The Hurting by Tears for Fears

The Hurting, the debut album from Tears for Fears, came out on 7 March 1983, and it's one of the bleakest records ever to sell like candy. It's a loose concept album about child abuse, psychological trauma and depression, and producer Chris Hughes wrapped all that pain in cool, glistening new wave, with Ian Stanley on keyboards and Manny Elias on drums and percussion.

The contrast is the whole trick. "Mad World" is a slow, hypnotic shuffle, "Change" bounces on a rubbery, almost playful groove, and "Pale Shelter", here in a fresh recording, aches with longing under its bright surface. All three were top-five hits in Britain, the band's first three hits, and they made it into the top 40 internationally too. The album also carries a new version of "Suffer the Children", their first single from 1981.

It went to number one in the UK in its second week, went gold within three weeks and platinum by January 1985, and made the top 40 in Canada, Germany and Australia. Reviews were mixed at first, but the critics came around later. The record has been reissued several times since, from a 1999 remaster with remixes to a 30th anniversary edition in 2013 and new Steven Wilson surround mixes for its 40th in 2023.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.