It gave the band their commercial breakthrough, peaking at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart and remaining in the top 75 for 12 weeks.

"If I Had You" was written by Andy Davis some years before it was recorded by the Korgis, at a time when he was "enthralled by Phil Spector".

[2] Davis based the song's melody on Variation 18 of Sergei Rachmaninoff's 1934 concertante work Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

"[4][2] Upon its release as a single, James Belsey of the Bristol Evening Post picked "If I Had You" as the newspaper's "single of the week" and called it a "lovely piece of warm, summery pop" with which the duo "deserve an easy hit... if they get the airplay".

[6] Jim Whiteford of The Kilmarnock Standard noted the "sweet and sticky summer melody which smacks of John Lennon's '#9 Dream'" and believed it "should sell in similar quantities and go barking up the chart tree".