Tears for Fears Announce The Hurting 40th Anniversary Reissue

Tears for Fears will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album, The Hurting, with a new reissue. Out May 12th, it will be available as a half-speed vinyl remaster and a newly created Dolby Atmos mix.

The half-speed remaster was done at Abbey Road Studios by audio engineer Miles Showell. Meanwhile, the new Atmos mix was created by Steven Wilson, who previously remixed the Tear for Fears albums Songs from the Big Chair, The Seeds of Love, and The Tipping Point into spatial audio formats.

Pre-orders are ongoing. The Dolby Atmos mix will be released as part of a limited edition Blu-ray disc exclusively available via SuperDeluxeEdition also featuring two previously unheard tracks, a 5.1 mix, an instrumental mix, and the original album master.

The Hurting was released on March 7th, 1983, and topped the UK albums chart. It spawned three classic Top 5 hits: “Mad World,” “Change,” and “Pale Shelter.” Written solely by guitarist/singer Roland Orzabal, the loose concept album centers around themes of childhood psychological trauma and Arthur Janov’s Primal Scream therapy.

In a statement from last year, Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith said the band recently noticed the familiarity of young festival audiences with the album. “I’m looking at the front of the audience, and they’re all far younger than me, and they’re all singing all the lyrics to every song from The Hurting,” he said. “It was shocking to me. When you look at it retrospectively, it makes sense because the album was written when we were that age. Those lyrics resonate with a younger audience.”

Last year, Tears for Fears released The Tipping Point, their first studio album in 17 years. In an interview with Consequence, the duo opened up about how writing their first album in almost two decades became a balancing act of record label requests (achieving a modern sound) and staying true to themselves.

The Hurting Half-Speed Remaster Artwork:

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