Song · Terence Trent D'Arby
“Wishing Well” by Terence Trent D'Arby
From the album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby (1987)
“Wishing Well” by Terence Trent D'Arby appears on 6 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1999 and 2026. It was first released in 1987 on the album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby. Its best result is #187 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,518 alternative song of all time.
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"Wishing Well" is the slinky, half-dreamed groove from Terence Trent D'Arby's 1987 debut, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, that went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. He wrote it with Sean Oliver and later said the words came to him while he was drifting between sleep and waking; he just liked how they felt, and the song glides like it.
D'Arby produced it with Heaven 17's Martyn Ware, arranged it and played baritone sax, keyboards and percussion around his own lead and backing vocals, with Pete Glenister on guitar, Phil Spalding on bass and Preston Heyman on drums. MTV played it constantly, and its 17-week crawl to number one was the slowest since Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" in 1983. Canada and the Netherlands sent it to the top as well.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1031 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 2002 | 1587 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1650 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 355 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2024 | 901 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2026 | 187 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
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