Place Your Hands

"Place Your Hands" is a song recorded by the English band Reef. It was released on 21 October 1996 by Sony Soho Square, as the first single from the band's second album, Glow (1997). The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart[2] and is Reef’s most successful single to date, and also their best known hit.[3] Its music video was directed by David Mould.

"Place Your Hands"
Single by Reef
from the album Glow
Released21 October 1996 (1996-10-21)[1]
Length3:37
LabelSony Soho Square
Songwriter(s)Reef
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.[4] 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.[5] In turn, the song provided a major boost for their second album Glow, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one.[6]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from 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.”[7] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times complimented it as a "bright, brash tune".[8] British magazine Music Week gave it top score with five out of five and named it Single of the Week, adding, "A fantastic comeback single from the rockers who have been recording with producer George Drakoulias to create a really funky rock sound. Deserves to be huge."[9] David Sinclair from The Times noted the "infectious feel" of "Place Your Hands".[10]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Place Your Hands", directed by David Mould, features the band members on pulleys and wires to create an energetic aerial display. It was later made available by Vevo on YouTube in 2011 and had generated almost six million views as of October 2023.[11]

Charts
Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 28
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[13] 37
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 85
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 21
Scotland (OCC)[16] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 6
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[18] 30

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 19 October 1996. p. 37. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  3. "Review: Bad Manners, Newton Faulkner, Reef and The Levellers at the Wychwood Festival". Gloucester Echo. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  4. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. p. 863. ISBN 9781858284576.
  5. "M2 Reinvents the Art of Music TV". Billboard: 3. 2 August 1997.
  6. "Reef biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  7. Flick, Larry (2 August 1997). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  8. Courtney, Kevin (21 February 1997). "Rock". Irish Times.
  9. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 12 October 1996. p. 26. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  10. Sinclair, David (1 February 1997). "The week's top pop releases; Records". The Times.
  11. "Reef - Place Your Hands (Directors Cut)". YouTube. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  12. "Reef – Place Your Hands". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 9 November 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  14. "Reef – Place Your Hands" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. "Reef – Place Your Hands". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 27 October 1996 - 02 November 1996". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  17. "Reef: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  18. "Mainstream Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. 23 August 1997. p. 99. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  19. "British single certifications – Reef – Place Your Hands". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
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