Lay Your Hands on Me (Thompson Twins song)

"Lay Your Hands on Me" is a song by the British band Thompson Twins, written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway. Released as a single in the UK in 1984, a different version of the song appeared on their 1985 album Here's to Future Days.

There are two main versions of the song, with various edits and remixes of the two. The first version, produced by Alex Sadkin & Tom Bailey, was released in late 1984 in Europe and Australia. The 1985 version was a reworking co-produced by Nile Rodgers, adding electric guitar and a gospel choir and released as a single in the US; this version appeared on the album.

The single peaked at No. 13 in the UK, spending nine weeks on the chart. In the US, it peaked at No. 14 on both the Adult Contemporary and Rock Tracks charts, No. 46 on the Dance Club Play chart, and No. 6 on the Hot 100 singles chart.

The B-side, "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)", is an instrumental variation of the song and was exclusive to this single.

Content
Singer Tom Bailey said, "We were interested in the idea of group rituals of that sort, and particularly how it relates to artist, performer, and audience. ... [The song is] nonspecifically religious. It looks at religious ritual in that way, and then draws a kind of metaphor - I've always been very fond of the kind of layered metaphor where the song can be about one thing but also about another. That's part of a really ancient and noble tradition of religious writing of music. Typically, people talk about their love for God in a religious song, but what they're also saying is that they love someone human. It's a way of evoking that immense emotional weight into a song."

Music video
Two versions of the promotional music video directed by Dee Trattmann exist for the single. The original edit of the music video features the band performing the 1984 version of the song on a stage in front of an audience of pop star look-alikes including David Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux, Mari Wilson, Gary Glitter, Boy George and Grace Jones. When the song was reworked in 1985, the video was re-edited with the 1985 version dubbed instead.

Formats

 * 7" UK vinyl single (1984) Arista TWINS 6
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" – 4:11
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:10


 * 12" UK vinyl single (1984) Arista TWINS 126
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Extended Mix/Full Version) – 6:08
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:10


 * 7" UK vinyl single (1984) Arista TWING 6
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (U.S. Re-mix) – 4:19
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:10


 * 12" UK vinyl single (1984) Arista TWINS 226
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (U.S. Re-mix) – 5:51
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:10


 * 7" UK vinyl Picture Disc (1984) Arista TWISD 6
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Single Version) – 3:44
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:12


 * New Zealand cassette single (1984) Festival Records-C 14155
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Extended Version) – 6:05
 * 2) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (U.S. Remix) – 5:56
 * 3) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:13


 * 7" U.S. vinyl single (1985) Arista AS1-9396
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Single Version) – 3:44
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:12


 * 12" U.S. vinyl single (1985) Arista AD1-9397
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Single Version) – 3:52
 * 2) "The Lewis Carol (Adventures in Wonderland)" – 4:14
 * 3) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Extended Version) – 6:00


 * 7" vinyl (1985 promo) Arista AS1-9396
 * 1) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Cold Ending) – 3:44
 * 2) "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Fade) – 3:44

Personnel
Written by Alannah Currie, Tom Bailey, and Joe Leeway.
 * Tom Bailey – vocals, piano, Fairlight, synthesizers, guitar, contrabass, Fairlight and drum programming
 * Alannah Currie – lyrics, marimba, backing vocals, acoustic drums, percussion, tuned percussion
 * Joe Leeway – backing vocals, congas, percussion

1984 Versions
 * Produced by Alex Sadkin and Tom Bailey
 * Remixed by Alex Sadkin, Tom Bailey, and John 'Tokes' Potoker (U.S. Re-mix)
 * Sleeve Designs – Satori
 * Art Direction – Alannah Currie and Nick Marchant
 * Photography – Moshe Brakha

1985 Versions
 * Produced by Alex Sadkin, Nile Rodgers, and Tom Bailey
 * Engineered by James Farber and Terry Becker
 * Mixed by James Farber
 * Backing Vocals – East Harlem Hobo Choir
 * Mixed at Skyline Studio, NYC
 * Photography – Rebecca Blake
 * Artwork/Design – Andie Airfix, Satori
 * Art Direction – Alannah