Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)
Encyclopedia
"Wishing" 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 Australia
n 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
, 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
.
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
song by A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
, 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
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
-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)
I Ran (So Far Away)
"I Ran" is a song by English New Wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released on their debut album A Flock of Seagulls in 1982 and was its most successful single, reaching number 9 in the United States and number 1 in Australia.-Single:The single was promoted by a distinctive music video in...
", which was largely a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n hit, "Wishing" peaked strongly in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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
, and still goes down well at dances to this day.
In a celebration of early electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
station BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
6 Music compiled a chart of its listeners' favourite synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
riffs in November 2006. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" came second in the list to the Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...
single "Are 'Friends' Electric?
Are 'Friends' Electric?
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song written by Gary Numan, released under the name of his then-band Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas...
".
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
Telecommunication (song)
Telecommunication is a 1981 song by A Flock of Seagulls, from their first album. Although it did not chart on either the traditional UK or US charts, it received considerable time on the dance charts...
", "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" earned the praise of legendary producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
, 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
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
.
Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
10 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
26 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 26 |
| South African Singles Chart | 8 |
| Australian Kent Report Singles Chart | 46 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 33 |
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Singles Chart |
37 |