Everybody Wants to Rule the World
original song written and composed by Chris Hughes, Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley; first recorded by Tears for Fears
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. It was released on March 18, 1985, by Phonogram, Mercury, and Vertigo Records as the third single from the album. Philosophical in nature, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a new wave and synth-pop song with lyrics that detail the desire humans have for control and power, and centres on themes of corruption.
An international success, the song peaked at number two in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom and at number one in Canada, New Zealand, and on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox. It was certified gold by both Music Canada (MC) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Retrospectively, music critics have praised "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with some ranking the song among the decade's best. Along with "Shout" (1984), it is one of the band's signature songs.
A music video received promotion from MTV. In 1986, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and was re-recorded by the band as a charity single for the Sport Aid campaign the same year. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" has been covered extensively since its release, most notably by New Zealand singer Lorde for the soundtrack to the film adaptation of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” enters the record as original song written and composed by Chris Hughes, Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley; first recorded by Tears for Fears. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Everybody, Wants and Rule can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Everybody, Wants and Rule provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1097500. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985, 1984, 1986 and 2013.
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This entry incorporates text from “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.