Fifth in a series of posts on one Dullard's collection of 45s
Song: "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph of You)"
Artist: A Flock of Seagulls
Year released: 1983
Highest U.S. chart position: 26
DULLARD TAKE: You can't talk about A Flock of Seagulls without mentioning the band's greatest claim to fame: the singer's hair. The wacky "flying wedge" style sported by Mike Score is a true fashion disaster for the '80s, even worse than shoulder pads and Members Only jackets. But hey, at least he took a chance.
The Seagulls' tunes were not as risky as their fashion statements. The British quartet produced mushy, pre-programmed music that seemed more calculated at cashing in on "New Wave" than committing to it.
"Wishing" is symptomatic of the band, a synth-drenched dirge for dead-end love. In the wide spectrum of droning music, this song lies somewhere between Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and late-80s Cure.
On top of layers of drum machines, keyboards and distorted guitar, Score bleats on about unrequited love, concluding:
If I had a photograph of you,
It's something to remind me.
I wouldn't spend my life just wishing.
What, pray tell, would he have done with his time if he had that photograph? It seems reasonable to assume the singer would take some sort of action to relieve his malaise. But what? One can only recommend that "Wishing" be included on the era's list of odes to Onan. Some others:
- "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors
- "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- "She-Bop" by Cyndi Lauper
"Wishing" is also similar in theme to the band's bigger and better hit, "I Ran." Both songs exhibit a fatal combination of longing and fear in relationships. Perhaps the Gulls should have listened to Duran Duran and Adam Ant for cues in romantic bravado.
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