Wishing I Was Lucky

"Wishing I Was Lucky"
Single by Wet Wet Wet
from the album Popped in Souled Out
B-side	"Words of Wisdom", "Still Can't Remember Your Name"
Released	March 1987
Length	3:52
Label	The Precious Organisation, Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Graeme Clark, Tommy Cunningham, Neil Mitchell, Marti Pellow
Producer(s)	Wet Wet Wet, Wilf Smarties
Wet Wet Wet singles chronology
"Wishing I Was Lucky" (1987) "Sweet Little Mystery" (1987)

"Wishing I Was Lucky" is the debut single of Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, released as the lead single from their first album, Popped in Souled Out (1987). Recorded for £600 in Edinburgh, it was released in March 1987 and was their first hit, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 10 in Ireland. The following year, the song reached the top 20 in Belgium and the Netherlands, while in the United States, "Wishing I Was Lucky" became the group's first of two songs to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 58.

Tommy Cunningham later said of the song: "I was in a queue in a chip shop in Glasgow when it came on Radio Clyde. I felt like shouting to everybody, 'That's me and my mates!' It was an incredible feeling I've not forgotten."[1] Marti Pellow recorded an acoustic, solo version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album, Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile.

Music video

Two videos were made. The video in the UK features the band watching TV. As they switch channels, each member of the band is sent to the TV on a different channel before being sent back. The video ends with the band (performing the song throughout the video) getting trapped before the TV shuts off abruptly ending the song. The video in the US shows the band performing in a dimly lit room while shots of the band members travel in the city and have fun.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single[2][3] "Wishing I Was Lucky" "Words of Wisdom" UK 12-inch single and European CD single[4][5] "Wishing I Was Lucky" "Words of Wisdom" "Still Can't Remember Your Name" UK 2×12-inch single[6] A1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" B1. "Words of Wisdom" B2. "Still Can't Remember Your Name" C1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (Metal mix)

US 12-inch single[7] A1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (Gotta Job mix) – 6:26 B1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (instrumental dub) – 4:27 B2. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (live) – 3:50 Australasian 12-inch single[8] A1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" – 5:42 A2. "Words of Wisdom" – 3:08 B1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (Metal mix) – 5:44 B2. "Still Can't Remember Your Name" – 4:12 Japanese 12-inch single[9] A1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" A2. "Words of Wisdom" B1. "Wishing I Was Lucky" (long version) B2. "Still Can't Remember Your Name"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987–1988) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 16 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[11] 37 France (SNEP)[12] 40 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 26 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 19 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 26 UK Singles (OCC)[17] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 58 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[19] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position UK Singles (OCC)[20] 87

References

1. "Chippie made me a super star". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
2. Wishing I Was Lucky (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, Mercury Records. 1987. JEWEL 3, 888 408-7.
3. Wishing I Was Lucky (US cassette single sleeve). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, UNI Records. 1987. UNIC-50,000.
4. Wishing I Was Lucky (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, Mercury Records. 1987. JEWEL 312.
5. Wishing I Was Lucky (European CD single liner notes). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, Mercury Records. 1987. 888 408-2.
6. Wishing I Was Lucky (UK 2×12-inch single sleeve). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, Mercury Records. 1987. JEWEL 322.
7. Wishing I Was Lucky (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, UNI Records. 1988. UNI-8000.
8. Wishing I Was Lucky (Australasian 12-inch single vinyl disc). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, UNI Records. 1987. 888 725-1.
9. Wishing I Was Lucky (Japanese 12-inch single sleeve). Wet Wet Wet. The Precious Organisation, UNI Records. 1987. 15PP-68.
10. "Wet Wet Wet – Wishing I Was Lucky" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
11. "European Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 23. 13 June 1987. p. 14.
12. "Wet Wet Wet – Wishing I Was Lucky" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wish I Was Lucky". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 19, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
15. "Wet Wet Wet – Wishing I Was Lucky" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
16. "Wet Wet Wet – Wishing I Was Lucky". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
18. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 25 June 1988. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
19. * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
20. "Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles". Record Mirror. 23 January 1988. p. 36.