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Cover of The Lion and the Cobra by Sinéad O'Connor
Cover: The Lion and the Cobra

Song · Sinéad O'Connor

“I Want Your Hands On Me” by Sinéad O'Connor

From the album The Lion and the Cobra (1987)

“I Want Your Hands On Me” by Sinéad O'Connor appears on 36 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1988 and 2021. It was first released in 1987 on the album The Lion and the Cobra. Its best result is #29 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #48 alternative song of 1988, #616 alternative song of all time and #305 of the '80s.

36countdowns
7stations
#29best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1988–2021years charted

Watch

Sinéad O'Connor - I Want Your Hands On Me (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (SineadOConnorVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"I Want Your Hands On Me" comes from The Lion and the Cobra, Sinéad O'Connor's 1987 album, and it shows her calling the shots. O'Connor produced it herself, with Kevin Moloney as co-producer and engineer, and she shares the writing credit and the arrangement with her band: Mike Clowes, Rob Dean, Spike Hollifield and John Reynolds.

It's a taut, sweaty groove with a real edge to it. John Reynolds works both a drum kit and a drum machine, Spike Hollifield's bass keeps a tight coil, Rob Dean and O'Connor twist electric guitars around each other, and Clowes lays synths and keys over the top. O'Connor's voice does the rest, swinging from a low murmur to a full-throated demand as the title spells out exactly what she wants.

Rock radio's countdowns kept it in rotation for more than a quarter century, a reminder of how startling The Lion and the Cobra sounded when it arrived.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 76 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988 107
1988 29 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 91
1988 52 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 432 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1989 152 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1992 269 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 336 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 363 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 372 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 183 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 344 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 355 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 367 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 776 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 376 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 827 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 377 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 828 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 408 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 828 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 991 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 387 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 828 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 180 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 828 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 427 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 829 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2006 439 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 972 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 880 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 850 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 876 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 906 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 889 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 877 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 634 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909

Also listed as: I Want Your (Hands On Me); I Want Your (Hands on Me); I Want Your Hands (on Me); I Want (Your Hands on Me); (I Want Your) Hands On Me; I Want Your Hands on Me.

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →
  1. 1SuedeheadMorrissey
  2. 2DesireU2
  3. 3Beds are BurningMidnight Oil
  4. 4Route 66Depeche Mode
  5. 5Peek-A-BooSiouxsie and the Banshees
  6. 6Chains of LoveErasure

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