Synopsis

Roland Orzabal plays a lovestruck library visitor trying to catch the eye of an attractive librarian, played by Joan Densmore. Around them, the other band members and a colorful cast of characters turn the library into a surreal playground, with a rabbi, musicians, oddball patrons, and a chimpanzee adding to the chaos. Orzabal's romantic pursuit remains mostly one-sided until the closing scene jumps forward in time, revealing that he and the librarian have grown old together as a married couple.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at Emmanuel College Library in Toronto, Ontario, in late May and June 1985.

• The shoot took place during Tears for Fears' North American tour. The crew filmed the video during the day and recorded the band's concerts at Massey Hall at night.

• The basic concept came from Roland Orzabal, who imagined a library, an attractive woman, the couple growing old together, and seemingly random figures including a rabbi and a chimpanzee.

• The chimpanzee, named Zippy, was brought across the U.S.-Canadian border and became the most expensive element of the production.

• The actress playing the librarian was Joan Densmore.

• Curt Smith later pointed out that the sequence in which cards fly from a drawer was inspired by the 1984 film "Ghostbusters."

• During the Toronto shoot, the band learned that "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" had reached No. 1 in the United States.

• The video was later singled out by Dave Grohl as one of his favorite music videos, praising its strange romantic premise and the way the story ultimately "pans out."