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Hands to Heaven

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"Hands to Heaven"
Single by Breathe
from the album All That Jazz
B-side"Life and Times"
Released20 October 1987
Genre
Length4:18
LabelSiren, A&M
Songwriter(s)David Glasper, Marcus Lillington
Producer(s)Bob Sargeant
Breathe singles chronology
"All That Jazz"
(1987) 		"Hands to Heaven"
(1987) 		"Any Trick"
(1988)

"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" 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

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The 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

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All 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

  1. "Hands to Heaven" – 4:18
  2. "All That Jazz" (12-inch version) – 6:15
  3. "Stay" (7-inch version) – 3:50
  4. "Life and Times" – 4:44

Personnel

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Band

  • 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

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Cover versions

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The song was used for the Michael and Julia characters on the American soap opera Santa Barbara.[21]

References

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  1. ^ UK chart info at Official Charts Company
  2. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8552." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8576." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 37. 10 September 1988. p. 20.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hands to Heaven". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 November 2019=.
  8. ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Breathe – Hands to Heaven". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Breathe Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Breathe Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles (week ending August 13, 1988)". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Breathe – Hands to Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "1988 Year-End Charts – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  18. ^ "1988 Year-End Charts – Adult Contemporary Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1988". Cash Box. 31 December 1988. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  20. ^ Hands to Heaven by Christian Bautista - Topic on YouTube
  21. ^ "Santa Barbara". Cybercom. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
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