Touched by the Hand of God
Encyclopedia
"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.
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!
.
, 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.
Notes:
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
in December 1987. The song had originally appeared on the soundtrack to the film Salvation!
Salvation!
Salvation! is a 1987 film by Beth B., starring Viggo Mortensen, Exene Cervenka and Stephen McHattie. The film is a spoof of televangelism released right after the real-life Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals.-Plot:...
and the version released as a single was remixed by Arthur Baker. 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 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
The Best of New Order
- Video release :# "True Faith-94"# "Regret"# "Run"# "Bizarre Love Triangle"# "Fine Time"# "The Perfect Kiss"# "Shellshock"# "Confusion"# "Blue Monday-88"# "Round & Round-94"# "World"# "Ruined in a Day"# "State of the Nation"...
and in remixed form on the 1995's The Rest of New Order
The Rest of New Order
New Order or The Rest of New Order is a remix album by New Order released in August 1995 again by Qwest/London Records.-Overview:...
. 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
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...
charts.
Song meaning
The title of the song is an obvious reference to a goal Diego MaradonaDiego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
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!
Salvation!
Salvation! is a 1987 film by Beth B., starring Viggo Mortensen, Exene Cervenka and Stephen McHattie. The film is a spoof of televangelism released right after the real-life Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals.-Plot:...
.
Video
The video, directed by Kathryn BigelowKathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow is an American film director. Her best-known films are the cult horror film Near Dark , the surfer/bank robbery action picture Point Break , the science fiction/film noir Strange Days , the historical/mystery film The Weight of Water and the war drama The Hurt Locker...
, that accompanied the song parodied glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
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
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
. The love scene may also parody the typical glam rock music video of the era that were over the top and over budgeted.
US 7" - Qwest 7-27979
- "Blue Monday 1988" (single mix) – 4:10
- "Touched by the Hand of God" (single version) – 3:41
US 12" - Qwest 0-20869
- "Blue Monday 1988" (12" mix) – 7:09
- "Blue Monday 1988" (Dub) – 7:16
- "Touched by the Hand of God" (Remix) – 7:02
- "Touched by the Hand of God" (Dub) – 5:30
UK CD - FACD 193
- "Touched by the Hand of God" – 7:02
- "Confusion Dub 1987" – 5:23
- "Temptation" – 7:00 (Incorrectly labelled as the 'Original Mix')
US Cassette - Qwest 4-27979
- "Blue Monday 1988" (single mix) – 4:10
- "Touched by the Hand of God" (single version) – 3:41
Chart positions
| Chart (1987/8) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
15 |
| German Media Control Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... Singles Chart |
37 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
10 |
| 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 |
5 |
| 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 ... |
20 |
| U.K. Independent Singles Chart 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 | 1 |
| 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 |
8 |
Notes:
- 1 – Charted with "Blue Monday 1988"