“Year of the Knife” by Tears for Fears

"Year of the Knife" comes from The Seeds of Love, the third Tears for Fears album, which Fontana released in 1989 after a production so drawn out, with whole sessions thrown away, that the bill ran past £1 million. Roland Orzabal wrote it with Nicky Holland, who also joins the crowd of extra voices on it alongside Carol Kenyon, Tessa Niles, Dolette McDonald and Andy Caine. Robbie McIntosh and Neil Taylor handle the guitars and Andy Clark plays Hammond organ.

The album kept the band's widescreen sweep while reaching toward jazz, soul and Beatles-flavored pop, and it went straight in at number one in Britain. It left scars, too: the tension of making it split Orzabal from Curt Smith once the 1990 world tour was over.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.