If I Was

"If I Was" is a song by Scottish musician 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 debut solo studio album, The Gift (1985). The song reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for one week in September 1985. The track also reached number one in Ireland and peaked within the top 20 in eight other countries.

Background
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."

Ure played all instruments on the song except bass guitar, which was played by Mark King of Level 42.

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

B-sides
The instrumental "Piano" was released on the B-side of the 7-inch and 12-inch singles. The 12-inch single includes a second track: a cover version of David Bowie'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.