"Hand in Glove" is the debut single by English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade. It peaked at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart but did not make the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart, settling outside at No. 124. A remixed version of the song was featured on the band's debut album, The Smiths, in 1984. That same year, a cover version recorded by singer Sandie Shaw featuring Smiths members Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce as backing musicians reached No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart. Background and recording "Hand in Glove" was written by Morrissey and Marr in January 1983. By that date, they had been working together for around eight months, had written more than ten songs together, and had recorded two demo tapes, but had been rejected by both Factory and EMI. Their usual composition method was for Marr to add music to Morrissey's lyrics, though for "Hand in Glove", Marr had the music first - he developed the chords on an acoustic guitar while at his parents' house. Unable to record the music there, Marr's girlfriend Angie drove him to Morrisey's house while he continued to strum the guitar, altering it with suggestions from Angie. At Morrissey's the tune was recorded on a cassette tape. Morrissey said that he wrote lyrics for it in the span of two hours. Even prior to performing the song live, the group was unanimous in the opinion that "Hand in Glove" was their strongest song to date. The Smiths asked their manager Joe Moss to fund the recording of "Hand in Glove". In late February, the group booked a one-day recording session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport at the cost of £250, which they produced themselves. Morrissey claimed in later years that he was dissatisfied with his vocal and returned a week later to re-record his part, the day after which the entire group travelled to London and convinced Rough Trade owner Geoff Travis to release the record. However, author Simon Goddard noted that it was not until April 1983 that Marr and bassist Andy Rourke visited the Rough Trade offices. On that occasion, Marr handed Travis a cassette featuring "Hand in Glove" and a live recording of "Handsome Devil", telling Travis, "[L]isten to this, it's not just