Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)
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| "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" | ||||
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| Single by A Flock of Seagulls | ||||
| from the album Listen | ||||
| B-side | "Committed" | |||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | New Wave | |||
| Length | 4:09 (7" version) 5:29 (Album version) 9:34 (Extended version) |
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| Label | Zomba Records | |||
| Producer | Mike Howlett | |||
| A Flock of Seagulls singles chronology | ||||
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"Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" is a 1982 New Wave song by A Flock of Seagulls, appearing as the opening performance on their second album Listen. Its wistful, bleak lyrics on separation are built on a driving rhythm backed by a heavy Wall of Sound-styled layer of synthesizer padding. The infectous instrumental riff bears some similarity to King Crimson's "Frame By Frame".
In contrast to the band's 1982 hit "I Ran (So Far Away)", which was largely a United States and Australian hit, "Wishing" peaked strongly in Great Britain, Ireland and in Canada where it reached the Top 10, but only reached #26 on the U.S. Billboard charts in summer 1983.
In South Africa, it was enormously popular, reaching the no. 8 position [1] , and still goes down well at dances to this day.
In a celebration of early electronic music, digital radio station BBC 6 Music compiled a chart of its listeners' favourite synthesizer riffs in November 2006. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" came second in the list to the Tubeway Army single "Are 'Friends' Electric?".
The song holds the rare distinction of having been performed almost entirely on the black keys of a keyboard. In addition, the original version of this song clocked in at nearly 14 minutes.
Along with their earlier song "Telecommunication", "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" earned the praise of legendary producer Phil Spector, who, while emerging from seclusion in the 1980s to produce an album by The Ramones, called the track "breathtaking" and expressed interest in producing A Flock of Seagulls.[2]
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 10 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 26 |
| South African Singles Chart[3] | 8 |
| Australian Kent Report Singles Chart | 46 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 33 |
| Germany Singles Chart | 37 |
- ^ http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(F).html
- ^ Wall of pain: the biography of Phil Spector. D Thompson - 2003
- ^ http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(F).html
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