"If I Was" is a 1985 song by Scottish musician

Midge Ure James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980 ...

. It was co-written by Ure and Danny Mitchell (of

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

's tour opening band Messengers), and released as the first single from Ure's debut solo studio album '' The Gift'' (1985). It reached No. 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for one week in September 1985. In the

sleeve notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are descen ...

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 Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film * Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhe ...

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." Ure played all instruments on the song except

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, which was played by Mark King of

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

featured Ure's face patterns on a Pin Art

pinscreen Pinscreen animation makes use of a screen filled with movable pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated ...

B-sides

The instrumental "Piano" was released on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the 7" and 12" singles. The 12" single featured a second track: a cover version of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's " The Man Who Sold the World", an earlier version of which was originally released on the film soundtrack of '' Party Party'' (1983). Both songs were added as bonus tracks to the CD reissue of '' The Gift'' in 1996.

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{authority control 1985 singles Midge Ure songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Midge Ure 1985 songs Chrysalis Records singles