Touched by the Hand of God

"Touched by the Hand of God"
Single by New Order
from the album Salvation!
Released	December 1987
Format	7", 12", CD
Genre	Alternative dance
Length	3:42 (7"), 7:04 (12")
Label	Factory - FAC 193
Writer(s)	Gillian Gilbert Peter Hook Stephen Morris Bernard Sumner
Producer	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" 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.

Song meaning

The title of the song is an obvious reference to a goal Diego Maradona 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!.

Video

The video, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, 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.

Track listings

UK 7" - FAC 193-7

1. "Touched by the Hand of God" – 3:47
2. "Touched by the Hand of Dub" – 4:11

US 7" - Qwest 7-27979

1. "Blue Monday 1988" (single mix) – 4:10
2. "Touched by the Hand of God" (single version) – 3:41

UK 12" - FAC 193

1. "Touched by the Hand of God" – 7:02
2. "Touched by the Hand of Dub" – 5:30

US 12" - Qwest 0-20869

1. "Blue Monday 1988" (12" 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

UK CD - FACD 193

1. "Touched by the Hand of God" – 7:02
2. "Confusion Dub 1987" – 5:23
3. "Temptation" – 7:00 (Incorrectly labelled as the 'Original Mix')

US Cassette - Qwest 4-27979

1. "Blue Monday 1988" (single mix) – 4:10
2. "Touched by the Hand of God" (single version) – 3:41

Chart positions

Chart (1987/8)	Peak position
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	15
German Media Control Singles Chart	37
Irish Singles Chart	10
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart	20
U.K. Independent Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales 1	8

Notes:

• ¹ – Charted with "Blue Monday 1988"

References

Preceded by "Prove Your Love" by Taylor Dayne

Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "Blue Monday 1988") April 30, 1988

Succeeded by "Adventure" by Eleanor