American Reacts to Tears For Fears - Dancing To Their Own Trauma!

[@tinaoreilly5973]

Pale Shelter is my favourite Tears for Fears song. The Hurting is a brilliant album.

[@5upernovae]

Ditto!

[@ThornyLittleFlower]

Kim wilde is the daughter of Marty Wilde a British singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles.

[@matthewashman1406]

Had such a crush on her😂

[@stewrmo]

Love these mate, your "behind the scenes" add-ons are fascinating. One love from Scotland. 💙 🦄 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🫡

[@matijamaksan4344]

6:33 All 80's songs from Vice City are the first 80's songs i know. Born in 1992. The main difference between original and Gary Jules cover is many sounds versus very monotone sound. Tears For Fears version was so experimental, disturbing, creative and crazy it really fitted madness. So Mad World. Gary Jules just wants to make you sad. Or at least it sounds like that to me. The disturbing truth is that i heard and searched Gary Jules version many more times. But i acknowledge Fears For Fears version as more mad.

[@richardh3761]

'Sowing the Seeds of Love' is my favourite of theirs.

[@dankilgariff867]

I think a good description of John peel is that as a dj on a major radio station he championed alternative music and/ or music on the fringes, regardless of genre, if you were an unknown, new or inventive band, John would always be willing to be sent demos, hear new music, and try to bring it to a wider audience, his show was the best way to hear non- commercial/ mainstream music and I can still remember being a teenager in the 1980’s tape recording johns shows and listening to them over and over and going searching for new records because of bands he’d introduced me to, RIP John ❤

[@ThornyLittleFlower]

@@dankilgariff867 It was sad to lose the John peel stage at Glastonbury. The place will never be the same to me.

[@mezbrookscarter8289]

The other major influence of unusual/alternative music was the Old Grey Whistle Test presented by "Whispering" Bob Harris

[@cyrus2728]

@@ThornyLittleFlower you know why though right?

[@trashandcheese3636]

I can think of an American parallel DJ, from an earlier era - parallel in terms of both "genre-busting talent scouting" and "manufactured scandal" - Alan Freed.

[@louisekullar6629]

We had an everything revival in 1979 ..rock, Ska, rockabilly,

[@vaudevillian7]

Tainted Love was a Northern Soul cover, you should definitely look into Northern Soul as it’s in the Venn diagram of stuff you’ve already looked at (including Mods)

[@Robhalifax]

These documentaries are so much better than the AI created ones.

[@scottneil1187]

It's a great channel. Subscribed recently from watching these reactions. So many great vids about bands I'd somewhat forgotten. Spurred me to go back and find stuff I loved again.

[@Shoomer88]

John Peel would play any genre imaginable and often did. As long as it was new and interesting he wouldn't care if it was a Mongolian nose flute band or nosebleed techno.

[@nolaj114]

I love "Woman in Chains". Roland's father had Spanish roots (hence his full name Roland Jaime Orzábal De La Quintana) so maybe that played a part in their success in Spain.

[@saranissen6210]

My favorite british band, their third album The Seeds Of Love has some great songs as well like Advice For The Young At Heart and Woman In Chains some of my favorite songs of theirs actually, they really know how to create an atmosphere and paint pictures with each song no matter if its the more simple melodies or the more advanced and layered. And their newer stuff just shows they still got the magic.

[@mylesmears6558]

Tears For Fears have songs for whatever mood I'm feeling. It's a form of therapy for me too and I've lost count of how many times I've needed it. I can hardly believe some of those songs are 40 years old, they still feel new and interesting and different. I also like how you absorb it all and give your take on topics, really interesting to listen to your experiences and knowledge. I visit your channel a lot and it's time well spent

[@ClaireWW]

I love Mother's Talk, especially the long album version, and used to play it over and over again while doing hard farm work briefly in the 80s. It doesn't get played nearly enough.

[@andy7owen7]

Depeche Mode sampled John Bonham too (Never Let Me Down Again), they also shared an engineer/producer with Tears For Fears. Trash Theory has also done a good Depeche Mode documentary.

[@trashandcheese3636]

The subject of the John Bonham sample has already been brought up in the Cocteau Twins documentary he watched.

[@steveparkes]

I've been waiting for your take on this one :) Bath might have council estates but it hasn't got projects. It's still very, very posh compared to somewhere like Bristol just down the road. My local library started hiring out cassettes in the mid 80's and I got Tears for Fears and did my bit for killing the music industry. Then, after I had to 'lose' my account due to a bunch of unpaid late fee's I resigned up and borrowed another Tears for Fears album, a New Order album and a Pet Shop Boys album on the same day and popped them into the bag with some newly purchased blank cassettes. The guy serving me laughed and said he'd see me in a few days and I said only if I could find the money to buy some more blank cassettes. Apparently the fee's libraries had to pay to be able to lend out stuff on some labels were horrendous and I'm thankful our local library managed to pay them for so long because it meant I got to hear the whole album of a bunch of artists I'd only heard the singles from before.

[@wessexdruid7598]

The thing about Bath is that it has serious poverty right alongside extreme wealth - which tends to make the poverty less easy to see. As you demonstrate.

[@tinawaggoner8166]

Sowing the Seeds of Love and Woman in Chains are my favorite songs by them.

[@Ade2bee]

You have to listen to woman in chains with a good pair of headphones and a nice wine all the way through on A winter's evening

[@jennyharvey7653]

My first ever gig was Tears for Fears at Victoria Halls in Stoke-on-Trent just on the Songs From The Big Chair tour just before they blew up

[@leowalless9328]

When you hear about the long slow evolution of a band like Tears For Fears and how they could bring wildly disassociated influences together to form new sounds and vibes, you realise that streaming and A.I. has absolutely f***ed that process

[@rtid7538]

'Head over heels', 'Pale shelter' and 'Change' are probably my favourites. If you haven't heard it, give 'Change' a play.

[@mattstacyandthepomskies]

How did I never realise the song was written before the Berlin Wall fell?! The line about holding hands as the walls came tumbling down I just always assumed was about that.

[@Ingens_Scherz]

Hearing "Mad World" in 1982 I think was one of the first moments of awakening I experienced as a boy of 11, hurtling towards (self) consciousness. The impact was that profound. The fact that it more or less coincided with my grandfather's death, which hit me very hard in ways I did not understand, might have had something to do with that. An association must have formed then that has endured. The song became a kind of comforting friend.

[@jimpalmer9263]

‘The Hurting’ is a fantastic album: dark and haunting lyrics but upbeat musically.

[@massimilianopraticelli8986]

Tears For Fears music starting from "The Seeds of Love" onwards really became a lot more interesting and heartfelt than it had been, in my opinion.

[@ianlejeune6012]

A TfF highlight for me recently was the vid of Tears for Fears - Badman's Song (Live) from "Going to California" - WOW, they really hammer that nail, a side of their musicianship I was poorly prepared for [my bad]. A superb band and a great performance…

[@susanpearson-creativefibro]

How ironic that they started a band to get therapy, when many youngsters who have great success with a band end up needing therapy.

[@lesh4357]

I bought each of their albums on release. My favorite album of theirs is "The Seeds of Love". A bit of a classic. It's an album you have to listen to as a whole in sequence I feel. Favorite track, I think "Swords and Knives". Also gave Oleta Adams her break. "The projects yawll" - I would hardly call anywhere in Bath - the projects. One of the poshest cities in England. I listened to John Peel from the beginning to the end. The thing with John's show is that 90% was un-listenable, 9% was hard work, but then you would hear something that would change your life !

[@smmx65]

Roland Orzabal actually came from Havant near Portsmouth, NOT Plymouth!!!

[@coop66kc]

I still have the original vinyl album when it was first released and can remember where I bought it from , played it so much when I was a teenager. Still good now.

[@jeanroebuck4737]

There is a video of the making of songs from the big chair x

[@alisonrodger3360]

Everybody Wants To Rule The World is one of those time machine songs. Those first 30 seconds and I'm 16 again..

[@titanium_di2402]

Tears for Fears are one of my favourite bands. Have been since 1982. Make sure you listen to ALL of each album. The Hurting is epic. Song from the Big Chair is the same. The whole of the albums is just great!!!!

[@Steve-w5c]

What a brilliant band made some fantastic songs, Everybody wants to rule the world, Mad World excellent.

[@stevebills5716]

The Hurting is SUCH a tremendous album. (IMHO)

[@dianewalker6870]

I danced to Tears for fears at my school disco in 1983 its very evocative. Synth pop & post punk is the soundtrack of my youth. Woman in Chains is the most beautiful Tears for Fears song.

[@tomfoolery9749]

I went to the Knebworth charity concert in 1990, where I saw Tears for Fears perform alongside legends like Pink Floyd, Status Quo, Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Genesis, and Eric Clapton. The highlight of the show was definitely Robert Plant and Jimmy Page sharing the stage for the first time after their fallout, accompanied by Jason Bonham on drums. When it comes to Tears for Fears' album "The Seeds of Love," I played it endlessly upon its release. I owned a linear tracking record player that could continuously play both sides. This album, along with Marillion's "Misplaced Childhood," marked my entry into progressive rock. One of my all-time favorite protest songs is Robert Wyatt's "Shipbuilding," with lyrics by Elvis Costello. You really need to listen to it… NOW!

[@bigbird2100]

Great video 👍 Woman in chains is the defato track used by sound engineers to check and calibrate by😊

[@DylanCuthbert]

Haven’t listened to this album for a long time, will play it tomorrow, “I believe” is an incredible sound

[@Bryt25]

It was Primal Therapy, not Primal Screaming Therapy - a tabloid invention :-). It was about releasing emotional pain. Sometimes someone yelled but mainly cried or sobbed. The original name was 'Tears instead of Fears' but shortened. Janov's main issues arose from his enthusiasm = a no-no for the mainstream rather headtripping profession. - all those messy emotions and how to fit them into 1 hour?!! Other members of the team, including Vivian Janov, a very insightful child psychologist, took the therapy in a less intense direction and in doing so produced more integrated results. AFAIK The band members did not go to the LA Therapy Institute but to an offshoot in London, England later. Exciting, creative times.

[@chrisharris5497]

Woman in Chains is a stunning track too

[@Ade2bee]

One of the best bands ever an amazing still recording today with their new album

[@markdermody9698]

I heard Mad World then months later heard they were releasing The Hurting and just had to buy it soon after release! Me and my best friend went to see TFF on 2nd April 1983 at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. It was epic and a couple of days later I bought the album and loved it! What a group. I also bought 'Songs from the Big Chair' & 'Raul and the King's of Spain'

[@paulsalter3099]

Gary Jules was number 1 for six weeks in 2003 here in the UK. Love the channel.

[@GoldilocksZone-665]

I was thinking, "Danny John Jules! Danny John Jules covered Mad World!" Now I need to Google Danny John Jules. I think he is a real person and not just one of my brain splaffs. Oh yeah! He plays the cat in Red Dwarf!

[@janolaful]

​@@GoldilocksZone-665lol that made me laugh he sang tounge tied in the Rd 😊

[@janolaful]

At Christmas the most depressing song ever along with Everything I Do) I Do It for You

[@GraphicsBranded]

The whole album Songs from the Big Chair is incredible. EWTRTW and Head Over Heels, but also Shout, Working Hour, Mothers Talk, I Believe... It's great.

[@GoldilocksZone-665]

Yes. Not much mention of Songs from the Big Chair but it is an incredible album. The start of "Working Hour" is like daybreak. If daybreak had a sound...

[@trashandcheese3636]

I suspect he hasn't heard the album from start to finish - hasn't considered as-a-piece the Broken/H.O.H/Listen sequence.

[@NotYourKindOfPeople-z6m]

When I get to heaven, I hope the Brits are in charge of the music. John Peel is a great start, cannae wait!

[@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1]

@@NotYourKindOfPeople-z6m John Peel thought Teenage Kicks by the Undertones was the greatest pop song ever

[@trashandcheese3636]

@@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1 But that's a misleading statistic. His favorite band was The Fall - and if that's not enough he was a little in awe of Captain Beefheart, Ivor Cutler, Kevin Coyne and even The Bhundu Boys. Rehashed anecdote - The day his death was announced I was on the way to Whitby Goth Weekend, and on the radio the Peel tributes were wall to wall Teenage Kicks, Song 2 and Pretty Vacant...then on the first night of Whitby, before the headlining act came on, the DJ asked for a minutes' silence for John Peel...and the silence was broken by, even outside of the setting, the ideal song to pay tribute to Peel and his cultural legacy; Joy Division's Transmission

[@GoldilocksZone-665]

I love "The Way You Are." I can't see why it was disowned. It's a great piece of music. Most of TFF music is top flight. They put so much effort and imagination into the song structures and their lyrics are usually nestled between being brilliant and epoch defining.

[@mylesmears6558]

Me too - great song! Their music does so many different things that it keeps their songs fresh and surprising no matter how often you listen to them

[@laylasean-u3n]

The Dole and the ability to squat a myriad of empty properties were two of the three great supports of freedom and creativity, and the wider counter culture, in the early 1980s (indeed, through the 1970s and on to the 90s). Especially if you were working-class. The third being full student grants.The kids don't know what they've lost, what was taken.

[@JackMellor498]

A truly precious band, with a precious heart to their sound and lyrics and everything! 26 and a big fan, maybe my fav band of all time, next to the likes of Depeche Mode, Talk Talk, The Cure and Muse among others in that ballpark of alternative rock and electronic music.

[@peterkarlsson1825]

Love your reactions to the excellent Trash Theory videos.

[@MattMcQueen1]

Pale Shelter was also a great song, and should have been a bigger hit.

[@nataliar5656]

No mention of "woman in chains"?

[@EarthAcademy9]

It's really interesting watching you respond to the music now. I bought that album when it came out and played it on repeat. The whole world is different now. Every sound in the album spoke to something that was the zeitgeist. The more sophisticated version is removed rom the immediacy of the original. It turned on the people in my class in a very different way. I have images of us in the locker rooms at school, I'd have those songs playing in my head and I know it was the same for many of us. Several of us had traumatic experiences and it felt like someone knew us & was having that impact with so many people. Also in the 1980's you could buy a house for £26,000. Not everywhere. Thanks for these blasts of the past! I really enjoy your way of looking at things.

[@lordleonusa]

The Mod Revival was from about 1979-1981, I graduated Rutlish High School, Merton Park, (South London), in 1979, and members of 'The Merton Parkas', a mod revival band were in my Senior Year. Great video analysis, this one.

[@planekrazy1795]

John Peel is an absolute legend. His regular Radio Show and the live music and interview shows " The Peel Sessions" were inspired. It didn't matter the genre, just had to be good in his eyes and ears, his judgment was always spot on. A proper critic, always constructive never destructive if he thought something was rubbish he just wouldn't pass comment or say no didn't like it. RIP John very much missed.

[@atrus3823]

What sets your channel apart is your curiosity. I’m also a person who needs to look everything up. Watching your videos is like having a personal assistant who does it for me 😂

[@LordRogerPovey]

Hey JJ, Talking about 'Everybody wants to rule the world'. When my youngest son was about 5, (he's 42 now) would insist singing that one line 'There's a room where the light won't find you' as 'There's a room where the wife won't find you' I had to tell him, sadly, that there was no such place as that.

[@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1]

A lot of bands in the 70,s and 80,s started on the dole

[@nolaj114]

UB40 😊 The claim form, right?

[@mezbrookscarter8289]

YES! During Margaret Thatcher's era of government some bands got their break whilst claiming the enterprise allowance scheme.

[@thabudmaster]

because most people were on the dole, the government might have said 5 million unemployed but it must have been double that by the 80-90s. If you didnt have to work then you had a lot of time to play music & practice

[@spruce381]

I disagree with - words of a rich man - words of an artist. Love your reactions ❤️👍🏽👍☘️

[@nolaj114]

Agree.❤🎉 My musician ex always said if you do it for the money, you're just an entertainer; do it for your own self expression and it's art.

[@Sradders]

Boys of summer is sad.. ! But I like that. Had no idea of the history behind Tears for Fears.. I feel inspired to hear more..

[@philjones45]

The Gary Joules version of Mad World was a huge Christmas number one hit here in the UK, 2003 I think. (Sorry wrote this before the end).

[@janolaful]

Sibyl was a fantastic film. 👏

[@nolaj114]

Great book too.

[@vaudevillian7]

There’s loads of great stuff on New British Canon, hope you keep doing them

[@simonmetcalfe5926]

John Peel's favourite song (an accolade in itself), was 'Teenage Kicks' by The Undertones. It was even played at his funeral. ✌️💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@anthonydinsdale8783]

Your technical musical knowledge is almost as impressive as your curiosity and analysis. I love all your reactions and I promise to buy you a coffee soon as I can afford it 😊

[@wessexdruid7598]

A Fairlight costing £26K? Back then, in 1985, my first house cost £23,500.

[@DavidWestwell-xz6rd]

I was 16 when madworld came out, l bought the single came out of the shop then l went back in and bought it again, teenager thing l think. Great times.

[@alanmoss3603]

These are the best reaction videos on KZbin! Keep it up JJ

[@iisotter8944]

I really like your vibe, and feel that you are selling yourself short reacting to 'British' uploads, would love to see more reactions to music and your production knowledge, it's really interesting and you have an excellent nuance that is presented really well. Watched most of 'the British Cannon' (especially, punk, metal and Goth) uploads on Trash Theory, but not this one so went and watched it there first. Then came back and watched your reaction a couple of days later.

[@seanconnors1613]

Wonderful video!! Gotta check out whole song The Working Hour and Ideas as Opiates live. Roland is even better live!!

[@snowfirma5423]

Interesting to hear this about the band .

[@judiharris8796]

There's the John Peel stage at Glastonbury. says it all for the legend that he was.

[@wayneprice2737]

I think shout is there best track.

[@carolineskipper6976]

I think you need to look into the 'new mod'wave' from the later 70's. Two Tone records would be the thing to look out for.

[@nicw5574]

One of my sister's was a fan, my favourite of theirs is Shout. They were formed in Bath, Somerset. I think Curt Smith possibly still lives near there.

[@lisap6584]

Roland orzabel has a house in Dyrham nr Bath, his late wife is buried in the churchyard there.

[@nicw5574]

I didn't know that, I've been to Dyrham Park lots of times. It's not far from Bath at all 😀

[@babettekr]

Will Gregory, Talking Heads, David Bowie, The Killers, Grizzly Bear, Gorillaz. Unexplicable is the feeling when one's musical interests intersect.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

Great reaction, JJ, for me I much prefer their earlier stuff from 'The Hurting' I felt that their later stuff which was more commercial lacked as much substance, it was far more popular which of course was better for the band but less impactful in my opinion.

[@johnpipere83]

Linx were a great band lots of memories.

[@KevFrost]

What they don't mention about Live Aid is that the following year (1986) there was another UK fundraising effort called SportAid, a half marathon in London. To support SportAid, tears for fears re-recorded "Everybody wants to run the world"

[@KevFrost]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZWVqoZ_edmLnMksi=WQ3zGOaPnYk2wrjl

[@Ksunshine57]

This was so great. Worth every minute.

[@karengray662]

Loved watching this with you, thanks

[@Illvillainy]

hah i actually hate the gary jules version, the ur-sad trailer cover that triple a games and holywood still hasn't truly let go of.

[@scottneil1187]

Gotta admit though, it was a stroke of genius on xboxs' part, that Gears of War as sold major units for them and secured them that generations console win.

[@watchreadplayretro]

Can I just add a LOL for 'Kids In America - Kid Wilde' funny typo by TTheory there! History Of Headaches! What! Wow! In another mutliverse... I am of the age of starting to like Tears For Fears later (from the Sewing The Seeds Of Love time) but wow between TrashTheory's video and your reaction and lookups, I have added a few earlier tunes to my playlist and been reminded of a few more that I probably haven't listened to in eons (and new bands to me such as Dalek I

[@Objectivebeatz]

Have a listen to “Woman in Chains” Obviously Tears For Fears

[@dennisd7]

In this video: Yet more name-dropping :)

[@Riverman2012]

This video is going into my favs. Great band 👍

[@trashandcheese3636]

Incidentally if you want a vivid portrayal of how so many Brits reacted to the nuclear missiles arriving in 1984, consult the two relevant Conflict* songs, The Day Before and Cruise. Then again if you prefer it with less overt horror, a sweetening glaze of sarcasm and punning, there's Dave Gilmour's song Cruise. (* consult Conflict on any number of issues - a fount of wisdom to sit beside Crass and [parts of] the Poison Girls).

[@legend9335]

Kim Wilde is the daughter of Marty Wilde, a 60`s pop star. A bit of a heart throb.

[@garethm3242]

Dude you've been involved in so many iconic popular culture phenomena. A true Forrest Gump of our age (not a comment on intellect)😆

[@veroniquewolff8963]

Gary Jules is well worth checking out as he has done far more than the cover of Mad World.

[@lordleonusa]

The nearest American DJ to John Peel would be 'Casey Kasems', I would think

[@BristolLeathered2010]

Women in Chains is a good Tune by T for F

[@orbojunglist]

I prefer Pale Shelter to Everybody Wants To Rule the World, but Head Over Heels is my favourite too... it's also in Donnie Darko!

[@kelvinhorton6983]

Near enough is good enough because it's all your going to get.

[@meeshelle1397]

I too like Head over Heels JJ ✨

[@gingerwaynos]

John peel was more of a badge of alternative honour rather than a career maker. But would definitely get you heard by the cool kids

[@Thebrainymonkey]

I used to love Linx back in the day!

[@JackMellor498]

I like both versions of Mad World for different reasons Tears for Fears original I enjoy for its synth production and it’s fast paced urgency almost gives it a feel of anxiety Gary Jules’ cover is more a pretty piano feel of depression and somberness Tears for Fears song came out in the 80s during the height of Cold War anxiety over nuclear war. Gary Jules version just hits differently, I’d argue better especially these days in a more touching way, how far the world has fallen, war everywhere, fascism on the rise, people struggling everywhere, the rich have never had it so good and so the poor never had it so bad, that’s how I feel about the two versions.

[@wulfgold]

"It's like hearing your mum say your name" - runs off to therapy :S

[@thechroniccinephile]

Can you also react to trash theory’s videos on the replacements album Tim and his other video on the history of the power pop genre? They’re both some of his top tier work.

[@mezbrookscarter8289]

Tears for Fears are one of the greatest bands of the 1980s. They are definitely New Wave. The Album "Songs from the Big Chair" is epic! yeah Mods from the 1960s as opposite to rockers by the late 1970s and it was mods as opposite to Punk. Another mod band of the late 1970s and the early 1980s were The Jam. By the early 1980s bands that were Punks or Mod were transitioning into the New Wave genre. This is my teen years in a nutshell. You should also look at Ultravox, OMD, and Depeche Mode - all great synth pop/New Wave bands of the 1980s in the UK. UK Council housing is not to be compared to the US Projects. They were well built houses provided to people who would look after them and were available for life once you were allocated them. Tenants were working people and they took pride in their houses and gardens. It wasn't until the the 1990s and the 2000s that they became homes for those who couldn't work and relied on state benefits.

[@scottneil1187]

Man, did I have a crush on Kim Wilde, still do.