Tears For Fears “Shout” released 1984 in the UK, 1985 in the US. 12″ single, US and UK Remixes, plus “The Big Chair.” From Tears For Fears’ album Songs from the Big Chair, “Shout” was a massive hit, reaching #4 in the UK and #1 in the US. I remember the video being on very heavy rotation on MTV and admittedly got a bit sick of it that summer. The remixes, however, are a bit of fresh air, dusting off the overplayed and “most recognizable song from the 80′s.”

The poignant urgency of the matra-like lyrical delivery is punctuated with non-pop heavy industrial effects on the US remix version, adding more complexity to the simplicity of the song’s words. (The UK version more closely resembles the radio-single version, with organ effects and extended world-music flavored instrumental sections.) Roland Orzabal says the song “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.” Curt Smith describes it as a “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.”