"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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

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. 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 A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play and Maxi-Singles charts.

Music video

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. The concept was proposed by manager Rob Gretton, and was inspired by the band having seen the clichés of then-popular videos on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

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 Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

, whose song “ Girls, Girls, Girls” played in heavy rotation on MTV at the time.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Touched By The Hand Of God New Order (band) songs 1987 singles 1987 songs Factory Records singles Qwest Records singles Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Gillian Gilbert Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles