Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)

"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, and is noted for its Wall of Sound-styled layer of synthesizer padding – a "multi-layered, hypnotic song", according to AllMusic.

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.'"

Formats 7" Jive 25 (UK) – 1982

12" Jive T25 (UK) – 1982

12" Jive VJ 12014 (US) – 1982

CD August Day 41 (UK) – 2019

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. It was popular in South Africa, reaching No. 8.

Weekly charts Chart (1982–1983)PeakpositionAustralian Kent Report46 France (SNEP) 1Germany Singles Chart37Irish Singles Chart6New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart33South African Singles Chart8UK Singles Chart10US Billboard Hot 10026US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks3US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play26US Cash Box Top 100. Cash Box magazine.35

Year-end charts Chart (1983)Position

Certifications

References