| "Touched by the Hand of God" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by New Order | ||||
| from the album Salvation! | ||||
| Released | December 1987 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", CD | |||
| Genre | Alternative dance | |||
| Length | 3:42 (7"), 7:04 (12") | |||
| Label | Factory - FAC 193 | |||
| Writer(s) | Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert | |||
| Producer | New Order | |||
| New Order singles chronology | ||||
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"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 release had the catalogue number FAC 193; production duties are credited to New Order. Although not a track pulled for release from a studio album, "Touched by the Hand of God" does appear on the 1994 compilation The Best of New Order and in remixed form on the 1995's The Rest of New Order. In the US, the song was released as the B-side to the group's following single "Blue Monday 1988", though it was billed as a Double A-side on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Maxi-Singles charts.
Contents |
The title of the song is an obvious reference to a goal Diego Maradona scored for Argentina against England in the 1986 football World Cup quarter-final match where God was given credit for intervention in human events. (See Hand of God goal). The lyric—including the title line—refers to love as a divine gift. The song was also used in the film Salvation!.
The video, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, that accompanied the song parodied glam metal groups of the same period, with the band obviously miming to the music, wearing wigs and lot of black leather. The promo video also contains a love scene that is shown at intervals throughout the song and is notable for a young Bill Paxton. The love scene may also parody the typical glam rock music video of the era that were over the top and over budgeted.
| Chart (1987/8) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 15 |
| German Media Control Singles Chart[1] | 37 |
| Irish Singles Chart[2] | 10 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart[3] | 20 |
| U.K. Independent Singles Chart[4] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales 1 | 8 |
Notes:
| Preceded by "Prove Your Love" by Taylor Dayne |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "Blue Monday 1988") April 30, 1988 |
Succeeded by "Adventure" by Eleanor |