Shout (Tears for Fears song)

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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. [7]

— Roland Orzabal

Reception

Cash Box said that it has "an anthemic chorus and a booming production sound". [8] John Leland at Spin called it, " the simple, mindless pop song Depeche Mode has been trying to write for years. The vocals sound like they're coming from a porcelain bathroom at the foot of the Alps. Other than that, its got a singsong melody that numbs all critical faculties, portentious lyrics that signify nothing, and a happy lack of synth doodles or Bowie-isms." [9]

Meaning

Song writer Roland Orzabal has said that the song "is actually more concerned with political protest" than the common view that it is about primal scream theory. [10]

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. [11] 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 the B-side to the "Shout" single. Though there are no lyrics, the track contains dialogue samples performed by actors Sally Field and William Prince from the 1976 television film 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 bandmember Curt Smith shares a writing credit. The song has since been included in the band's B-sides and rarities collection Saturnine Martial & Lunatic (1996) 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

Durdle Door, Dorset, on the English coast, where some scenes in the music video were shot Durdle Door Overview.jpg
Durdle Door, Dorset, on the English coast, where some scenes in the music video were shot

The promotional video for "Shout", filmed in late 1984, was the second Tears for Fears video directed by Nigel Dick. It features footage of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset on the south coast of England, as well as in a studio with the full band, including Ian Stanley and Manny Elias, performing the song amidst a crowd of family and friends. [12]

Along with the clip for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", the "Shout" video helped to establish Tears for Fears in North America due to its heavy airplay on the music video channel MTV. [13]

Track listings

"Shout"
TFF Shout.jpg
Single by Tears for Fears
from the album Songs from the Big Chair
B-side "The Big Chair"
Released23 November 1984 [1]
Studio The Wool Hall (Beckington, England)
Genre
Length
  • 6:31 (album version)
  • 6:00 (video version)
  • 4:52 (single version)
  • 3:59 (U.S. single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Chris Hughes
Tears for Fears singles chronology
"Mothers Talk"
(1984)		"Shout"
(1984)		"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
(1985)
Audio sample
"Shout"

Personnel

Tears for Fears

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [46] Platinum100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [47] Gold10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] Gold500,000‡
United States (RIAA) [49] Gold500,000^
United States (RIAA) [49] Gold500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

*In addition to its Gold certification for 500,000 physical copies sold in the 1980s, "Shout" was awarded a second Gold award by the RIAA in 2012 for 500,000 digital copies sold.

Cover versions

"Shout" has been covered by various artists:

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 released on 9 June. [55] On 13 June, the track entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 1. [56]

See also

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