"Raoul and the Kings of Spain" is a song by English

pop rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

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

, released as the first single from their 1995 album of the same name. Upon its release, the single reached number 31 in the United Kingdom and would be the band's last top-40 hit there for 10 years, until 2005's "

Closest Thing to Heaven "Closest Thing to Heaven" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. In the UK, it was released as the first single from their sixth studio album, ''Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'' (2004) and was the first single to feature both original me ...

". The song also reached number 39 in the

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

region of Belgium.

Background

In a TV interview in 1995,

Roland Orzabal Roland Orzabal (born Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana; 22 August 1961) is a British musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and author. He is best known as a co-founder of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint v ...

explained that "Raoul is a name that has been in my family for many generations, ..I was actually born Raoul, and my mother ..decided that after two weeks she would change it to Roland to make it easier for English people to pronounce. So it became my nickname, and then when I had my first son ..we decided to hand it on to him." Orzabal further explained that "the Kings of Spain" is a reference to his family history and lineage from his father's side (his father was of Spanish-Basque descent, and his grandfather was

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

). Orzabal stated that, in particular, his father told him "that my great great grandmother was the cousin of the president of Argentina, so really the album should have been called Raoul and the Presidents of Argentina, but not a lot of things rhyme with Argentina." The track was first performed two years prior to its release on the band's 1993 ''Elemental'' World Tour.

Music video

The video for the song was filmed at

The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. The Inn is a listed historic landmark, and was where

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

married in 1945. The video features Orzabal with his full supporting band including guitarist Alan Griffiths (who co-wrote and co-produced the song) and bass player Gail Ann Dorsey.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" – 5:15 # "Queen of Compromise" (Roland Orzabal, Alan Griffiths, Brian Macleod, Jebin Bruni, Gail Ann Dorsey, Jeffrey Trott) – 3:52 # "All of the Angels" (Orzabal, Griffiths) – 4:25 UK CD2 # "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" – 5:15 # "

Creep Creep, Creeps or CREEP may refer to: People * Creep, a creepy person Politics * Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), mockingly abbreviated as CREEP, an fundraising organization for Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign Art ...

" (live in Birmingham) – 4:55 (

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

cover) # "The Madness of Roland" (Orzabal, Griffiths) – 5:09

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Epic Records singles Songs about families Songs about kings Songs about Spain Songs written by Roland Orzabal Tears for Fears songs