If I Had You (The Korgis song)

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"If I Had You"
The Korgis If I Had You 1979 single cover.jpg
Single by the Korgis
from the album The Korgis
B-side
  • "Chinese Girl"
  • "Art School Annexe"
Released18 May 1979 [1]
Length3:55
Label Rialto
Songwriter(s) Andy Davis
Producer(s) The Korgis
The Korgis singles chronology
"Young 'n' Russian"
(1979)		"If I Had You"
(1979)		"I Just Can't Help It"
(1980)

"If I Had You" is a song by British pop band the Korgis, released in 1979 as the second single from their debut studio album, The Korgis . The song was written by Andy Davis and was produced by the Korgis. It gave the band their commercial breakthrough, peaking at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart and remaining in the top 75 for 12 weeks.

Contents

Writing

"If I Had You" was written by Andy Davis some years before it was recorded by the Korgis, at a time when he was "enthralled by Phil Spector". [2] Davis based the song's melody on Variation 18 of Sergei Rachmaninoff's 1934 concertante work Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini . [3]

Recording

The song was recorded at Crescent Studios in Bath, which was based in David Lord's top-floor flat in Camden Crescent. Warren revealed to the Liverpool Echo in 1979, "It was a bit weird, I suppose. I mean we were all over the house. I did the vocals for 'If I Had You' on the landing." [4] The band opted to record there rather than in a professional studio in London as it was significantly cheaper and allowed the duo more studio time to record their debut album. [5] The band found the song's mixing process to be a "nightmare" and numerous mixes were produced over the course of several months. [2]

Speaking of the song, Warren said in 1979, "I think the song is a great radio song, as opposed to something you might just sit down and listen to. It is pop and that really is what radio stations should be about. I don't think the lyrics have any great significance – they're just good pop ones. Actually, I find it nice to have a vast symphonic sound behind my voice." [4] [2]

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, James Belsey of the Bristol Evening Post picked "If I Had You" as the newspaper's "single of the week" and called it a "lovely piece of warm, summery pop" with which the duo "deserve an easy hit... if they get the airplay". [6] Jim Whiteford of The Kilmarnock Standard noted the "sweet and sticky summer melody which smacks of John Lennon's '#9 Dream'" and believed it "should sell in similar quantities and go barking up the chart tree". [7]

Track listing

7–inch single [8]

  1. "If I Had You" – 3:55
  2. "Chinese Girl" – 2:15
  3. "Art School Annexe" – 3:35

7–inch single (US) [9]

  1. "If I Had You" – 3:55
  2. "Chinese Girl" – 2:15

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1979)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [10] 13

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References

  1. ↑ "Releases: Listings" (PDF). Music Week . 19 May 1979. p. 30. ISSN   0265-1548 . Retrieved 25 August 2024– via World Radio History.
  2. 1 2 3 Jasper, Tony (20 July 1979). "Korgis play it just for fun" . Manchester Evening News . p. 2. Retrieved 19 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Andy Davis & James Warren". Songwriting Magazine. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 Trollope, Peter (21 July 1979). "Homely sound of the Korgis" . Liverpool Echo . p. 8. Retrieved 19 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Christine (9 August 1979). "Time for Korgis to be a success" . Western Daily Press . p. 6. Retrieved 19 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Belsey, James (23 June 1979). "Pops: Single of the week" . Bristol Evening Post . p. 6. Retrieved 19 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ Whiteford, Jim (20 July 1979). "Records: Singles" . The Kilmarnock Standard . p. 16. Retrieved 19 January 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ If I Had You (UK 7-inch single sleeve). The Korgis. Rialto. 1979. TREB 103.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ Young 'n' Russian (US 7-inch single label). The Korgis. Warner Bros. Records. 1979. WBS 49063.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
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