Wishful Thinking (China Crisis song)

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Wishful Thinking

| cover = China Crisis Wishful Thinking single cover.jpg

| alt =

| border = yes

| type = single

| artist = China Crisis

| album = Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two

| B-side = {{ubl|"This Occupation"|"Some People I Know to Lead Fantastic Lives"}}

| released = {{Start date|1984|1|3|df=y}}

| recorded = 1983

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = New wave

| length = 4:08 (7" single edit)
4:40 (12" single / album version)

| label = Virgin

| writer = * Gary Daly

• Eddie Lundon

| producer = Mike Howlett

| prev_title = Working with Fire and Steel

| prev_year = 1983

| next_title = Hanna Hanna

| next_year = 1984

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|ldQpRMegYc0|"Wishful Thinking"}}}}

}}

"Wishful Thinking" is a song by the English new wave band China Crisis, released as the third single from their second studio album Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two (1983). It reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1984, becoming their only top 10 hit single in their homeland. The song is their biggest and most well-known hit, and is included on numerous compilation albums. It was a top 20 hit in several European countries{{Cite web |title=hitparad.se - China Crisis - Wishful Thinking |url=https://hitparad.se/showitem.asp?interpret=China+Crisis&titel=Wishful+Thinking&cat=s |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=hitparad.se}} and hit number one on the Swedish radio chart Poporama on 8 March 1984.Stefan Heiding: Poporama - Heta högen (1992) {{ISBN|91-971894-1-3}}

The lead vocals on this track are sung by Eddie Lundon who also wrote the lyrics, as opposed to Gary Daly who sings lead vocals on the majority of the band's songs. The song was inspired by the song "Here He Comes" on Brian Eno's studio album Before and After Science (1977).{{Cite web|url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2022/11/china-crisis-interview/ |title=China Crisis interview |date=27 November 2022 |publisher=classicpopmag.com }}

The track "This Occupation" remains exclusive to this release and appears in two very different forms on the 7" and 12" releases.

The track "Some People I Know to Lead Fantastic Lives" is taken from the band's debut studio album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain (1982), although the remix on this 12" single remains exclusive to this release.