Place Your Hands

"Place Your Hands" is a song recorded by the English band Reef. It was released on 21 October 1996, as the first single from the band's second album Glow. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It is Reef’s most successful single to date. It is also reckoned to be Reef's best known hit.[2]

"Place Your Hands"
Single by Reef
from the album Glow
ReleasedOctober 21, 1996 (1996-10-21)
Recorded1996
GenreBritpop, funk rock
Length3:37
LabelSony Soho Square
Producer(s)Reef, George Drakoulias
Reef singles chronology
"Naked"
(1995)		 "Place Your Hands"
(1996)		 "Come Back Brighter"
(1997)
Music video

Background

The song explains the grief that vocalist Gary Stringer felt following the death of his grandfather, and easing the pain of death.

It established the band's popularity, appealing both to the then-current tendency for "laddishness" and to older rock fans.[3] In the USA, it owed much of its success to young cable music channel M2, which played the video heavily and led to it becoming a "Buzz Clip" on the main MTV channel.[4] In turn, the song provided a major boost for their second album Glow, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1.[5]

The song and band were favorites on UK music TV show TFI Friday, where they changed the lyrics to "It's your letters" to introduce that segment of the show. The song was later remixed by IBIZA DJ Rob Orton in 2002 when it was again re signed to Sony Music S2 and appeared on their new single "give me your love " adding a fresh feel to the song and crossing over to the dance genre.

Video

The video for "Place Your Hands", directed by David Mould, features the band members on pulleys and wires to create an energetic aerial display.

Reception

Billboard wrote: “What really draws you into this song is the initial guitar and bass intro, which is quite catchy. The lyrics, however, seem a bit rough and choppy. An interesting facet of the song is the gospel-like repetitive chorus, which seems to fit the track remarkably well, soothing the listener a bit from the tough solo vocals.”[6]

Charts
Chart (1996–97) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 28
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[8] 37
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 85
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 21
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 30

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Gold 400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  2. "Review: Bad Manners, Newton Faulkner, Reef and The Levellers at the Wychwood Festival". Gloucester Echo. June 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  3. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. p. 863. ISBN 9781858284576.
  4. "M2 Reinvents the Art of Music TV". Billboard: 3. 2 August 1997.
  5. "Reef biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  6. Flick, Larry (2 August 1997). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  7. "Australian-charts.com – Reef – Place Your Hands". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. November 9, 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Reef – Place Your Hands" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  10. "Charts.nz – Reef – Place Your Hands". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  11. "Reef: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  12. "Mainstream Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. August 23, 1997. p. 99. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. "British single certifications – Reef – Place Your Hands". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 September 2020.


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