Today’s Guest: Curt Smith, singer, Tears For Fears
Here’s a Tears For Fears story I guarantee you haven’t heard before:
I was the pop music critic for the St. Petersburg Times in 1985, assigned to review a Tears For Fears concert.
I rushed back to the paper’s Clearwater bureau that night to file my story. Waiting for it in downtown St. Petersburg was the late night editor, Christine Holsten. I filed my story and waited for her to read it and answer any questions she might have.
CURT SMITH podcast excerpt: “Tears for Fears is where myself and Roland meet. It’s about compromise. I know when I write a certain song that it’s not going to be Roland’s cup of tea. Our solo work is incredibly personal.”
But her major question wasn’t about my story; it was about the photo credit. The photographer identified his picture as Roland Orzabal on the left, Curt Smith on the right. But Christine wasn’t convinced. I said the photographer had it correct, but she had the final call and switched the ID in the caption.
It was probably the last time I was right about anything in our relationship, but I was right; she was wrong. A horde of TFF fans called in the next day to say how stupid I was for getting it wrong, of course. (They weren’t happy about being referred to as “teeny-boppers,” either!)
That was one of the first real moments that truly bound us and to this day, whenever we hear a Tears song playing, we can’t help but stop and fondly reminisce about that night. We’ve now been married 22 years and counting.
Which is my long way of telling you that my guest today is Tears For Fears’ Curt Smith, who has released a new holiday single, “This is Christmas,” and will be playing several solo gigs in Los Angeles in 2011 and will rejoin Roland Orzabal for a Tears For Fears tour of South America and the U.S. West Coast.
Tears For Fears’ Curt Smith Website • Facebook • Twitter • MySpace • YouTube • Flickr
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