Sowing the Seeds of Love

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"Sowing the Seeds of Love"
SowingTheSeedsOfLove.jpg
Single by Tears for Fears
from the album The Seeds of Love
B-side"Tears Roll Down"
Released21 August 1989 (1989-08-21)
Recorded1987–1989
GenrePop rock
Length
  • 6:19 (album version)
  • 5:48 (single edit)
LabelFontana
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Tears for Fears
  • Dave Bascombe
Tears for Fears singles chronology
"I Believe"
(1985) 		"Sowing the Seeds of Love"
(1989) 		"Woman in Chains"
(1989)

"Sowing the Seeds of Love" is a song by the British group Tears for Fears. It was released as the first single from their third studio album, The Seeds of Love (1989), and was a worldwide hit, topping the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and reaching the top ten in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100.

Background[]

The song incorporates a number of musical styles and recording techniques, with a number of reviewers considering it a pastiche of the Beatles, produced in a style reminiscent of their late 1960s output.[1] It was written in June 1987, during the week of the UK General Election in which Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party won a third consecutive term in office. The election prompted Roland Orzabal to take an interest in politics, with a special interest in socialism. At the time of its release, he considered this to be the most overtly political song that Tears for Fears had ever recorded. The lyrics refer to Thatcher's election win with "Politician granny with your high ideals, have you no idea how the majority feels?"

The song's title was inspired by a radio programme that Orzabal had heard at the time about a man who was putting together a collection of traditional English folk songs. One of the more obscure songs was called "The Seeds of Love", which he had learned about from a gardener called Mr. England (reflected in the lyric "Mr. England sowing the seeds of love").[2]

Music video[]

The music video was directed by Jim Blashfield, who had already made acclaimed videos for Joni Mitchell ("Good Friends"), Paul Simon ("The Boy in the Bubble") and Michael Jackson ("Leave Me Alone"). Joanna Priestley directed the "Miro" section of the video for Jim Blashfield and Associates. It was animated with pencil on paper, transferred to punched acetate sheets and painted with Cel Vinyl acrylic paints.[3] The video won two awards at the MTV Music Video Awards: Best Breakthrough Video and Best Special Effects. It was also nominated in the "Best Group Video" and "Best Postmodern Video" categories.[4]

Release[]

The single was released on multiple formats, including a 7-inch single, a 12-inch single, a 12-inch picture disc, a cassette single, and a CD single.

Track listings[]

7-inch and cassette single[5][6]

  1. "Sowing the Seeds of Love" (7-inch version)
  2. "Tears Roll Down"

UK 12-inch and European CD single[7][8]

  1. "Sowing the Seeds of Love (full version)
  2. "Tears Roll Down"
  3. "Shout" (U.S. remix)

The B-side track "Tears Roll Down" is an early, mostly instrumental version of "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)", which was released as a single in 1992 and included on the band's greatest hits album of the same name.

Charts[]

See also[]

  • List of RPM number-one singles of 1989
  • List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 1980s

References[]

  1. ^ Stephen Holden (21 February 1990). "Disciples of the Beatles". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  2. ^ Thrills, Adrian (1990). Tears for Fears – The Seeds of Love. London, UK: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-329-6.
  3. ^ "Hiroshima 2014 International Jury". hiroanim.org. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. ^ MTV - Video Awards (1990)
  5. ^ Sowing the Seeds of Love (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Tears for Fears. Fontana Records. 1989. IDEAG 12, 874 996-7.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Sowing the Seeds of Love (UK cassette single sleeve). Tears for Fears. Fontana Records. 1989. IDMC 12, 874 710-4.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Sowing the Seeds of Love (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Tears for Fears. Fontana Records. 1989. IDEAT 12, 874 711-1.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Sowing the Seeds of Love (UK CD single liner notes). Tears for Fears. Fontana Records. 1989. IDCD 12, 874 711-2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6592." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  13. ^ "RPM 30 Retail Singles". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 40. 1 October 1989. p. IV. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sowing the Seeds of Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 46. 18 November 1989. p. VII. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Tears for Fears" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Charts.nz – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Tears for Fears Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LIII no. 17. 4 November 1989. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  29. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 1989". ARIA. Retrieved 7 January 2020 – via Imgur.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '89". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. OCLC 29800226 – via American Radio History.
  33. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1989". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1989/Top 100 Songs of 1989". Music Outfitters, Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

External links[]

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