"Hands to Heaven"
Single by Breathe
from the album All That Jazz
B-side"Life and Times"
Released20 October 1987
GenrePop, adult contemporary
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

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

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

Band

Guest musician

Production

Charts

Cover versions

In popular culture

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

References

  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.

External links

Breathe
Authority control databases
Categories