Roland Orzabal of recently reunited 80s art-rockers - Tears for Fears granted BBC Wiltshire an exclusive interview.

Listen in streaming Real Audio.

Think of 80s music and the band Tears for Fears must, at some point, soon enter your mind.

Led by singer/songwriter Roland Orzabal and singer/bassist Curt Smith - they stood out amongst the image-led vacuous pop of the decade with their intelligent, progressive art-rock that successfully married pop melodies to intricate musical workouts.

Critical acclaim for their 1983 debut album 'The Hurting' soon led to chart success with the singles 'Mad World', 'Change' and 'Pale Shelter' - but worldwide stardom was just around the corner.

The album 'Songs from the Big Chair' released in early 1985 brought them the all important breakthrough in the USand garnered the No.1 spot.The singles - 'Everybody Want to Rule the World' and 'Head over Heels' went on to define the era.

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears in their 80s heyday.

Their 1989 album 'Seeds of Love' was a long time in the making but consolidated their appeal with a more mature sound and the addition of the then unknown Oleta Adams on backing vocals.

It was unfortunately during this period that things started to go wrong for the band - the partnership between Orzabal and Smith broke down and Smith eventually left the band in 1991.

Orzabal kept the name and released two further Tears for Fears albums - Elemental in 1992 and Raoul and the Kings of Spain in 1995 but they were far from being commercial hits.Unlike contemporaries such as U2 they were unable to maintain their initial success and up until recently had resided in the 'where are they now' file.

However in 2001, Orzabal and Smith unexpectedly settled the differences that had kept them apart for 10 years and began writing material for a new Tears for Fears album due for release later this year.

Roland Orzabal who lives just outside Wiltshire near Bath, recently agreed to an audio interview with BBC Wiltshire which took place on Tuesday 4th February 2003.

He reveals what fans can expect from the new album, what led to the reunion, what he thinks of the current music scene and much more. Listen to the interview in streaming Real Audio by clicking below.

Click here to listen to the interview