"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.
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
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
and
Maxi-Singles charts.
Music video
The video that accompanied the song was directed by
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...
, and parodied
glam metal
Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
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
William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 1 ...
. 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.
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
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{{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