"Head over Heels" is a song recorded by British band

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

for their second studio album ''

Songs from the Big Chair ''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records/Mercury Records. The follow-up to the band's successful debut album, ''The Hurting'' (1983), ' ...

'' (1985). The song was released by

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens AG of Germany. It was a holding company f ...

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, as the album's fourth single on 14 June in the UK. It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom and eighth top 40 hit in the region, peaking at number 12. In the United States, it was the third single from the album and continued the band's run of hits there, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. A limited edition four-leaf-clover-shaped

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

was issued for the single's release in the UK. The song was also an international success, reaching the top 40 in several countries.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "another searching lyric and richly evocative melody."

B-side

"When in Love with a Blind Man" is a short song that served as the B-side to the "Head over Heels" single. It features bassist

Curt Smith Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, bassist, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland ...

on vocals and features a synthesized

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

flute, a popular musical motif for pop music in the 1980s.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Head over Heels", filmed in late May and into June 1985, was the fourth Tears for Fears clip directed by music video producer

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is an English music video director and filmmaker. Originally from Catterick, North Yorkshire, he is based in Los Angeles, California. He has directed music videos for artists such as Britney Spears, Toto, Ba ...

. A lighthearted video in comparison to the band's other promos, it is centred on Roland Orzabal's attempts to get the attention of a librarian (Joan Densmore), while a variety of characters (many played by the rest of the band), including a chimpanzee wearing a

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...

jersey, engage in shenanigans in the library. The final scene shows Orzabal and the librarian as an older married couple. The video was filmed at the Emmanuel College Library in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

In popular culture

An edited version of "Head over Heels" is featured in the 2001 film ''

Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly (filmmaker), Richard Kelly in his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut, and produced by Flower ...

''.

Formats and track listings

7": Mercury / IDEA10 (UK)

# "Head over Heels" (Remix) – 4:14 # "When in Love with a Blind Man" – 2:22 * Also released as a 10" single (IDEA1010) and as a four-leaf clover shaped picture disc (IDPIC10)

12": Mercury / IDEA1012 (UK)

# "Broken/Head over Heels/Broken" (Preacher Mix) – 7:53 # "Head over Heels" (Remix) – 4:14 # "When in Love with a Blind Man" – 2:22

CDV: Mercury / 080 062-2 (UK)

# "Head over Heels" (Remix) – 4:14 # "Sea Song" – 3:52 # "The Working Hour" – 6:27 # "Mothers Talk" (U.S. remix) – 4:14 # "Head over Heels"

Personnel

Personnel are taken from original album credits and the UK CD liner notes.https://images.genius.com/8ad9ee27a5302f8d437a46c12299b698.800x800x1.jpg * Roland Orzabal – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards *

– bass guitar, backing vocals * Manny Elias – drums * Ian Stanley – keyboards * Andy David – grand piano * Marilyn Davis – backing vocals * Annie McCaig – backing vocals * Sandy McLelland – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles Tears for Fears songs Mercury Records singles Phonogram Records singles Songs written by Roland Orzabal Songs written by Curt Smith Song recordings produced by Chris Hughes (record producer) Progressive pop songs