King of Wishful Thinking

"King of Wishful Thinking"
Single by Go West
from the album Indian Summer and Pretty Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side"Tears Too Late"
Released1990
GenrePop[1]
Length4:00
Label
Songwriters
ProducerPeter Wolf
Go West singles chronology
"Let's Build a Boat"
(1987) 		"King of Wishful Thinking"
(1990) 		"Faithful"
(1992)

"King of Wishful Thinking"[2][3] is a song by British pop duo Go West, written by Peter Cox, Richard Drummie and Martin Page. It appeared in the film Pretty Woman[4] and was later included on Go West's third studio album, Indian Summer, in 1992.

In terms of the group's discography, "King of Wishful Thinking" has become their best known song.[5] The track reached number three in Canada, number six in Australia, number eight in the United States, and number 18 in the United Kingdom. At the 1991 Brit Awards, the song was nominated for the Brit Award for British Video of the Year.[6]

Critical reception

Music journalist Hannah Dailey of the U.S. publication Billboard has labeled the song as "one of the crown jewels of ’90s classic hits".[5]

Music video

The song's official music video is known for including various absurdist elements alongside the pop duo as they act on a solid white stage.[7] It was produced, directed and written by Paul Flattery and Jim Yukich of FYI. Though the film does not outwardly utilize film clips from Pretty Woman, outside of brief glimpses superimposed on actual celluloid, the video includes lookalikes of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (dressed as his character from An Officer and a Gentleman). An actor playing Roy Orbison, performer of the titular song from the film, also appears.

In 2018, actor Paul Rudd and late-night host Jimmy Fallon made a shot-for-shot recreation of the music video for The Tonight Show. Some elements such as a dancing Pope, zebras, and a trained circus elephant, present in the original video, were not reproduced in the remake.[8] American band the Roots made a cameo appearance.[7]

Track listings

UK 7-inch and cassette single[3][9]

  1. "The King of Wishful Thinking" – 4:00
  2. "Tears Too Late" – 4:25

UK CD single[10]

  1. "The King of Wishful Thinking" – 4:00
  2. "The King of Wishful Thinking" (Jon Gass US 12-inch) – 5:49
  3. "Tears Too Late" – 4:25
  4. "The King of Wishful Thinking" (acapella) – 2:45
  • The UK 12-inch single switches tracks one and two.[11]

US and Canadian cassette single[12]

  1. "King of Wishful Thinking" (LP version)
  2. "King of Wishful Thinking" (power mix)

Personnel

Go West

  • Peter Cox – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards
  • Richard Drummie – backing vocals, keyboards, guitars

Additional musicians

[13][14]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 400,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

See also

References

  1. ^ Eames, Tom (31 July 2024). "The 100 greatest songs of the 1990s, ranked". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ The song is also titled as "The King of Wishful Thinking" on Chrysalis releases
  3. ^ a b The King of Wishful Thinking (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Chrysalis Records. 1990. GOW 8, 3235597.
  4. ^ How King of Wishful Thinking got on the Pretty Woman soundtrack
  5. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah (4 May 2022). "Kelly Clarkson is the Queen of 'Wishful Thinking' with Her Latest Cover: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  6. ^ "History - BRITS Awards". Brits.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (10 February 2018). "See Paul Rudd, Jimmy Fallon Remake Go West's 'King of Wishful Thinking'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  8. ^ Dessem, Matthew (11 February 2018). "How Long Can You Compare Jimmy Fallon and Paul Rudd's Recreation of "King of Wishful Thinking" With the Original?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ The King of Wishful Thinking (UK cassette single sleeve). Chrysalis Records. 1990. GOWMC8.
  10. ^ The King of Wishful Thinking (UK CD single disc notes). Chrysalis Records. 1990. GOWCD 8, 3235592.
  11. ^ The King of Wishful Thinking (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Chrysalis Records. 1990. GOWX 8.
  12. ^ King of Wishful Thinking (US & Canadian cassette single sleeve). EMI USA. 1990. 4JM-50307.
  13. ^ Session Days - 1990 Go West – King Of Wishful Thinking (US:#8 UK:#18) (Listing of personnel from Sessiondays.com site)
  14. ^ Jeff Porcaro Session World - GO WEST / INDIAN SUMMER, 6. THE KING OF WISHFUL THINKING
  15. ^ "Go West – The King of Wishful Thinking". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Image 1327". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Image 1328". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 37. 15 September 1990. p. IV. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name.
  20. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – King of Wishful Thinking". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Go West – The King of Wishful Thinking". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ^ "Go West – The King of Wishful Thinking". Singles Top 100.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 25/8/1990 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 11 August 1990. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. 1 September 1990. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  26. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50)". ARIA. Retrieved 10 October 2016 – via Imgur.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1990". RPM. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  29. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1990". Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  30. ^ "The Year in Music 1990: Top Adult Contemporary Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. YE-36.
  31. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  32. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Go West – The King of Wishful Thinking". Radioscope. Retrieved 5 February 2026. Type The King of Wishful Thinking in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  33. ^ "British single certifications – Go West – The King of Wishful Thinking". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 December 2025. Select singles in the Formats field. Type The King of Wishful Thinking Go West in the "Search:" field.
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