Phonogram/Mercury Records, released 25th February 1985
Recorded at The Wool Hall, Beckington, Somerset, and the Hammersmith Odeon, London
Produced by Chris Hughes
Peaked at #2 in the UK album chart
Remained in the UK Top 10 for over six months and the Top 40 for over a year
Reached #1 in the US album charts
Bassist/singer/co-writer Curt Smith explained the album’s title in a 1985 interview:
“The title was my idea. It’s a bit perverse but then you’ve got to understand our sense of humour. The ‘Big Chair’ idea is from this brilliant film called Sybil about a girl with 16 different personalities. She’d been tortured incredibly by her mother as a child and the only place she felt safe, the only time she could really be herself was when she was sitting in her analyst’s chair. She felt safe, comfortable and wasn’t using her different faces as a defence. It’s kind of an ‘up yours’ to the English music press who really fucked us up for a while. This is us now – and they can’t get at us anymore…”