Along with "Suffer the Children", "Pale
Shelter" was one of two demo songs that landed Tears for Fears their first
record deal with Phonogram in 1981. "Pale Shelter" was initially
released in 1982 as a United Kingdom-only single. 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. In 1983,
after the success of singles "Mad World" and "Change", a
re-recorded version of "Pale Shelter" was given a shot as a single,
released in the United Kingdom and Europe. 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 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. 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.
"Mad World" was intended to be the B-side for
the band's second single "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)", but
their record company stated that "Mad World" could be a single in its
own right. The band then opted to re-record "Mad World" with
producers Ross Cullum and Chris Hughes, a former drummer with Adam and the Ants,
it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number 3
on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. The song was influenced by the
theories of Arthur Janov, author of The Primal Scream, and the lyric "the
dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had" suggests that dreams
of intense experiences such as death will be the best at releasing tension.
