#7 - Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Artist: Tears For Fears
Album: Songs From The Big Chair
Video: From DailyMotion.

This is the third and final Tears For Fears video on the countdown, topping off the best year of their career.  Three videos placing in the top third of the countdown, not too shabby.

A fitting anthem for the Cold War era, "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" warns of the consequences of a mad quest for power.  It has Big Brother-ish overtones, very appropriate for the time.

Amazingly, "EWTRTW" nearly didn’t make it on the album.  It was the final song added and was recorded in only three days.  It turned out to be the band's first number one song on the Billboard Hot 100, holding that position for two weeks.  Oddly, the band never had a #1 hit in their home country, the U.K.
 
In the video, Curt Smith drives an antique sports car around the Southern California desert.  Many interesting things are featured in the video, including life-sized dinosaurs, hawks, airplanes, dune buggies, a little boy in a cowboy outfit, and two dapper gentlemen dancing next to old style gas pumps.

One of the cities featured is Cabazon, which features a great grocery store called Hadley Fruit Orchards.  Every time I drive through that area, I like to stop in and buy some dried fruits and nuts.  Check it out.

#11 - Shout

Artist: Tears For Fears

Album: Songs From The Big Chair
Video: From DailyMotion.

According to the singers, “Shout” is an urging for people to speak out about social injustices.  But it can also be interpreted as a direct expression of the primal scream, a form of psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov.  The band’s name was inspired by Janov’s work.

I was always a fan of this song.  Of course, it feels good to shout and let it all out.  With a simple yet powerful message, the song became an anthem of sorts.  Yes, its lofty chart position in this countdown is well deserved.

One of the most popular songs of its time, “Shout” reigned on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.  The tune reached #1 in 8 different countries, but oddly stalled at #4 in the band’s home country of England.

In more recent times, Tears For Fears has been featured on the television show Psych.  The main characters give their tribute to “Shout” here.

I always imagined that this video was filmed at the Grand Canyon.  Upon closer examination, the setting doesn't look anything like that.  Perhaps it was because the band members' mouths appeared to be as big as the Grand Canyon when they sang.  It was actually filmed at Durdle Door, along the Jurassic Coast of Southern England. 

We're not done with Tears For Fears yet.  We'll see them again before this blog is all said and done.

#34 - Head Over Heels

Artist: Tears For Fears

Album: Songs From The Big Chair
Video: From DailyMotion.  With annoying ads at the beginning and end, but it is the complete video.

This is the first of multiple appearances by Tears For Fears on this countdown.  TFF was kind of a big deal in 1985.

"Head Over Heels" was the third single from the "Songs From The Big Chair" album, and it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s a nifty tune.  The album name is a reference to Sybil, the character with multiple personality disorder who sought the comfort of her analyst's "Big Chair".

This is also the second consecutive video in the countdown filmed in Toronto, following Corey Hart.  That's just the type of in-depth research I go the extra mile to provide for you.

The video takes place in a library, an innovative setting for a music video.  Roland Orzabal carries a ridiculously large stack of books and sings loudly to an embarrassed librarian, blatantly disregarding the posted “SILENCE” sign.  Even the monkey in the Red Sox jersey has the decency to keep his yap shut.

Over the course of the video, wacky hijinks ensue, with all the band members getting into the act.  It ends dramatically on the lyric “funny how time flies”, with Orzabal and the librarian transform into an elderly couple, drinking tea and studying in a dignified manner.