Roland Orzabal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roland Orzábal
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Orzabal in 2020
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roland Jaime Orzábal De La Quintana |
| Born | 22 August 1961 Portsmouth, England |
| Origin | Bath, Somerset, England |
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| Years active | 1979−present |
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Roland Jaime Orzábal De La Quintana (born August 22, 1961) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He also works as a record producer and author. Roland is a co-founder of the band Tears for Fears. He is their guitarist, one of the main singers, and the band's main songwriter. He is also the only member who has been with the band since the beginning. Roland has helped produce music for other artists, like Oleta Adams. In 2014, he wrote and published his first book, which was a romantic comedy.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Roland Orzabal was born in Portsmouth, England. He grew up in a nearby town called Havant. Later, his family moved to Bath, Somerset. Roland started writing songs when he was just 7 years old. He went to Culverhay School and was part of a youth theater group there.
Music Career Highlights
Starting with Bands
Roland met Curt Smith when they were both teenagers in Bath. In the late 1970s, they formed a mod music group called Graduate. After releasing their first album, Acting My Age, the group broke up. Roland and Curt then joined another band called Neon for a short time.
After that, they decided to form their own band, Tears for Fears. This band was inspired by the ideas of an American psychologist named Arthur Janov. In Tears for Fears, Roland sings and plays guitar. Curt sings and plays bass guitar. Roland is also the main person who writes the band's songs.
Tears for Fears' Big Success
The first album by Tears for Fears, called The Hurting (1983), became number one in the UK. Their second album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), was a huge hit. It reached number one in the US and sold millions of copies in both the UK and the US. This album included two very popular songs that reached number one in the US: "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
After their third album, The Seeds of Love (1989), Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal decided to work separately in 1991. Roland continued to make music under the Tears for Fears name. He released albums like Elemental (1993) and Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995).
Later, Roland and Curt reunited as Tears for Fears. They released the album Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004. Their seventh album, The Tipping Point, came out in February 2022.
Solo Music Work
In 2001, Roland Orzabal released his first album as a solo artist. It was called Tomcats Screaming Outside.
Producing and Songwriting for Others
Roland Orzabal has won the Ivor Novello Award three times for his songwriting. This award is very important in the music world. He won his first award in 1986 for "Songwriter of the Year" after the success of Songs from the Big Chair.
Roland and Curt Smith helped discover the talented singer and pianist Oleta Adams. They asked her to work with them on their 1989 album The Seeds of Love. Oleta sang on several songs, including the hit single "Woman in Chains", which she sang as a duet with Roland. After that, Roland helped produce Oleta Adams' album Circle of One (1990). This album reached number one in the UK.
In 1999, Roland also helped produce an album for the Icelandic singer-songwriter Emiliana Torrini. The album was called Love in the Time of Science.
Roland wrote the famous song "Mad World". This song was first a hit for Tears for Fears in 1982. Later, in 2001, a new version of "Mad World" was recorded by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko. Their version became the Christmas number-one song in the UK in 2003. In 2004, Roland won his second Ivor Novello Award for "Mad World". In 2021, Roland and Curt Smith won their third Ivor Novello Award for their amazing collection of songs as Tears for Fears.
Authoring a Novel
Roland Orzabal has also written a book. It is a romantic comedy about a pop star named Solomon Capri. This pop star is semi-retired but gets asked to be on a reality TV show. The show is called Popstar to Operastar. Solomon sees the show as a way to make his career and his marriage better. Roland's own experience inspired the story. He was asked to be on the TV show himself, but he did not take part.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
In 1982, Roland married Caroline Johnston. They had been together since they were teenagers. Caroline sang a child's voice on the Tears for Fears song "Suffer the Children". She also drew the artwork for the cover of the "Pale Shelter" single in 1983. Roland and Caroline Orzabal had two sons. Caroline passed away in 2017.
In 2020, Roland married Emily Rath. She is a photographer and writer. They got married in Aspen, Colorado.
Political Views Reflected in Music
After Margaret Thatcher was re-elected as Prime Minister in 1987, Roland became interested in socialism. He felt that Thatcher's policies did not help working-class people enough. His feelings about this were shown in the lyrics of the Tears for Fears song "Sowing the Seeds of Love". The song says: "Politician granny with your high ideals / Have you no idea how the majority feels?".
Discography
Solo Albums
- Tomcats Screaming Outside (2001)
With Graduate
- Acting My Age (1980)
With Tears for Fears
- The Hurting (1983)
- Songs from the Big Chair (1985)
- The Seeds of Love (1989)
- Elemental (1993)
- Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995)
- Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004)
- The Tipping Point (2022)
With Mancrab
- "Fish for Life" (1986)
See also
In Spanish: Roland Orzabal para niños
