Releases

The 12" version of the song is almost twice as long as the 7" version, and includes an additional verse.

The B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 was an alternate arrangement

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

 entitled "Shame of the Nation", which included, among other elements, backing vocals

Backing vocalist

A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

. This was written and produced with John Robie, marking the group's third collaboration with him.

The Australian 12" was the same as the UK 12", but the 7" version of the song was only released as the B-side of "Bizarre Love Triangle

Bizarre Love Triangle

"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a single released in 1986 by the English rock band New Order. A version is included on their album Brotherhood....

".

Though not included on most standard releases of the concurrently-released studio album Brotherhood, the 12" version of the song was included as a bonus track

Bonus track

In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...

 on some versions and was originally included on the US 12" version of "Bizarre Love Triangle

Bizarre Love Triangle

"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a single released in 1986 by the English rock band New Order. A version is included on their album Brotherhood....

". The 12" version of "Shame of the Nation" is included on the 2008 Collectors Edition of Low-Life

Low-Life

Low-Life is the third studio album by English rock band New Order. Released in May 1985 by Qwest Records, Low-Life is considered to be among New Order's strongest work, displaying the moment in which the band completed its transformation from post-punk hold-overs to dance rock pioneers...

.

The 12" version and "Shame of the Nation" were collected on the Substance

Substance 1987

-Chart positions:...

compilation. The 7" version was collected on the Singles

Singles (New Order album)

-Chart positions:...

compilation. The 7" version of "Shame of the Nation" can only be found on the original 7" vinyl release.

This song has a feature rare in a New Order single (or in much of the band's material in general): the song title not only appears in the narrative, but is also the chorus. Only a few New Order singles (most notably "Shellshock

Shellshock (song)

"Shellshock" is a single released by British group New Order in March 1986. The song originally appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Pretty in Pink one month prior to its single release...

", "Regret", "Crystal

Crystal (song)

"Crystal" is a song by the English rock band New Order, released as the first single from their seventh album Get Ready. The song entered the UK charts at number 8.Backing vocals for the track are provided by Dawn Zee, who regularly tours with the band....

", and "Touched by the Hand of God

Touched by the Hand of God

"Touched by the Hand of God" was a single released by New Order in December 1987. The song had originally appeared on the soundtrack to the film Salvation! and the version released as a single was remixed by Arthur Baker. The B-side was a dub remix, titled "Touched by the Hand of Dub" and the...

") have titles consisting of words which are part of the song's lyrics.

US 12-inch - Qwest 0-20546

1. "Bizarre Love Triangle" – 6:41
2. "I Don't Care" – 7:02 (Actually "Bizarre Dub Triangle")
3. "State of the Nation" – 6:31
4. "Bizarre Love Triangle" – 3:43

Chart positions

Chart (1986)	Peak position
New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...  Singles Chart	17
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	30
UK Indie singles UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... 1	18

Notes:

• ¹ - Charted together with "Bizarre Love Triangle".