Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)

"Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"
Single by A Flock of Seagulls
from the album Listen
B-side "Committed"
Released 16 November 1982
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1982, Compass Point Studios[1]
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 4:09 (7" version)
5:29 (Album version)
9:34 (Extended version)
Label Zomba Records
Songwriter(s) Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds
Producer(s) Mike Howlett
A Flock of Seagulls singles chronology
"Space Age Love Song"
(1982)		 "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"
(1982)		 "Nightmares"
(1983)

"Space Age Love Song"
(1982)		 "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"
(1982)		 "Nightmares"
(1983)

"Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" is a 1982 song by A Flock of Seagulls, the opening song and only hit single from their second album Listen.[2] The song exemplifies "synth-pop's spaced-out loneliness" and yearning for imagined, absent lovers,[3] and is noted for its Wall of Sound-styled layer of synthesizer padding – a "multi-layered, hypnotic song", according to AllMusic.[2]

Unlike the band's 1982 hit "I Ran (So Far Away)", largely a United States and Australian hit, "Wishing" performed strongly in the United Kingdom and reached the Top 10; in the US it reached the Top 30 on the Billboard charts in the middle of 1983.[4] In South Africa, it was enormously popular, reaching no. 8.[5]

Formats and track listing

7": Jive. / Jive 25 United Kingdom

  1. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" – 4:00
  2. "Committed" – 2:50

12": Jive. / Jive T 25 United Kingdom

  1. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) (Long Version)" – 9:08
  2. "Committed" – 5:34
  3. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) (Short Version)" – 4:57

12": Jive. / Jive VJ 12014 United States

  1. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" – 6:03
  2. "The Flight Of Yuri Gagarin" – 7:03
  3. "Rosenmontag" – 8:01
  4. "Committed (Extended Version)" – 5:34

Note:

  • Track 1 was an edit newly created for the U.S. market and seems to be exclusive to this U.S. 12".

Chart positions

Chart (1982-1983) Peak
position
Australian Kent Report Singles Chart 46
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 10
Germany Singles Chart 37
Irish Singles Chart 6
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 33
South African Singles Chart[5] 8
UK Singles Chart 10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 26
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 26
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[7] 35

References

  1. ↑ "Behind The Vinyl - "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)" with Mike Score from A Flock Of Seagulls". boom 97.3. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Bogdanov, Vladimir (2001). All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music. Backbeat Books. p. 137. ISBN 9780879306281. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Spin Alternative Record Guide". Spin. 10 October 1995. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 417. ISBN 9780879306533. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  5. 1 2 Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (F)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  6. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6279." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  7. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 9, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 September 2012). Cash Box magazine.


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