On this day in music history: March 7, 1983 - “The Hurting”, the debut album by Tears For Fears is released (US release date April 11, 1983). Produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, it is recorded at Cresent Studios in Somerset, Bath, UK, Brittania Row Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London from Early 1982 - Early 1983. Originally part of the mod/new wave band Graduate, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith form the duo Tears For Fears in 1981, with their new name being inspired by Dr. Arthur Janov’s “primal scream therapy” in which patients purge themselves of personal traumas and pain that has often been repressed since childhood. Friends since the age of thirteen, Orzabal and Smith both come from broken homes and have been raised by their mothers. They use this as the basis for the songs that make up their debut album. It is a concept album about “feelings of abandonment, rejection and anger”, facing them and dealing with those emotions. In spite of the albums somewhat dark and morose subject matter, it is an immediate hit in TFF’s home country making them major pop stars, also gaining them a toehold of support in the US that will later develop into worldwide success. It spins off three top five singles in the UK including “Change” (#4 UK, #73 US Pop), “Mad World” (#3 UK), and “Pale Shelter” (#5 UK). The original UK version of the album features a photo of a child, sitting with his hands covering his face, against a stark white background. The international release with replace this image with a photo of Orzabal and Smith standing at the bank of a river (the same image is used for the UK single picture sleeve for “Mad World”), looking away from the camera. A remastered 3 CD + 1 DVD deluxe edition of the album is released in October of 2013, with the second disc featuring remixes, single edits and demo versions, the third disc containing live performances recorded for DJ John Peel’s radio program, BBC radio and two further performances recorded in concert. The fourth disc contains the first DVD release of the “In My Mind’s Eye” concert video, recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in December of 1983 and originally released on VHS and laserdisc in November of 1984. “The Hurting” spends one week at number one on the UK album chart and is certified Platinum in the UK by the BPI (British Phonographic Industry, peaking at number seventy three on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

Cover by Gary Jules so central to the film soundtrack for 'Donnie Darko' 

a favourite that I have watched over and over know about ten times or so