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TEARS FOR FEARS The band once again joined forces with Alex Reardon to create a contemporary visual feast. TPi spoke to the designer about this latest labour of love.
Formed in Bath during the early ’80s, Tears For Fears were one of the predominant forces in redefining a decade of pop-rock. Thirty years later, the band’s influence is as present as ever. Indeed, when the band walked onto the stages during their 2019 arena tour, the entrance music chosen was Lorde’s recent rendition of Everybody Wants To Rule The World before jumping straight into their own classic version of the song. For the UK and European tour, the band welcomed fans to revel in some of their famed back catalogue while offering a fresh new stage show. Tasked with creating this latest performance was Lighting Designer Alex Reardon. Although native to the UK, Reardon has been residing in Los Angeles for the last 20 years. In January of 2018, he joined the creative design practice, Silent House Productions. With the tour coming to an end, the creative spoke from his west coast office about his experience with the tour.
“For me this project was really a labour of love,” he began. “I was 21 when Tears for Fears had their initial flourish of success and it was a band that I grew up listening to. As well as all the memories I have from their songs, all there material is a pleasure to light. It’s very dynamic going from more trippy tracks to softer beautiful moments. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I can count on one hand the number of gigs that have really had a lasting impression on me – I would count this project as one of them.” Aiding Reardon in the creative process for the tour was Lighting Director Richard White along with programmer and long time collaborator Joe Cabrera. Reardon explained how one of the main goals for the design was to create a lighting rig that would immerse the band. One of the predominate fixtures present on the set were a selection of Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron 10s. “We essentially created a 3D layer of 08
