The Wrong People · 1986 · Stiff Records

I Miss You

Written by Jim Irvin, Hamilton Lee, Tim Whelan

Published by Copyright Control

The misery that I endured
It seems so foolish these days
But darling you can rest assured
I'm a changed man these days

Stupid jokes we used to share
They hang around me in the air
And that scent you used to wear
I can still detect it there

I miss you, I do, though I never planned it
The more that I think of it, it's true, it's true
I miss you, I do, I can't understand it
No matter how hard I try, I miss you

Girls I've known since you
They liked me in their own way
But when I tried to touch, like we used to
They'd just turn and run away
All of my senses ache
I've taken to drinking, I wonder did we make a mistake
Darling, I've been thinking I miss you, I do, though I never planned it
The more that I think of it, it's true, it's true

I miss you, I do, I can't understand it
No matter how bad things were, I miss you
Darling it's true, oh how I miss you, I can't understand it
Darling it's true, oh how I miss you, I can't understand it
And I never planned it
Somehow, I miss you

Commentary

When Jim and Tim wrote this on a cheap synthesiser in a basement in Ealing, sometime in 1981, they knew they were onto something. The group grew directly out of this song. This is the original demo, recorded in a dilapidated studio in Denmark Street and, along with "Why Are We In Love?" and others, was responsible for securing our first deal, with Survival Records. Six early, self-financed recordings, including this one, became our debut, "When The Boom Was On" in September 1983. The song was later re-recorded for "The Wrong People". Tim Beaton played bass on this original demo.
Band commentary — She Gets Out the Scrapbook — 1991 inlay (compiled by Jim, Tim, Hami)

Writing this was effectively the moment when the earlier, amateur phase of the group ended and we thought we might be onto something. The melody was picked out on a cheap Yamaha CS5 mono synthesiser which I'd just bought on hire-purchase. I remember working it out with Tim in a basement room at his parents' house. It was 1982. We knew we'd written something good. We released a version on our first mini-album, When The Boom Was On, and were still a struggling indie act when we played this and Brilliant Mind live on The Tube a few years later. When we finished our first run through of this, another band, waiting to sound-check, gave us a round of applause. It was the Cramps.
Jim Irvin — Band commentary, 2010 Cherry Red reissue booklet (compiled by Jim, Tim and Hami)

I saw couples break-up, make-up and get together during this song. I think we recorded this around twelve times before it was deemed polished enough by producer Mick Glossop. A well known 80s singer wanted to cover it only if they could have writing credit on it. We said no!
Hamilton Lee — Band commentary, 2010 Cherry Red reissue booklet (compiled by Jim, Tim and Hami)

Around the time Jim bought a cheap synthesiser, he and Tim used it to write "I Miss You." Played live on The Tube in 1985 with The Bangles and The Cramps; when they finished rehearsing the song, The Cramps applauded — "such a classy thing to do, clap for the nervous new kids."
Jim Irvin — BanBanTonTon interview, 2019

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