You can engineer yourself. You can make records in your bedroom, I mean it's just fantastic.

LAUNCH: Now that this record is done and out, are you touring? What are you going to be doing now?

ROLAND: Well, we were talking about maybe doing some live dates. But right now, as we speak, the whole idea about taking a bunch of internal flights in the United States isn't that appealing to me. So I think we might have to put that on the back burner for a little while...

LAUNCH: I might as well as you about September 11's events. How do you process what went on?

ROLAND: Initially, I felt very much like everyone else--I don't think there was a discernable difference between the response of people in Britain and the response of people in America. All the feelings when someone who's close to you unexpectedly dies: anger, depression, shock, fear--which in this respect was actual nervousness, deep, deep nervousness. How I feel about it now is very different. What's been fantastic is listening to intelligent people on the radio, on the TV, reading the papers and listening to everyone's take has made me feel far, far better. What has happened is albeit intensely tragic. The consequences and where we're heading, where we're headed, is inevitable. And it's something that we should have
addressed earlier, and now we have no choice. I won't go into details of what everyone's opinions are and stuff like that. But I find it all quite fascinating.

LAUNCH: It's the mother of all car crashes--you can't look away.

ROLAND: The new millennium started [on September 11], quite simply, and it's a new era for all of us. And since there's no more Cold War and Communism not proved itself not particularly a good system for everyone, you have the first world encroaching and encroaching and encroaching, and you've got someone saying, "We don't like it."

LAUNCH: Aside from those obvious challenges, do you have any ideas of how you're going to present your new music on the road?

ROLAND: Not really, I did the last two Tears For Fears tours with a phenomenal live band, and if I did take it on the road, it wouldn't be particularly different. In the past decade, we've used computers and sequencing and samples and tried to get the sound to...not to be just more than a live band, but to actually to get it to sound just like the live record.

LAUNCH: Are you doing any other producing? Any other projects?

ROLAND: I've been approached, especially [by] a lot of female artists [who] heard the Emiliana record and thought, "He seems to be quite good at it," but we'll wait and see.

LAUNCH: And I understand that you'll be doing some work with Curt again. How do you guys come back together?

ROLAND: Well, first of all, when we fell out back in 1990, it was pretty bad. I think that it was like a boil that was lanced, and it was pretty bloody. I then did what I did and had a thoroughly amazing time from about 1991 to '96, making up for all the lost experiences through the '80s not being happy, not being comfortable with being a celebrity. So I had a great time. Then I basically became a father, and took myself away from the music business. Curt had become a father as well. We'd had sort of ongoing business commitments--which we can't get rid of, not until we're a lot older--and I had to do something for him, I had to go to someone's office to sign something specifically for him, and he sent me a fax saying, "Thank you very much, I don't have your numbers, give me call or I'll call you." And I thought, "Damn, what do I do? I don't want to be a schmuck and not get back to him". So I think I faxed him or emailed him and said, "This is my number." And then the next day the phone rang. And it was very strange, very strange indeed. And then I thought, "What am I worried about, what's all the angst about?" You know you don't speak to someone, and your mind's going crazy. So we met up and realized lots of water was under the bridge and we weren't really the same people at all. So you know, we got together and started comparing material and talking about music and started doing some work. And that's what's been going on.

LAUNCH: How has it felt creatively?

ROLAND: Well, it's very strange for me, because I've been working with another guy for the last decade called Alan Griffiths. We get together and it's very sort of stream-of-consciousness--we start setting up loops and sounds and start sort of mucking about and we record everything, and I end up going crazy with different melodies and different ideas coming out. Just coming and just coming and just coming. And Allan and I sort of have a tendency toward the darker stuff, that's kind of what we like, darker emotions. And it's like, getting together with Curt was very strange, and it was like, "Uh-uh." He wanted
to go into a very different direction, and I was trying to push him in sort of groove-based stuff, and we ended up writing song-songs, which I haven't done for a long, long time. So it's been very different from Tomcats Screaming Outside.

LAUNCH: Are you able to put your finger on what it is that the two of you have together that makes it special?

ROLAND: I don't know, really. It's hard to say. I guess it sort of that yin-yang thing.

LAUNCH: Do you have any sort of plan to do anything with this?

ROLAND: Well, we're building up quite a substantial library of songs now, and as I said, it seems to be quite very different in tone to what I've been doing. That in itself is very interesting. And I think one of the things behind this all is that Curt and I have known each other since the age of 14. And we went and had a career and then we went our own separate ways, and I think what we'd like to do--just for our own peace of mind--is to complete the circle.

LAUNCH: Let's revisit the making of the five Tears For Fears albums. We'll start with The Hurting...

ROLAND: We recorded that mainly in Abbey Road Studios, and we were working seven days a week till 2 or 3 in the morning, and it was very difficult to make. The first hit single, "Mad World," did very well in Britain, and that was pretty much the start of things. And it was an album very much inspired by the writings of Arthur Janov's primal scream therapy. In fact, some of the songs, like, like "Ideas As Opiates" and "The Prisoner," we directly lifted from some of his chapters in his book.

LAUNCH: What about Songs From The Big Chair?

 ROLAND: Well, with Songs From The Big Chair, we didn't really have time to go away and think about what we wanted to do next. There was a lot of pressure to follow up to the success we were having in the U.K., and there was also a lot of pressure from the musically opinionated A&R man--that we should start to move away from being so purist in electronic terms and we should mix some rock elements. I thought it was quite funny at first, but we tried it, and some of it was a little bit tongue-in-cheek. We though it was a little bit cheap. But then it went BANG! The whole thing just went crazy. We were just the right sound at the right time, and the album just broke everywhere.

LAUNCH: Tell me about The Seeds Of Love.

ROLAND: Tears For Fears had become very big and known worldwide, and I wasn't very comfortable being a celeb or this pop star or whatever. I was certainly not comfortable with being known for being a duo and being mainly an electronica band and I wanted to really destroy it all. I entered into primal therapy, which is something I wanted to do for a very long time, and I spent three years between Big Chair and Seeds Of Love doing psychotherapy, exploring my past, and the songs I wrote were very, very different from Big Chair. I mean, instead of listening to pop music every day we were sort of going back to the Beatles, going back to Steely Dan, going back to Pink Floyd, Little Feat, and trying to make this very, very crazy, ambitious record. Which, having said that, "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" and "Woman In Chains" [from The Seeds Of Love] are two of my favorite [TFF] records.

LAUNCH: Did you say Little Feat?

ROLAND: Yeah. Well, "Bad Man's Song," which is track 2 on Seeds Of Love, is almost a direct rip-off of "Rock 'N' Roll Doctor."

LAUNCH: Let's move on to Elemental.

ROLAND: After Seeds Of Love, the record company released a compilation called Tears Roll Down: Greatest Hits '82-'92. And it speaks for itself, really. Elemental was the first Tears record after Curt had departed and I started working with Alan Griffiths. And it was just very easy to make. All of a sudden, the confidence I'd gotten from the Seeds Of Love experience...I felt comfortable making records. The thing I was definitely wanted to avoid with Elemental was the kind of overproduction which was on Seeds Of Love. So Elemental tightened everything up, made everything a purer sound, and that had the song "Break It Down Again," which did very well around the world.

LAUNCH: And finally, the last one, Raoul And The Kings Of Spain.

ROLAND: Raoul is probably my personal favorite, because I think it's probably got the best lyric-writing, the best songwriting. It's also...not a concept album, but there are so many conceptual links through it, and I think the reason that it's my favorite is that I don't think there are any weaknesses there. The only weakness is that there's not huge hit on the record, but I'm still proud of it.

LAUNCH: Is Tears For Fears a done deal? Even if you're ever with Curt again, will it still be "Tears For Fears"?

ROLAND: I think it will be, yeah.

Update - August 10/2001
 

My full interview with Roland is now available to read on  Articles 1990 section

Update - June 9/2001

There is a German interview with Roland at  Eurogay Website

There a great review on "Tomcats Screaming Ouside" at the following link -  Neil Chase 7-11 website (he is a DJ in Hong Kong)

Also you can read a review of TCSO at  Dotmusic.com and post your TCSO reviews or buy Tomcats at  Amazon.co.uk

Check out the following link (this from Sandra - Much thanks!) for an interview with Roland at  adhoc.com

Also Paul Longhurst (Thanks Paul!) posted that the UK magazine 'Record Collector' has a 2 page interview with Roland in the June issue.

Update - May 16/2001

Dave, the editor of Lexicon Magazine, has informed me that the publicaton of May issue  (with my interview with Roland) will be delayed a few weeks due to printing problems. To order the issue, visit their website -- Lexicon Magazine.  The magazine will also be sold in Tower Record stores (For info on locations of Tower Record stores -- see March 21stUpdate below...

 Italian Interview With Roland

*Thanks to alefadi (Brazil) for the heads-up on this interview

Roland and Curt, including Chris Hughes and Ian Stanley were featured on BBC Channel 4 last night on "Top Ten".  They appeared in the 'Electro Pioneers' segment.

Sunday Express, UK (March 25th)
By Chris Goodman
(Much thanks to Michael J Townend for typing up this article and sending it to me)

When they sang Everybody Wants To Rule The World in 1985, Tears For Fears could just about claim that they did. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were touring the globe and enjoying a superstar status that Hear say can only dream about. Their debut album, The Hurting, went straight to number one. The follow-up, Songs From The Big Chair sold 10 million. The boys hadn't so much broken America as ripped it apart.

Then Curt walked out in 1989 and despite Roland releasing two more albums under the band's name, it all fizzled out.
Now he's shed the Tears. Today Roland is 39 but the jet black curls and tan are still there. He's smiling and relaxed in a London hotel bar and has just dashed across Europe promoting his solo album. Back in 1989 he and Curt made out that the split was all quite amicable.

Now Roland recalls: "It was very acrimonious. We started as a duo and were best mates. We had this overnight success but for me, playing live showed up our inadequacies. So I went on a mission to become world class. If you're one of the biggest bands in the world you have to have the talent to back it up. But Curt didn't want to spend as much time in the studio and I was the main songwriter. Curt was more relaxed about being a pop star than me and sometimes allowed himself to have a really good time. That's all I want to say.  He became frustrated when we replaced him with other singers and bass players. And we fell out badly."

When their Seeds Of Love tour lost money neither saw any point in carrying on. But now whispers of a reunion have become louder. "We didn't speak for nine years", explains Roland. "But we have ongoing  business concerns and I had to go and sign a bit of paper for Curt. He sent me a  note saying, "Thanks, I don't have your number, give me a call."  I thought, "If I don't give him my number, I'm going to look a complete schmuck.  I gave him it and he rang. It was very strange."  So what do reunited friends say to each other after a nine year rock  'n roll split?

"I think we talked about music. It was like talking to someone new. The angst and the pain seemed to have gone."  Roland confirms that he and 'Smitty' are now writing together again.  "Who knows what will come of it if we can get through without attacking each other".

With the Eighties revival luring many of their former peers Culture Club, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran to name a few back into the pop fray weren't they tempted to cash in? "We politely declined," says Roland. "I've  done a lot of things musically and I didn't want to be lumped in with those bands, not that I don't respect what they did, but we were completely different."

Roland embraced the rock 'n roll lifestyle at the time. Now he is a family man, living near Bath with wife Caroline and two young children. "I think I've always had my feet on the ground," he says as the champagne arrives. He  sends it back. "It's slightly corked," Roland laughs at the contradiction. "This is Pol Roger, I ordered Dom Perignon!"  he calls, mocking himself.

His heyday may have got him used to certain luxuries but it also helped him deal with his troubled childhood. He once claimed that he embraced pop to earn the money for therapy. "Curt and I used to jokingly have a mantra, ""Get  rich, get famous, get therapy".  That's all changed now. When my son was born, I realised my own childhood was dead. I felt free and stopped all the soul-searching."

His new album, Tomcats Screaming Outside, sees Roland return with a new sound. He has become fascinated by drum 'n bass and bands such as The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers. Does he consider himself a pioneer? "No, I can't  claim that with bands like Kraftwerk before us. We came late to the party but I  think we did some interesting things with synthesisers!"

LAST YEAR Roland produced the Icelandic songstress Emiiana Torrini's album Love In A Time Of Science. It's something he sees himself doing a lot more of in the future. Touring is another matter. "It depends on the exposure," he says. "It's been easy to tour America and Europe in the past decade.  I still had success there. But Britain has been tough".

Is he frustrated that we seem to have forgotten him? "Any success is  nice. But I like being anonymous when I do the school run and then going abroad and pretending to be a pop star again".  He still thinks there is great music around in Britain but fears that the record companies want to make a fast buck rather than allowing bands to  develop. "It's a huge and self-obsessed market. If you want to break in you have to be better and more forward-thinking than they are."  He did just that in the mid-Eighties.

So if Britain starts to take notice again, will he return to the rock 'n roll lifestyle?

 "Who says I stopped?", he says with a knowing glance at his now-sparkling champagne.

Update - March21/2001

My interview with Roland will be published in Lexicon Magazine.
Here is the mock-up for the cover of the May issue of Lexicon.

Lexicon magazine will be offering the upcoming May issue (with my interview with Roland) for newstand price, so you can pre-order your single issue without having to sign-up for a one year subscription. They will be providing a sign-up form this weekend for those that would like to order it.

Lexicon magazine is also available at Tower Records worldwide. (Tower owns and operates 179 stores worldwide with fifty-three franchise operations in seven countries - Hong Kong, Japan,  Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore
Taiwan, Thailand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Israel, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador.)

In the interview, Roland talks about his working again with Curt, working with Alan Griffiths, deaths of a family member and friends that have influenced "Tomcats",  his feelings about mortality, his children, working with other artists such as Emiliana, what he regrets most,  what he likes best about what he does, the internet and more!  (Also includes some irreverant fun questions!)
 

Update - March11/2001

Roland on VH1 - UK  (Thanks to Diane Thorell for typing this up!)

Hello everyone!  I just saw the interview with Roland on VH1 UK's  Talk Music show, Saturday at 7:00 p.m., and have transcribed the show below.  It  was great to see Roland, who is looking super cool in a long black leather coat, sunglasses and flowing long hair.  The show contained a short  interview with Roland and the directors of the Low Life video, sort of a "making of" format.  Some short scenes from the video were included.  The concept of the video is truly bizarre!  Read on and enjoy!
Cheers,
Diane

---------------------------------------
Talk Music' s host intro:  Possibly one of the more surreal ideas to be promoted on this show, if you discount Mark and I, is about to shuffle onto your screens right now.  It concerns one time Tears for Fears originator Roland Orzabal and the concept for the video for his new label, new sound, new everything, new album Tomcats Screaming Outside is a definite departure for Roland.  And it's quite light.  It's caught on the upward swing rather than the downbeat.  And the idea for the video for the single release Low Life concerns the sad tale of the life of two dog slippers.

Director Jo Tanner:  I'm Jo Tanner and we are directing Roland Orzabal's new promo.

Talk Music host:  And if the face seems familiar, that's because Roland Orzabal was the driving force behind Tears for Fears, who scored massive hits in the 80's with Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and Sowing the Seeds of Love.  Now after a 4-year break, Roland is back with a new album, single and video.

Roland:  We're doing the video for the first single.  It's called Low Life. And the director is a guy called Jo Tanner, and he came up with this really bizarre treatment.  Which to this day I still ... I just read the script again and I still don't understand it.  But it kind of talks about the life of a pair of dog slippers.  These dog slippers are on the feet of a naked man.  Well, he's not really naked.  He's got a bodysuit on.  And he's being sort of, the dog slippers are being loved by this beautiful young girl and being mistreated by her boyfriend who's a little bit jealous of their relationship.  I don't quite know what it's got to do with the song, but I think that's what I liked about the treatment.  'Cause the thing, I  didn't want it to go too literal with the video.

Girl in video:  I'm the girlfriend.  I'm the one that looks after the slippers.  They're my slippers and I take them for walks, and I generally love them to death, and my mean old boyfriend hates them.

Mark Howard (another director):  Rather than shooting using people, which could actually be quite depressing, we've used these caricature dogs which are slippers that belong to a person.  So the story is a tragedy that is solved through the slippers and ultimately kind of reflect what'shappening to the man who is wearing them as well.

Jo Tanner:  It is rather dark, yeah, but we think it's surreal as well because we think that takes the edge off the tragedy.  We've had long discussions about a happy ending, and a sad ending, and we're still divided on that.

Roland:  It's been a typical video.  It's like hurry up and wait.  The new album's called Tomcats Screaming Outside.  There's no concept.  That's the whole point.  And it's like with Raoul and the Kings of Spain, which was the last Tears album, there were so many threads running through it of similar thought that it really was almost a concept album.  And it was everything I was trying to say for so many years.  And eventually I felt I got  there.but having done that, I wanted to ligthen up and, you know, make stuff that was a little faster and a little more vibrant.  I've satisifed myself with this album, doing it on my own without a record company leaning over my shoulder and it's been fantastic.  And I think I'm ready to step into a group situation again.  So I'm back!

The following transcript was typed-up by Diane Thorell from the UK. Thanks Diane!

Here's the interview with Richard Allinson - March 9th (BBC Radio 2):

Allinson:  My name is Richard Allinson and with me in the studio tonight is Roland Orzabal de la Quinta.  Is that correct,
Roland?  Quinta?

Roland:  Quintana.

A:  Quintana?

R:  Quintana, yeah.

A:  Although you might know him better as Roland out of Tears for Fears, of course.

R:  Yeah.

A:  Haven't met you before, so it's a great pleasure.

R:  No, the pleasure is all mine.

A:  Indeed an honour and a privilege.  Tears for Fears is one of the most successful groups of the last 20 years to come out of Britain.  They sold millions of albums, won tons of awards.  Including the one for a songwriter, of course, is our songwriter of the year Ivor Novello awards in 1986.

R:  A long time ago.

A:  Which song was that for?

R:  I think it was for all of the songs that made the charts that year.  I was actually sort of hoodwinked into going to that luncheon because I don't normally like to go to award ceremonies.  And the whole band were around, and I think everyone knew except me.  And of course I wasn't prepared, you know.  But it was, uh, that was a nice one.  That was really nice.  I think that probably meant more to me than all the sort of number ones and all the success in America.

A:  That's the one to get, though, because that acknowledges the actual, the
talent and the writing.

R:  Yeah, because I think if I probably have to admit anything I admit that I can probably write a good tune.

A:  There's a whole bunch of them on the new album.

R:  Thank you.

A:  It's called Tomcats Screaming Outside.  Do you have that, as well then?

R:  (laughing)  Well, funnily enough, that is literal.  So, yes I have. That's exactly what it is about.   Yeah.

A:  Somebody wrote, um there's been a lot of press about the album. (quoting)  "It's a mix of the classic sound of Tears for Fears with dance grooves."  Which I'd probably take issue with.

R:  Who wrote that?

A:  We'll tell you later.  But I don't suppose you think of it as anything but a new collection of songs, do you?

R:  Well, no I don't.  I mean, I guess, you know, I mean, I've always tried to do something that's slightly different.  You know, and um, I'm sort of living life through zigzags.  I think what ever you do, the next thing you do should be in opposition.  And I did a Tears for Fears album called Raoul and the Kings of Spain, which came out in '95, '96, and I went round the world.  And it was a very beautiful, very poetic album.  And quite traditional.  And I think I had had enough of myself and the sound of my voice and I wanted to try something different.  So that's the end result - Tomcats Screaming Outside.

A:  There's all sorts of styles on the album and it's a bit like, I hate labeling stuff, you know "file under popular."  I mean just play it.  But there's ambient stuff there, there's a bit of grunge, there's some techno, there's some trip hop.  Do you buy many records?

R:  I do.

A:  I mean what have you bought recently that you thought, well I like that?

R:  I tell you what, the thing I would probably recommend to people listening right now, because I know they would love it, is probably Bjork's new album, which is the soundtrack to Dancer in the Dark.  Some of the songs.  Because I think probably no matter what age you are, or whatever your tastes are, it's a phenomenal blend of orchestra.

A:  Sure.

R:  Plus an incredible sort of cutting edge rhythm.

A:  You played one of her records this morning.

R:  Did I?

A:  Because you were doing the Tracks of Your Years.

R:  Oh, right.

A:  And one of them was Bjork and it was one of those fantastic moments when I'm in the car and I have to check that it says Radio 2.  And I think, what is this?  Oh fantastic!

R:  Yeah, right.

A:  Can I play the new single?

R:  (hesitating)  Uh, oh go on then.

A:  Thank you!  This is the new one from Roland Orzabal.  It's called Low Life.

(plays Low Life)

A:  It's a really tricky ending, that, and I bet you tried to catch people out with that one, Roland.

R:  I did.  That is a radio edit.  And actually it's much more predictable than that, because it's like 16 bars and I think they edited it down to 12, or something like that.

A:  There's 4 mixes on the single which is out on March the 19th, which is a fortnight away.  Do you still make songs to be released to singles?

R:  Um, if you're lucky, yeah.  Because sometimes you do come up with something that's kind of catchy.  I think there's probably about 3 or 4 songs on the album which do obey those rules.

A:  But when you ... because it seems to me that it's just a collection of things you've been working on in the last few years.

R:  Oh don't.  Don't say that.  (laughs a little)

A:  But I mean, you don't seem to be working to any formula.

R:  No.

A:  When you and Curt were in Tears for Fears, the first album went whoosh!

R:  It was highly formulaic, yes.

A:  Songs from the Big Chair.  You had so much success so quickly.  And then you took, was it about 4 years off?

R:  I did indeed, yep.

A:  And then Seeds of Love was like the big thing that came out and you thought, right, we've made a bit of money.  We can sit back and go, this is what we really really want to do now.

R:  I don't know about that.  I think Seeds of Love was what I believed at the time to be a "we've arrived" type album.  You know, I mean, sort of following on the success of Songs from the Big Chair.  It was like, hey guys, you know, you thought you were just two guys making sort of records in your bedroom with synthesizers.  No you're not.  You're worldclass.  And Seeds of Love was my attempt to sort of make that sort of ring true.

A:  Are you back with the synthetics again?  Because you did lots of synthesizer stuff in the 80's.

R:  Yeah.  Well, I've never stopped.  I mean I love technology.  I am a boy who loves his toys and in the studio I love mucking about with all that kind of stuff.  I mean it's really, it is, nowadays, it's absolutely fascinating what you can come up with.

A:  There's a nice quote from you saying you formed Tears for Fears to get rich, make a lot of money, become famous and then get therapy.

R:  Yeah.

A:  Was it all one sequence?

R:  Well, again that, although that sounds kind of humorous, it was true actually because Curt and I, we formed Tears for Fears because we were both very much sort of disciples of this Californian psychologist called Arthur Janov and his primal scream theory.  Popularized by John Lennon, funnily enough.  Not a lot of people know that.  But that's, we were sort of, both sort of from not particularly easy backgrounds and I think we both sort of saw ourselves as victims.  That we were both kind of looking for some kind of healing, so to speak.

A:  Hence the album.

R:  Yeah.

A:  Hence the name as well.

R:  Yeah.

A:  A unique motivation then, I suspect.

R:  I think it was!  And I'm trying to, sort of, I scratch my head sometimes and I think, well why, was it sort of, was it sort of the sign of the times? Was it, you know ... why?  Because you don't get that any more.  You don't get, there's not so much angst amongst young people.  We were sort of 18, 19, very depressed, wore black and all that kind of stuff and nowadays ...

A:  Those days, wasn't it?  Long black coat ...

R:  Yeah, exactly!  I look at kids nowadays and I think, well how come they're so damn together and so professional?  And they can be in, you know, bands like, like A1 and, you know?  I just don't understand it.

A:  Oh, their various neuroses will come out later, I suspect, as well.

R:  Yeah, let's hope!  (laughing)  Let's hope for their sake.

A:  Can you just put all these rumours about you and Curt to bed, please? Because you weren't talking for years, but apparently you're talking now.

R:  Yeah.

A:  And you're working together again?

R:  We've been doing some writing.  And we are both reunited through Manchester Football Club, I think.  We were both watching the match last night.

A:  You were lucky last night, you guys.  You were lucky.

R:  Terrible.  Terrible.  Absolutely terrible.

A:  Tomcats Screaming Outside is the first, I won't call it a solo album, but it's Roland Orzabal's new album.

R:  Yeah.

A:  Because there are some other people working on it as well.  The new single is Low Life.  It's out March 19th.  And, uh, you've gotta tour this okay?

R:  I'd love to, yeah.

A:  All right.  Thanks for joining us tonight, Roland.  Good to see you.

R:  Thank you.
 

Update - March3/2001

Here are some 'head-ups' from fans:

->BBC ONLINE - Ken Bruce (weekdays 09:30 -12:00)
5 - 9 March 2001
Roland Orzabal from Tears for Fears picks the records that mean the most to him, from the likes of Talking Heads, Bjork, Paul Simon and the Blue Nile. (thanks to "kadmazid" for the heads-up)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ken_bruce/tracks.shtml

-->Talk Music on VH1 (UK) are showing an exclusive interview with Roland about his new album release.  It will be on Saturday 10th March at 7pm GMT. (thanks to Paula for the heads-up)

-->Q Magazine Review of "Tomcats Screaming Outside" (thanks to Alan Dearborn for the heads-up)
 http://www.q4music.com/q4musicstore/DisplayProductDetails.cfm?ObjectUUID=C656EC51-07FE-11D5-8064000629F60DD0

Update - March2/2001

Much thanks to Sylvie for the heads-up on the following link!

Roland interviewed on French radio. Questions from the male host are in French, then a woman then asks the questions in English and does a French translation over much of what Roland is saying (he replies in English), which is a bit distracting for non-French speakers. The show plays the full tracks of "Ticket To The World", "Shout", " Easy" (by Emiliana), and "Day By Day By Day By Day By Day". The interview runs about 40 minutes.

Best moment; the interviewer says, "The Hurting" is about the change of a man on drugs",  to which Roland laughs in astonishment and says "Is it?"

*You'll need "RealPlayer" to listen to interview (click on "Ecoutez l'émission" under the photo on the French site).

 http://www.radio-france.fr/chaines/france-inter/playlist/live2001.php#orzabal

Update - February 23/2001