"Hands to Heaven" is a ballad by English new wave band Breathe, taken from their debut studio album, All That Jazz (1987). The song released as their fifth UK single on 20 October 1987 by A&M Records and as the band's second single in the US the following year. It was written by group members David Glasper and Marcus Lillington, and produced by Bob Sargeant. The B-side features an instrumental track "Life and Times".
| "Hands to Heaven" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Breathe | ||||
| from the album All That Jazz | ||||
| B-side | "Life and Times" | |||
| Released | 20 October 1987 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:18 | |||
| Label | Siren, A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Glasper, Marcus Lillington | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Sargeant | |||
| Breathe singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Hands to Heaven" was Breathe's breakthrough hit internationally. The single peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1988.[1] That same month in the United States, it logged two weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[2] "Hands to Heaven" also became a top-10 hit in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway.
Music video
editThe music video, directed by Eamon McCabe, features the group in a surreal dream sequence, with the lead singer falling asleep in a black London taxicab and waking at the end, being driven away by the driver.
Track listings
editAll songs were written by David Glasper and Marcus Lillington and published by Virgin Music, Inc.
UK 7-inch single (SIREN SRN68)
- A. "Hands to Heaven" – 4:18
- B. "Life and Times" – 4:46
A special limited edition of the 7-inch single which included photos, lyrics and Fan Club address was released in the UK (SRNL 68).
US 7-inch single and cassette single (A&M AM-2991/TS-2991)
- A. "Hands to Heaven" – 4:17
- B. "Life and Times" – 4:44
UK 12-inch single (SIREN SRNT68)
- A1. "Hands to Heaven" (extended Heaven) – 6:23
- B1. "Hands to Heaven" (radio mix) – 4:18
- B2. "Life and Times" – 4:46
A special limited edition of the 12-inch single featured a poster sleeve.
UK CD single (SIREN SRCD 68)1
- "Hands to Heaven" – 4:18
- "All That Jazz" (12-inch version) – 6:15
- "Stay" (7-inch version) – 3:50
- "Life and Times" – 4:44
Personnel
editBand
- David Glasper – vocals
- Marcus Lillington – guitars, keyboards
- Ian "Spike" Spice – drums
- Mike Delahunty – bass
Guest musician
- Paul "Shilts" Weimar – saxophone
Production
- Arranged by Breathe
- Engineer: John Madden ("Hands to Heaven", "Stay")
- Mixing: John Madden ("Life and Times"), Chris Porter ("All That Jazz")
- Remixing: Chris Porter ("Hands to Heaven")
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Cover versions
edit- Filipino pop singer Christian Bautista covered the song for his self-titled debut album Christian Bautista[20] in 2004 and later the single released on 5 April 2005.
In popular culture
editThe song was used for the Michael and Julia characters on the American soap opera Santa Barbara.[21]
References
edit- ^ UK chart info at Official Charts Company
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8552." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8576." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 37. 10 September 1988. p. 20.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hands to Heaven". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 November 2019=.
- ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Breathe Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Breathe Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles (week ending August 13, 1988)". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Breathe – Hands to Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1991). "Top 100 Singles: 1988". BPI YearBook 1989/90. London, England: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-9061-5410-6.
- ^ "1988 Year-End Charts – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "1988 Year-End Charts – Adult Contemporary Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1988". Cash Box. 31 December 1988. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Hands to Heaven by Christian Bautista - Topic on YouTube
- ^ "Santa Barbara". Cybercom. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
