Hands to Heaven

Last updated
"Hands to Heaven"
Breathe - Hands to Heaven.jpg
Single by Breathe
from the album All That Jazz
B-side "Life and Times"
Released20 October 1987
Length4:18
Label Siren, A&M
Songwriters David Glasper, Marcus Lillington
Producer Bob Sargeant
Breathe singles chronology
"All That Jazz"
(1987)		"Hands to Heaven"
(1987)		"Any Trick"
(1988)
Audio sample

Hands to Heaven is a ballad by English new wave band Breathe, taken from their debut studio album, All That Jazz (1987). The song was released as the band's fifth UK single on 20 October 1987 by A&M Records and as their second single in the United States the following year. It was written by group members David Glasper and Marcus Lillington, and produced by Bob Sargeant. The B-side of the single features an instrumental track, "Life and Times".

Contents

"Hands to Heaven" became Breathe's breakthrough international hit. The single peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1988. [1] In the United States, it spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the same month. The song also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. [2] Additionally, "Hands to Heaven" achieved top-10 chart positions in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway.

Music video

The music video for "Hands to Heaven" was directed by Eamon McCabe and features the band in a surreal, dreamlike sequence. It begins with lead singer David Glasper falling asleep in the back of a black London taxicab, drifting into a series of dreamlike visuals. Throughout the video, the band is shown performing in softly lit, stylized settings, while the surroundings shift between blurred city streets, the interior of the cab, and abstract performance backdrops. The muted color palette, soft transitions, and reflective cinematography emphasize the song's themes of longing and romantic separation. The video concludes with Glasper waking up in the cab and being driven away by the same driver, completing the narrative loop.

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

The song was used for the Michael and Julia characters on the American soap opera Santa Barbara . [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Search | Official Charts". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  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. ↑ "Top 20 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music & Media . 10 September 1988. p. 4. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard . 6 August 1988. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  13. ↑ "Adult Contemporary" . Billboard. 6 August 1988. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  14. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles (week ending August 13, 1988)". Cash Box . Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Breathe – Hands to Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  16. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM . Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ "1988 Year-End Charts – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard . Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  19. ↑ "1988 Year-End Charts – Adult Contemporary Songs". Billboard . Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  20. ↑ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1988". Cash Box . 31 December 1988. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  21. ↑ Hands to Heaven by Brendan Keeley - Topic on YouTube
  22. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All There Is To Know - Hands to Heaven". irishcharts.ie. IRMA. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  23. ↑ Hands to Heaven by Christian Bautista - Topic on YouTube
  24. ↑ "Santa Barbara". Cybercom. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.