"Pale Shelter" is a song by the British band

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist

Curt Smith Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, bassist, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland ...

, it was originally the band's second single release in early 1982. The original version of the song, entitled "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)", did not see chart success at the time of its original UK release. However, it did later become a top 20 hit in Canada and a top 75 hit when it was reissued in the UK in 1985. The generally better-known version was a re-recording from 1983. This version eventually became the third UK top 5 chart hit taken from Tears for Fears' debut LP '' The Hurting'' (1983), peaking at number 5. As with the previous two singles, the song also reached the top 40 in several other countries.

Origin and production

Along with "Suffer the Children", "Pale Shelter" was one of two demo songs that landed Tears for Fears their first record deal with

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phon ...

in 1981. The song began life as a sequence of two chords that Orzabal had been repeatedly playing on acoustic guitar for weeks. The rest of the music and lyrics were eventually written in a single morning. The original demo of the song was recorded at musician Ian Stanley's home studio in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, after a chance meeting led to a working relationship with the duo. After the release of their David Lord-produced debut single "Suffer the Children", "Pale Shelter" was selected as the follow-up. In an effort to sound more commercial, and because Lord was busy recording Peter Gabriel's fourth album,

Mike Howlett Michael John Gilmour Howlett (born 27 April 1950) is a bass guitar player, record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Career In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band the Affair, which included ...

was brought in to produce. Artistic disagreements between the duo and Howlett (specifically regarding his overuse of Linn drums) led to this being his only work with Tears for Fears. As Curt Smith later noted, "Mike was far too commercial for us. I don't think we felt we were learning anything and we're not good at being pushed in a direction we don't wish to go." The song was eventually re-recorded by

Chris Hughes Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...

and Ross Cullum for the band's 1983 debut album ''The Hurting''. Although both recordings of the song open with a sample played in reverse, on the original, it is an extra lyric spoken by Orzabal, while on the album cut, it is a brief piano lick.

Meaning

The title of the song is a reference to "Pale Shelter Scene", a 1941 drawing by British sculptor

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

Release and reissues

"Pale Shelter" was initially released in 1982 as a United Kingdom-only single in both 7" and 12" formats. The 7" features the original recording of the song, while the 12" features an extended version. Both formats featured the B-side "The Prisoner", a noisy, electronic piece inspired by the Peter Gabriel song " Intruder", which showed off the duo's early experiments with synthesizers and sampling. Like "Pale Shelter", this song would also be re-recorded for inclusion on the album ''The Hurting''. Although the single attracted some club play in the United States, it was ultimately a failure in the UK charts. In 1983, after the success of singles "

Mad World "Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. ...

" and "

Change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

", the re-recorded version of "Pale Shelter" was given another shot as a single, released in the United Kingdom and Europe in both 7" and 12" formats. The 7" features a slightly edited version of the album cut, while the 12" features a new extended version. To provide a chart push the second time around, Mercury took full advantage of the

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

and coloured vinyl gimmicks that were popular throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. In all, eleven different variations of the reissued single were available for purchase. All formats of the reissue featured the B-side "We Are Broken", an early version of the song "Broken" which would later appear on Tears for Fears' second album ''

Songs from the Big Chair ''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records/Mercury Records. The follow-up to the band's successful debut album, ''The Hurting'' (1983), ' ...

''. Aided by aggressive promotion and the duo's coinciding British concerts (at many of which the song was played twice), "Pale Shelter" finally became a chart success, peaking at No. 5 in the United Kingdom. In 1985, following up on the massive success of ''Songs from the Big Chair'', Mercury reissued the original Howlett-produced version of "Pale Shelter" as a single, complete with a new variation of the original picture sleeve. Featuring the same formats and track listings as the original 1982 release, the single was a modest success, denting the UK top 75.

Canadian special edit

Although "Pale Shelter" was not released commercially in the United States, it was issued in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in early 1983 to promote ''The Hurting'', albeit in different form. Instead of using the Hughes/Cullum recording found on the album itself, the record company released a unique edit of the original Mike Howlett-produced extended version, which became a top 20 hit in that country. In 2016, "Pale Shelter" was prominently sampled in the song " Secrets" by Canadian singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

Music video

The promotional music video for "Pale Shelter" was directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burning Up (Madonna song), Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run t ...

in early 1983 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The video, which features a number of odd juxtapositions (including a police officer directing traffic and a live alligator in a swimming pool), is notable for the scene of an imprint of a giant iron on a tarmac at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

, with steam apparently coming off the tarmac, onto which Smith and Orzabal walk, and another scene in which the pair walk into a sea of flying paper aeroplanes, with one of them hitting Orzabal directly in the eye. The clip has been included on various Tears for Fears video collections, including 1983's '' The Videosingles'' and 1992's '' Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82–92)''.

Track listings

;7": Mercury / IDEA2 (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) #"Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)" (3:55) #"The Prisoner" (2:40) ;12": Mercury / IDEA212 (United Kingdom) #"Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love) xtended (6:25) #"Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)" (3:55) #"The Prisoner" (2:40) ;7":Mercury / IDEA5 (United Kingdom,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

)/ 812 108-7 (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Europe) #"Pale Shelter lbum Version (4:08) #"We Are Broken" (4:03) ;12":Mercury / IDEA512 (United Kingdom) / 812 108-1 (Europe) #"Pale Shelter ew Extended Version (6:41) #"Pale Shelter lbum Version (4:14) #"We Are Broken" (4:03) ;7":Vertigo / SOV 2328 (

) #"Pale Shelter anadian Single Version (3:57) #"We Are Broken" (4:03) ;2x7":Vertigo / SOVD 2328 (Canada) #"Pale Shelter anadian Single Version (3:57) #"We Are Broken" (4:03) #"Mad World orld Remix (3:30) #"Ideas As Opiates riginal Version (3:54) ;12":Vertigo / SOVX 2328 (Canada) #"Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love) xtended (6:25) #"The Prisoner" (2:40)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles 1983 singles 1985 singles Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Steve Barron Phonogram Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Howlett Songs written by Roland Orzabal Song recordings produced by Ross Cullum Song recordings produced by Chris Hughes (record producer) Tears for Fears songs Music videos shot in the United States