Shout (Tears for Fears song)

"Shout" is a 1984 song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal (with Curt Smith duetting on the chorus), it was the band's eighth single release (the second taken from their second LP Songs from the Big Chair) and sixth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #4 in January 1985. In the USA, it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks. "Shout" would become one of the most successful pop songs of 1985, eventually reaching the Top Ten in 25 countries.

Background

While Tears for Fears' previous single "Mothers Talk" had showcased a new, more extroverted songwriting style, "Shout" was a synth-rock anthem, complete with power chords, heavy percussion, a bass solo and female backing vocals. The song even features a lengthy guitar solo, something previously unheard of in Tears for Fears' music.

The song was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the world.

—Roland Orzabal

We were halfway through recording 'Mothers Talk' when Roland first played us a rough version of a new song he'd been working on. It was then very slow and very simple. I remember saying "this is so simple it should take about five minutes to record." Weeks later... We were halfway through recording 'Shout' when Roland had a birthday party. That evening I asked the four of them separately if they had any thoughts about sleeve notes for the record. Roland said "White text on black paper and say something about arguably the best offering yet." Curt said "You're probably the best person to make up some off the wall irrelevant drivel." Ian said "I don't like them, I'm not interested." Manny said "Did you know I used to play drums for 'Rocky Ricketts and The Jet Pilots of Jive?"

—Chris Hughes, from the "Shout" single sleeve notes

Meanings

A lot of people think that 'Shout' is just another song about primal scream theory, continuing the themes of the first album. It is actually more concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when a lot of people were still worried about the aftermath of The Cold War and it was basically an encouragement to protest.

—Roland Orzabal

It concerns protest inasmuch as it encourages people not to do things without actually questioning them. People act without thinking because that's just the way things go in society. So it's a general song, about the way the public accepts any old grief which is thrown at them.

—Curt Smith

Song versions

"Shout" is by far the most abundantly remixed song in the Tears for Fears catalog, with at least fifteen different versions of it having been officially released under the band's name.

As was commonplace during the 1980s, the original 12-inch vinyl single release featured an extended remix of the song. Three remixes by collaborators Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero later appeared on American releases of the single, including dub and a cappella versions. More recently, remixes have been done by notable DJs such as Jakatta, Fergie, Skylark and Beatchuggers. It was also remixed in the video game DJ Hero, where the song was mixed with Pjanoo.

In addition to the twelve-inch mixes, "Shout" also appeared in three different 7-inch versions. The original single version released in the UK and much of the rest of the world clocks in at 5:53 and is the same mix of the song found on the Songs from the Big Chair LP, albeit in an edited form. The version released in Germany and Japan is 4:51 in length and fades out during the guitar solo. Meanwhile, the final version released in America is specifically tailored for radio play at a concise 3:59 in length, featuring edits to the chorus and instrumental sections.

The song was also covered by the American Heavy Metal band Disturbed on their 2000 album entitled "The Sickness" with the song being shortened to 4 minutes and 7 minutes from the over 5 minute version of the original. The cover is known as "Shout 2000".

Release variations

In addition to the standard 7- and 12-inch releases, the "Shout" single was issued in two collectible formats in the UK: a limited edition 10-inch single and a 7-inch boxed pack featuring a 1985 Tears for Fears calendar. A similar limited edition 7-inch pack was released in Canada, this one featuring a 12-page booklet of band photos. In 1988, "Shout" was reissued on the short-lived CD Video format. The disc included two mixes of the title track, a remix of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and the "Shout" music video.

B-side

"The Big Chair" is an instrumental that served as the B-side to the "Shout" single. The only lyrics are dialogue samples from the movie Sybil, from which the song (and the album Songs from the Big Chair) takes its name. This is one of the few songs in the Tears for Fears catalogue on which founding member Curt Smith shares a writing credit. The song has since been included in the b-sides and rarities collection Saturnine Martial & Lunatic as well as the remastered and deluxe edition reissues of Songs from the Big Chair.

This track was very much inspired by the film Sybil about a woman suffering from multiple personalities undergoing psychotherapy. The big chair in her therapist's office is the place Sybil feels safest to recount the horrors of her childhood.

—Roland Orzabal

Music video

The promotional clip for "Shout", filmed in late 1984, was the second Tears for Fears clip directed by famed music video producer Nigel Dick. It features footage of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset, England, as well as a studio jam with the full band (including Ian Stanley and Manny Elias) performing the song amidst a crowd of family and friends. The video reportedly cost only £14,000 to produce. Along with the clip for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", the "Shout" video had a big hand in helping break Tears for Fears in America, due to its heavy airplay on music video pioneer MTV. Ironically, the band had at one time considered making a second video for the song's American single release, as the original was not considered MTV friendly.

Track listings

Chart positions

Popular culture

"Shout" has been covered by the following artists:

• American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, on their single "Mexican Moon" (1994).
• German death metal band Atrocity, on their album Werk 80 (1997).
• American pop act Sweetbox, on their self-titled debut album (1998).
• German power metal band At Vance, on their album No Escape (1999).
• American metal band Disturbed on their debut album The Sickness (2000), under the title "Shout 2000."
• Japanese rock band Nil on their cover album The Covering Inferno (2004).
• American recording artist Alexis Jordan samples the song on her self-titled debut album (2011), under the title "Shout Shout".

American pop-rock band OneRepublic has performed the song during their Waking Up tour. The live version appeared on the international version of their second album Waking Up as a bonus track. Joan Baez and the Neville Brothers performed the song during the six-city Conspiracy of Hope tour to support Amnesty International in June 1986.

Also in 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic performed a polka version of the chorus in the track "Polka Party!" from the album of the same name.

"Shout" was sampled by American gospel/hip hop artist Kirk Franklin in his song "Let It Go", from the album Hero (2005). The song was also sampled for Girl Talk's remix of the Grizzly Bear song "Knife", along with the Clipse song "Wamp Wamp (What It Do)".^[2]

The music video game DJ Hero features "Shout" in a mashup with Eric Prydz's "Pjanoo" as a playable track.^[3]

In 2007, the song was featured in an episode of the USA Network television dramedy Psych (titled "American Duos"), in which the two main characters perform it on stage in a spoof of American Idol.

Shout For England

In 2010, "Shout" was used as the basis for an unofficial anthem of the England football team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The new version, performed by Shout For England featuring Dizzee Rascal and James Corden, utilises elements from the Tears For Fears song amid new verses written specifically for the 2010 World Cup. The track also samples "Grandma's Hands" by Bill Withers and was produced by Simon Cowell in association with TalkTalk. It was performed on the Series 4 finale of Britain's Got Talent^[4] on 5 June 2010, ahead of its release on 9 June.^[5] On 13 June, the track entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1 (the second remake of a Tears For Fears song to reach number 1 in the UK, after Michael Andrews and Gary Jules version of "Mad World" became 2003's Christmas number-one).

References