If I Was

"If I Was"
Single by Midge Ure
from the album The Gift
B-side "Piano"
"The Man Who Sold the World"
Released 2 September 1985[1]
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl
Recorded July 1985
Genre Synthpop, new wave
Length 4:46 (single version)
5:20 (album version)
6:45 (extended mix)
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) Danny Mitchell, Midge Ure
Producer(s) Midge Ure
Midge Ure singles chronology
"After a Fashion" (with Mick Karn)
(1983)		 "If I Was"
(1985)		 "That Certain Smile"
(1985)
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"If I Was" is a 1985 song by Midge Ure. It was co-written by Ure and Danny Mitchell (of Ultravox's tour opening band Messengers), and released as the first single from Ure's first solo album The Gift. It reached #1 on the UK singles chart for one week in September 1985.[2]

In the sleeve notes for the 2001 compilation If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure & Ultravox Ure wrote:

"This song is pure Danny Mitchell. I found a demo of it on a cassette Danny had sent me for his band The Messengers. I grabbed it with both hands, messed around with it, sprinkled it with fairy dust and the rest is history."

Music video

The music video featured Ure's face patterns on a Pin Art pinscreen.

B-sides

The instrumental "Piano" was released on the B-side of the 7" and 12" singles. The 12" single featured a second track: a cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World", originally released on the film soundtrack of Party Party (1983).[3] Both songs were added as bonus tracks to the CD reissue of The Gift in 1996.[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1985/1986) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 6
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[7] 9
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 8
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 16
Preceded by
"Dancing in the Street" by David Bowie and Mick Jagger[13]		 UK number one single
5 October 1985[2] 		Succeeded by
"The Power of Love" by Jennifer Rush[14][15]
Preceded by
"Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder[15]		 Irish IRMA number-one single
6 October 1985

References

  1. ↑ "Midge Ure - If I Was (12")". Discogs. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Chart Stats - Midge Ure - If I Was". Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  3. ↑ "Party Party (1983) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "Midge Ure - The Gift (CD, Album, RM, RE)". Discogs. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Midge Ure: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  6. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Midge Ure – If I Was" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "if i was - midge ure". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  8. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Midge Ure – If I Was". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  9. ↑ "irishcharts.ie search results for Midge Ure". Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  11. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Midge Ure – If I Was". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  12. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Midge Ure – If I Was". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  13. ↑ "Chart Stats - Singles Chart For 28/09/1985". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "Chart Stats - Singles Chart For 12/10/1985". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  15. 1 2 "The Irish Charts - Birthday no 1's search page". Retrieved 28 June 2010.

External links

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