"Head over Heels" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Tears for Fears | ||||
from the album Songs from the Big Chair | ||||
B-side | "When in Love with a Blind Man" | |||
Released | 1985 | |||
Format | ||||
Genre | New wave | |||
Length |
|
|||
Label | ||||
Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Chris Hughes | |||
Tears for Fears singles chronology | ||||
|
"Head over Heels" is a song by the British new wave band Tears for Fears. It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom (the fourth taken from their second LP Songs from the Big Chair) and eighth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 12 in July 1985. In the United States, it was the third single from the album and continued the band's run of hits there, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A limited edition four-leaf clover shaped picture disc was issued for the single's release in the UK. The song was also an international success, reaching the Top 40 in several countries.
"Head over Heels" had been developed nearly two years prior as part of a segue with the song "Broken", which was previously a stand-alone B-side to the 1983 "Pale Shelter" single. As the two songs share the same piano/synth motif, "Head over Heels" eventually came to be sandwiched in between two bookend parts of "Broken" in live performances. This placement carried over to the final track listing of the Big Chair LP, with a studio recording of "Broken" preceding "Head Over Heels" and a live reprise of "Broken" (recorded at the concert which was released on the "In My Mind's Eye" VHS) following it.
The song features Roland Orzabal on lead vocals, with Curt Smith singing a couple of lines in the background during the second verse.
It is basically a romantic love song and one of the most simple tracks that Tears for Fears have ever recorded. It is a romance song that goes a bit perverse at the end.
"Head over Heels" has seen only three official remixes since its release.
The 12" version was titled the "Preacher Mix" and is an extended remix of the entire "Broken/Head Over Heels/Broken" medley. The mix was done by producer Chris Hughes and features an unusual spoken word intro in which Roland Orzabal recites lyrics from the song "I Believe" in the style of a preacher. This mix contains the only released studio recording of the "Broken" reprise (the version on the Songs from the Big Chair album is a live recording). The sung vocals from the album version of "Broken" are completely absent, as is the lead guitar line.