Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Prior to their landmark 'Songs from the Big Chair' album, Tears for Fears had dabbled in a somewhat inchoate synth-pop style that nonetheless won them a scrap of commercial fulfilment and a fairly loyal following. Inevitably, the critics wrote them off as another typical outfit in the then-burgeoning New Romantic camp. However, 'Songs from the Big Chair' saw Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith going for a more refined, varied approach that paid off handsomely in terms of chart success and popularity. Coupled with stronger and more dynamic songwriting qualities which smartly emphasised effective, hook-laden melodies and less abstract, more linear lyrics, the record was primed to make optimum commercial impact. Check out the certified commercial monstrosity and the duo's indisputable signature song, the dreamily percolating, straightforwardly poppish 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World'.