Place Your Hands
{{Short description|1996 single by Reef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Place Your Hands
| cover = Reef-Place Your Hands.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Reef
| album = Glow
| released = {{Start date|1996|10|21|df=y}}{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1996/Music-Week-1996-10-19.pdf|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=37|date=19 October 1996|access-date=6 August 2021}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=37}}
| label = Sony Soho Square
| writer = Reef
| producer = Reef, George Drakoulias
| prev_title = Naked
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Come Back Brighter
| next_year = 1997
| misc = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bihoNRc8GDQ Music video]
}}
"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{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/reef/|title=Official Charts Company|website=Officialcharts.com}} and is Reef’s most successful single to date, and also their best known hit.{{cite news|title=Review: Bad Manners, Newton Faulkner, Reef and The Levellers at the Wychwood Festival|url=http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Review-Bad-Manners-Newton-Faulkner-Reef-Levellers/story-21171010-detail/story.html|accessdate=11 June 2014|work=Gloucester Echo|date=1 June 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602162556/http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Review-Bad-Manners-Newton-Faulkner-Reef-Levellers/story-21171010-detail/story.html|archivedate=2 June 2014}} Its music video was directed by David Mould.
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.{{cite book|last1=Buckley|first1=Peter|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|date=2003|page=863|publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=9781858284576|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fie47qSuTsoC&q=reef+%22place+your+hands%22+review&pg=RA3-PA1956}} 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.{{cite magazine|title=M2 Reinvents the Art of Music TV|magazine=Billboard|date=2 August 1997|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_AkEAAAAMBAJ&q=reef+%22place+your+hands%22+review&pg=PA8-IA1}} In turn, the song provided a major boost for their second album Glow, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one.{{cite web|title=Reef biography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/reef-mn0000885138/biography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=11 June 2014}}
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.”{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_AkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA79|title=Reviews & Previews|magazine=Billboard|last=Flick|first=Larry|date=2 August 1997|accessdate=15 June 2013|author-link=Larry Flick}} Kevin Courtney from Irish Times complimented it as a "bright, brash tune".Courtney, Kevin (21 February 1997). "Rock". Irish Times. 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."{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1996/Music-Week-1996-10-12.pdf|first=|last=|title=Reviews: Singles|magazine=Music Week|date=12 October 1996|page=26|accessdate=14 September 2021}} David Sinclair from The Times noted the "infectious feel" of "Place Your Hands".Sinclair, David (1 February 1997). "The week's top pop releases; Records". The Times.
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.{{cite web|title=Reef - Place Your Hands (Directors Cut)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bihoNRc8GDQ|publisher=YouTube|date=12 September 2011|access-date=17 October 2023}}
Charts
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Reef|title=Place Your Hands|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2021|id=12762-2101-1|access-date=6 August 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Reef}}
{{Authority control}}
{{1990s-pop-song-stub}}