Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)
{{short description|1982 single by A Flock of Seagulls}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)
| cover = Wishing-AFlockofSeagulls.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = A Flock of Seagulls
| album = Listen
| B-side = Committed
| released = 22 October 1982
| recorded = 1982, Compass Point Studios{{cite web|title=Behind The Vinyl - "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)" with Mike Score from A Flock Of Seagulls| date=3 August 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgUQu24sq7k |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/AgUQu24sq7k |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|publisher=boom 97.3|accessdate=3 February 2018}}{{cbignore}}
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Synth-pop
| length = 4:09 (7" version)
5:29 (Album version)
9:34 (Extended version)
| label = Zomba Records
| writer = Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds
| producer = Mike Howlett
| prev_title = Space Age Love Song
| prev_year = 1982
| next_title = Nightmares
| next_year = 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.
Background
The song exemplifies "synth-pop's spaced-out loneliness" and yearning for imagined, absent lovers,{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bfuAAAAMAAJ&q=%22If+I+Had+a+Photograph+of+You%22|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|date=10 October 1995|work=Spin|isbn=9780679755746|accessdate=19 January 2013|last1=Weisbard|first1=Eric|last2=Marks|first2=Craig}} and is noted for its Wall of Sound-styled layer of synthesizer padding – a "multi-layered, hypnotic song", according to AllMusic.{{cite book|last=Bogdanov|first=Vladimir|title=All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music|url=https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad|url-access=registration|accessdate=19 January 2013|year=2001|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=9780879306281|page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad/page/137 137]}}
According to lead singer Mike Score, "Wishing" was based on a real person. When recalling the experience with this person, he said, "It was the eve of the first trip we ever took to America, and I had met a girl. We went out for the night, and I didn't want to forget her, so I said, 'We're going on tour and I'll be back. I'd like to get a photograph of you, if I could get one.' And she said, 'No, because you're going to go on to be famous and you'll forget me.'"{{Cite web |last=Prato |first=Greg |date=June 4, 2018 |title=Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls |url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/mike-score-of-a-flock-of-seagulls |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=Songfacts}}
Formats
; 7" Jive 25 (UK) – 1982
{{Track listing
| title1 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Committed
| length2 = 2:50
| all_writing =
| total_length =
}}
; 12" Jive T25 (UK) – 1982
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) (Long Version)
| length1 = 9:08
| title2 = Committed
| length2 = 5:34
| title3 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) (Short Version)
| length3 = 4:57
}}
; 12" Jive VJ 12014 (US) – 1982
{{Track listing
| title1 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)
| length1 = 6:03
| title2 = The Flight of Yuri Gagarin
| length2 = 7:03
| all_writing =
| title3 = Rosenmontag
| length3 = 8:01
| title4 = Committed (Extended Version)
| length4 = 5:34
| total_length =
}}
; CD August Day 41 (UK) – 2019{{cite AV media notes|title=Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)|others=A Flock of Seagulls|year=2019|type=liner notes|publisher=Concord Music Publishing|id=ADAY041}}
{{Track listing
| title1 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Extended Remix]
| length1 = 8:34
| title2 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Ilya Santana Remix]
| length2 = 6:08
| title3 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Soda Pimps Remix]
| length3 = 4:06
| title4 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Chris Coco Dub]
| length4 = 6:52
| title5 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Extended Instrumental]
| length5 = 8:34
| title6 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Ilya Santana Instrumental Remix]
| length6 = 6:08
| title7 = Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) [Orchestral Version]
| length7 = 5:32
| total_length =
}}
Chart and certifications
Unlike the band's 1982 hit "I Ran (So Far Away)", largely a United States and Australian hit, "Wishing" performed strongly in the band's home country, the United Kingdom, and reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart; in the US, it reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1983.{{cite book|last1=Bogdanov|first1=Vladimir|last2=Woodstra|first2=Chris|last3=Erlewine|first3=Stephen Thomas|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&pg=PA417|accessdate=19 January 2013|year=2002|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780879306533|page=417}} It was popular in South Africa, reaching No. 8.{{cite web|author=Brian Currin |url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(F).html |title=South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (F) |website=Rock.co.za |date= |accessdate=2015-12-03}}
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=Weekly charts=
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=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1983) !Position |
| {{singlechart|Canadatopsingles|82|chartid=6699|access-date=7 May 2022|rowheader=true|refname=CAYE}} |
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) }}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=A Flock of Seagulls|title=Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) |award=Silver|type=single|relyear=1982|certyear=1983|id=8296-744-1|accessdate=October 23, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{A Flock of Seagulls}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishing If I Had A Photograph Of You}}
Category:A Flock of Seagulls songs
Category:Zomba Group of Companies singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Howlett
Category:Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements
Category:SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
{{1980s-single-stub}}