Released 2 September 1985 Recorded July 1985 | Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl Genre Synthpop, new wave | |
B-side "Piano"
"The Man Who Sold the World" Length 4:46 (single version)
5:20 (album version)
6:45 (extended mix) | ||
"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.
Contents
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). Both songs were added as bonus tracks to the CD reissue of The Gift in 1996.