The Hurting is the debut studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 7 March 1983 by Mercury Records, and distributed by Phonogram Inc. The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks of release. The album also entered the Top 40 in several other countries, including Canada, Germany, and Australia. It was certified Platinum in the UK in January 1985.
The Hurting is a loose concept album focusing on themes of child abuse, psychological trauma, and depression. Despite its dark subject matter, the album was a huge commercial success. It contains Tears for Fears' first three hit singles – "Mad World", "Change", and "Pale Shelter" – all of which reached the top five in the UK and the Top 40 internationally. It also contains a new version of the band's first single, "Suffer the Children", which had originally been released in 1981, while the album version of "Pale Shelter" is also a new recording. The album initially received mixed reviews but attracted retrospective critical acclaim.
The album was remastered and reissued in 1999, and included four remixes as bonus tracks and an extensive booklet with liner notes about the album's creation. A 30th anniversary reissue was released on 21 October 2013, in both double-CD and deluxe four-disc boxed set editions. For the album's 40th anniversary, new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound Blu-ray remixes by Steven Wilson, as well as a remastered vinyl edition of the original mix, were released in June 2023.
The songs were written by Orzabal inspired by his own childhood traumas and the primal theories of Janov. Most of the songs were heavily inspired by the writings of Janov. "Ideas as Opiates" was named after a chapter in Prisoners of Pain, which also was a direct influence on the song "The Prisoner". Musical influences included Gary Numan, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and Joy Division.
Having worked with different producers on their first two singles, they recruited Chris Hughes to produce the album. The core of the band Orzabal and Smith worked in a close and democratic collaboration with producers Hughes and Ross Cullum, only using ideas all four of them agreed on. Prior to the album "Mad World", originally thought of as a single B-side, was released and became a hit single. The band's first two singles "Suffer the Children" and "Pale Shelter" were re-recorded for the album.