It’s one of the most essential tracks of the 80s, a song that perfectly captures the neon decade in all its glory and infamy. Everybody want to rule the world by Tears for Fears. The thing is... it almost never happened. Written by a band that was virtually unknown in the US at the time, this track changed everything… it went to #1 and is still arguably the definitive track of the 80s… But the truth is, the singer-songwriter who wrote it didn’t even like it. And didn’t want it on the album. He called it lightweight and said it didn’t fit with the rest of the songs. With just one slot open, it came down to this one and two other tracks. Find out what changed his mind. Plus, discover which two songs inspired the process of writing it. The story behind this one will make you hear it in a whole new way.… It’s coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock.

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Brandon Fugal

Honorary Producers
Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne, Jaimee Hammack, Dan Tierney, Sarge, Byrdman

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Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you remember watching the classic gameshows growing up like the Price is Right and Hollywood Squares or the Newlywed game, subscribe below right now. and click the bell, I know you’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia We also have a Patreon you'll want to check out. There you’ll find an additional catalog of exclusive content and you can even become an honorary producer to help us curate this music history. So it’s time for another edition of our series The New Standards. This show takes an in-depth look into songs that transcend genre, decade, and fads - songs that have become monumental touchstones in our culture and society. On previous episodes we have covered Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds, Careless Whisper by Wham!, and Take On Me by a-ha.

For today’s installment, we are rewinding back to 1985 to cover a song that is an indisputable classic… that not only conquered America, but fittingly, the planet. From Tears For Fears’ Songs From the Big Chair, it’s Everybody Wants to Rule the World. For fans familiar with TFF’s first album The Hurting, there was a palpable excitement building for their next offering. Most of these fans however, lived somewhere other than America. That’s because here on the States The Hurting flew under the radar, stalling at #73 on the Billboard 200. Additionally, the album’s singles were more or less no shows on the Hot 100 Still, the British-born duo of Roland Orzabel and Curt Smith had high expectations as they finished Songs From the Big Chair. After all, on their side of the Atlantic, The Hurting had gone to #1 and kicked out three Top 5 singles. It was like night and day.

Roland noted there were important similarities between the two albums, but he considered Songs From the Big Chair to be much better record. It was more mature and more representative of them as people… steeped with humor, sarcasm, and cynicism. And whereas ‘The Hurting’ was quite insular, Big Chair projects outward, adopting a much larger world view.

And in that spirit of expanding perspective, it was Songs From the Big Chair that introduced TFF to America… launching their career into the stratosphere. The album was worth more than a king’s ransom, selling in excess of 10 million albums worldwide. And according to the RIAA, at least 5 million...