Tears for Fears’ New LP ‘The Tipping Point’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Album Sales Chart

Celebrated English synth-pop duo Tears for Fears returned on Feb. 25 with The Tipping Point, their first record together since 2004.

A thoughtful and poignant collection of songs drawing inspiration from personal tragedy and the sociopolitical climate of our era, the record debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, with Billboard noting it is the best sales week experienced by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal since 1991.

That’s an undeniable triumph for Tears for Fears, which has long been a favorite of fans all over the world. The near two-decade gap between albums finds Smith and Orzabal creatively refreshed and at their very best — so it’s no surprise the album has been met with such quick success.

#1 Billboard Top Album Sales. #8 Billboard Top 200. Thank you. #thetippingpoint https://t.co/NJzqYusCBS @billboard pic.twitter.com/Mbfo8dEK50

— Tears for Fears (@tearsforfears) March 8, 2022

As Smith told Rock Cellar’s George A. Paul in our feature interview about The Tipping Point, the creative fire is still burning, so to speak:

“I think it’s still having something to say. That was the biggest struggle about doing sessions with other people. One, they didn’t know us and two, we were struggling to find out what it was we were trying to say. Until we discovered that, it was one of those endless hamster wheels that you were going in and it was really for the sake of doing it.

“We felt at that point in time we were making an album because we should. Eventually we made an album because we wanted to.”

Click here to pick up The Tipping Point on CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pick up The Tipping Point on LP from our Rock Cellar Store

Smith also recalled how the process by which he and Orzabal completed this album was the most gratifying for them as it’s been since the early 1980s:

“Without question, yeah. There’s certainly a gratification or an appreciation when you finish an album. Normally when we finish records, a lot of times I don’t listen to them that much afterwards. They’re done. Albums can sometimes not be a pleasurable experience because of the battles you go through to get the album the way you want it. That’s down to internal and external battles.

“But in the end, when we did this album, it was very much the two of us who sat down and decided what we wanted to do in 2020 after we’d done all these writing sessions. It was the two of us, without any management or record company. We made this album and we delivered it to a management company and the record company. We went to find a partner to release it with after that. In that sense, it’s the most ‘us’ album ever because there was no outside influence. Basically none.”

Our interview with Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears about their brand new record "The Tipping Point."

"It’s the most ‘us’ album ever because there was no outside influence. Basically none." Listen and read here: https://t.co/u6h80eunVQ pic.twitter.com/kHeBGBfz83

— Rock Cellar Magazine (@RockCellarMag) February 28, 2022

In the end, The Tipping Point is as quintessentially Tears for Fears as there’s ever been. Congratulations to the band on the No. 1 debut!

Stream the album below.

Catch Tears for Fears on the road later this spring with special guests Garbage:

Friday, May 20, 2022 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
Saturday, May 21, 2022 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory – Dallas, TX
Friday, May 27, 2022 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
Sunday, May 29, 2022 – Levitt Pavilion – Denver, CO
Wednesday, June 01, 2022 – Concord Pavilion – Concord, CA
Thursday, June 02, 2022 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Saturday, June 04, 2022 – The Forum – Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, June 05, 2022 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – San Diego, CA
Thursday, June 09, 2022 – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
Friday, June 10, 2022 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater – Tampa, FL
Sunday, June 12, 2022 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
Monday, June 13, 2022 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, June 15, 2022 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Detroit, MI
Thursday, June 16, 2022 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
Friday, June 17, 2022 – Ruoff Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
Sunday, June 19, 2022 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
Tuesday, June 21, 2022 – TD Pavilion at The Mann – Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 – Leader Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA
Friday, June 24, 2022 – P.N.C. Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
Saturday, June 25, 2022 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY