why are they famous? Tears For Fears hit the music scene hard in the '80s with hits like "Shout," "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," and "Head Over Heels." Now the duo has reunited after a 12-year breakup, and their latest album Everybody Loves A Happy Ending is making its mark around the world. quick bio Tears For Fears, probably one of the most popular bands of the '80s, are back. Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, have reunited after more than 10 years apart with a new album called Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, set for release in April 2004. A friendship that started when these guys were 13 in Bath, England, developed into a phenomenon. Both extremely talented musicians, they pioneered the use of the synthesizer and keyboards -- the single greatest contribution the 1980s have brought to music. You may remember the band for hits like "Sowing the Seeds of Love," "Shout," "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and numerous other releases between 1982 and 1990, at which time Smith left for New York City to start a new life away from the fame and success of Tears For Fears. Roland, however, continued the band and released numerous albums after Curt left. For more information on Tears For Fears, check out www.tearsforfears.net We sat down with the guys to discuss their legacy, their breakup and their future together.

Q: A lot of your fans grew up listening to you in the '80s. What do you think their reaction will be when they hear the new album?

I think the people that liked our old stuff will definitely like this, and I think people who are unfamiliar with us are going to like this too.

Q: When you split up, what were people's reactions overall?

We had been hanging out since we were 13 or 14, and at the point we broke up, we were about 28 or 29. You really don't need your old best mate at that point in time. You need to become your own man. Certainly people around asked questions.

Q: Roland, how did your fans react when you went on tour without Curt, and were they upset that you were calling yourself Tears For Fears without half the band? Curt, how did you feel that half the band continued and you weren't part of the equation?

Roland: A lot of people hear the records on the radio, they aren't absolutely sure who exactly Tears For Fears is, they just know they like the song. So I didn't meet any demonstrations with placards saying, "We want Curt, We want Curt," but there were the odd question marks from people in the audience. Overall, people were sort of happy that some records got made.

Curt: I don't think it really bothered me, to be honest. The main reason for me leaving is because I couldn't be part of it anymore. I don't think it was something either of us wanted to do together at that point. My main aim was to escape it all, and I moved to New York to get away from it all. In that sense, it didn't affect me in any way, shape or form because I was just trying to get on and have a life on my own.

¿ Quick fact ? The name of the Tears For Fears album Songs From the Big Chair is taken from the book Sybil, which was made into a TV movie starring Sally Field as a woman who has multiple personality disorder and only feels safe and whole in her analyst's "big chair." The movie prompted the B-side "The Big Chair," which has audio clips from the movie throughout the song.

Q: How hard was it to get away from it all?

Curt: Relatively easy, to be honest. When you find a place you are 100% comfortable, which for me at that point in my life was probably the first time that had ever happened. Once you start enjoying your life, the rest is easy.

Q: What is Tears For Fears' legacy and what do you think it should be?

Roland: I remember when we came out, there is no question that we were one of the biggest bands. We recently had a very old song of ours go to number one, "Mad World." That was a bit shocking, especially with a left-field version of an old song. That is surreal.

Curt: I think the point of doing this record is the fact that we can be defined by our music and not by a decade.

Q: How do you view the '80s?

Roland: It's just one part of our lives; it just happened to be the most public part. There were other parts of our lives, where we could give you stories that were wonderful and fantastic but no one knows about them.

Curt: You are unfortunately most of the time defined by your success, when your success is not a major part of your personality. We have had very enjoyable experiences in more than just one decade. The successful ones we had together were in that decade and, unfortunately, it pins you to that in the public eye. Speaking personally, I have had far more enjoyable times outside of that decade. The height of our success was part of the least enjoyable times of my life. That's why we say we don't want to be defined by that era, because it wasn't the most enjoyable era for us, it just happened to be the most successful.

Q: What do you prefer to perform; the older songs or the new ones?

Curt: We prefer the new album to any of our work. When we rehearse these semi-acoustic, we obviously get off the most on doing new songs. Doing old songs takes you back to that time and it will take a while to find decent versions of them.

Q: How do you feel about remixes or re-releases of your old stuff?

Roland: It's not really relevant right now, we have a new album and that's what we would rather talk about.

Q: Have you ever been fed up with all the fame?

Roland: You just have to wear a hat and sunglasses.

Curt: I absolutely did, and it's the main reason [why] I left the group. In New York, no one really cares who the hell you are. It's strange to be in the public eye where people have a perception of who you are, when they have never even met you.

Q: Do you prefer being in the studio or performing?

Curt: The most gratifying thing, with no question, is making records.

Q: Do you see the Internet as a promotional and piracy tool?

Curt: Piracy doesn't bother me that much, to be quite honest. It has certainly gone down considerably since there is a way to do it legitimately. I feel record companies were so behind the ball on this, that the only way to get it easily was to get it for free. There was no way to logistically pay for it. The only way to do it was go to a record store, and it may not be in the record store. It's very convenient. We used to copy each other's records when we were younger.

Roland: I didn't.

Curt: As a promotional tool, absolutely, it's fantastic.

Q: Since you have toured around the world, what are the best places in the world to see?

Santiago, Chile, and Salt Lake City.

Q: When do you guys plan on touring?

Roland: We have no idea.

Curt: The plans are tentatively for the summer, but we are taking it one step at a time because that's the way we like it.

Roland: We don't need to tour, we've got the Internet.

Curt: We are going to do one live gig and broadcast it on the Internet.

¿ Quick fact ? The lyric "King got caught with his fingers in the till" in the single "Cold" refers to Paul King, a former Tears For Fears manager.

Q: Are you guys more subdued when on the road or is it a "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" attitude?

Roland: We're both married.

Q: If your kids came to you wanting to be in show business, how would you react?

Roland: I would encourage it.

Curt: Whether I would encourage it or not, it's their lives, they can do what they want in their own lives, within reason.

Q: With bands like Bazooka 'N Tulips and singers like Britney Spears all over radio and TV, it's only natural to ask: what do you think of the state of music today?

Curt: I don't think it's any different than it used to be. You had to sift through 90% of the stuff that is not very good, to find the 10% of the stuff that's great. The Internet makes it easier to find good music I would have to say. The radio stations that play the kind of music you were talking about, I don't think me and Roland would be that inclined to listen to. It doesn't really affect us and I certainly don't remember the last time I watched MTV.

Q: Why did you choose this title for your album? Is this a happy ending for Tears For Fears fans?

It's certainly a better ending than the last one.

Q: How were you reunited?

Roland: We were reunited through faxing (laughs)...

Q: In an era of e-mail communication, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the uber-band of the 1980s got reunited through good ol'... fax!

On that note, have a great reunion and we wish you the best of luck in music. For more information on Tears For Fears, check out www.tearsforfears.net.