Roland Orzabal
| Roland Orzabal | |
|---|---|
Orzabal in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana |
| Born |
22 August 1961 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK |
| Origin | Bath, Somerset, England, UK |
| Genres | New wave, post-punk, pop rock, mod revival, synthpop, alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer, author |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitars, keyboards |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Mercury, Eagle, Epic |
| Associated acts | Tears for Fears, Graduate, Neon, Mancrab, Oleta Adams, Emilíana Torrini |
Roland Orzabal (born 22 August 1961) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as a co-founder of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists. In 2014, Orzabal published his first novel.
Orzabal was born in Havant, England. His family later moved to Bath where he attended Culverhay School and later became a member of the Zenith Youth Theatre Company.
Orzabal's mother is English and his father (George Orzabal de la Quintana) is from Paris, France, of Spanish-Basque descent. Roland's grandfather, Arturo Orzabal de la Quintana, was from Buenos Aires, Argentina and son of emigrants from the Basque Country. Orzabal was named Raoul for the first two weeks after his birth, but this was changed to Roland to anglicise the name as the family were living in England. When Orzabal was three years old, his father had a nervous breakdown leaving him semi-bedridden for a large portion of Orzabal's childhood. His father decided to run an entertainment business with his mother, a dancer, resulting in different entertainers often around Orzabal's home. He describes his childhood as 'unorthodox' and it inspired various Tears For Fears songs, particularly on The Hurting.
Orzabal met Curt Smith while both were in their early teens in Bath, Somerset. In the late-1970s, they formed a mod music group, Graduate, along with three other members. Following the release of their debut album, Acting My Age, the group disbanded and Orzabal and Smith went on to form Tears for Fears, a new wave/synthpop outfit directly inspired by the writings of the American psychologist Arthur Janov.
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