FANS of 80s pop rock legends Tears for Fears packed into Delamere Forest on Friday for a memorable night of nostalgia featuring a string of classic songs.

Having not seen the band perform since the 1980s I was in two minds as to whether Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith could recreate the unique sound that saw them rack up millions of album sales.

However my doubts vanished into the air on a beautiful summer’s evening as the band opened with a glorious Everybody Wants To Rule The World, surely one of the most addictively infectious pop songs ever written.

Sporting a shock of grey hair, Roland produced a powerhouse vocal display as the sell-out audience of almost 5,800 fans were treated to hits from the band’s monster-selling albums The Hurting, Songs from the Big Chair and The Seeds of Love.

They played five timeless tracks from 1983 debut album The Hurting, including a crowd favourite, Mad World, the band’s first chart hit, and one of the standout songs during the evening, along with Sowing The Seeds of Love and Woman in Chains, the latter centred around a superb, haunting performance by singer Carina Round as darkness fell over the forest.

A breathtaking Heads over Heels left the audience calling for more, and Roland and Curt duly obliged, returning with an encore of the anthemic Shout, the band being virtually drowned out by a captivated crowd singing as one along to one of Tears for Fears’ signature tracks - great weather, a great band and a great night.

Friday’s concert was part of Forestry England’s ‘Forest Live’ concert series. Forest Live is a major outdoor live music series staged every summer by Forestry England in seven beautiful woodland arenas across the country.

More than 1.75 million people have attended a forest gig in the past 18 years, and income generated from ticket sales helps to look after the nation’s forests sustainably for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive.

Pictures by Paul Dulac.