Touched by the Hand of God

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"Touched by the Hand of God"
Single by New Order
from the album Salvation!
Released7 December 1987
Length3:47 (7-inch), 7:02 (12-inch)
LabelFactory
Songwriter(s)Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner[1]
Producer(s)New Order
New Order singles chronology
"True Faith"
(1987) 		"Touched by the Hand of God"
(1987) 		"Blue Monday 1988"
(1988)

"Touched by the Hand of God" is a song by English band New Order, released as a single on 7 December 1987. The song was originally recorded for 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; its production is credited to New Order.[2]

Although not a track taken from a studio album, "Touched by the Hand of God" appears on the 2008 collector's edition of New Order's album Brotherhood in its remix version, on the 1994 compilation The Best of New Order and in remixed form on 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.

Music video[edit]

The video that accompanied the song was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and parodied glam metal groups of the same period, with the band miming to the music while wearing long wigs and leather clothing. The video also contains a love scene that is intercut with the performance shots, and stars Femi Gardiner and Bill Paxton.[citation needed] The concept was proposed by manager Rob Gretton, and was inspired by the band having seen the clichés of then-popular videos on MTV while touring America. Bassist Peter Hook said in a 2000 interview that one of the bands that served as inspiration for the spoof video was Mötley Crüe, whose song “Girls, Girls, Girls” played in heavy rotation on MTV at the time.[3]

Track listings[edit]

All tracks are written by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner, except where indicated

7-inch single: Fac193/7 (UK)[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Touched by the Hand of God"3:47
2."Touched by the Hand of Dub"4:11
12-inch single: Fac193 (UK)[5]
No.TitleLength
1."Touched by the Hand of God"7:02
2."Touched by the Hand of Dub"5:30
CD single: Facd193 (UK)[6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Touched by the Hand of God" 7:02
2."Confusion Dub 1987"Arthur Baker, Gilbert, Hook, Morris, Sumner5:23
3."Temptation" (actually the 1987 recording but incorrectly labelled as the original mix) 7:00
7-inch and cassette single: 7-27979, 4-27979 (US)[7][8]
No.TitleLength
1."Blue Monday 1988" (single mix)4:10
2."Touched by the Hand of God" (single version)3:41
12-inch single: 0-20869 (US)[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Blue Monday 1988" (12-inch mix)7:09
2."Blue Monday 1988" (dub)7:16
3."Touched by the Hand of God" (remix)7:02
4."Touched by the Hand of God" (dub)5:30

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ ASCAP entry
  2. ^ "Factory Records: FAC 193". factoryrecords.org.
  3. ^ "New Order Interview 1987". YouTube.
  4. ^ Touched by the Hand of God (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). New Order. Factory Records. 1987. Fac193/7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Touched by the Hand of God (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). New Order. Factory Records. 1987. Fac193/7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Touched by the Hand of God (UK CD single liner notes). New Order. Factory Records. 1987. Facd193.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Blue Monday 1988 / Touched by the Hand of God (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). New Order. Qwest Records. 1988. 7-27979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Blue Monday 1988 / Touched by the Hand of God (US cassette single sleeve). New Order. Qwest Records. 1988. 4-27979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Blue Monday 1988 / Touched by the Hand of God (US 12-inch single sleeve). New Order. Qwest Records. 1988. 0-20869.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 215. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 37. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  12. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  13. ^ "Top 3 in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 8. 20 February 1988. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Touched by the Hand of God". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ^ "New Order – Touched by the Hand of God". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ "New Order – Touched by the Hand of God". VG-lista. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "New Order". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  19. ^ "New Order Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  20. ^ "New Order Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – New Order – Touched by the Hand of God" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video – Top Dance Club Play Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. 24 December 1988. p. Y-25. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.

External links[edit]

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