It is the second single from the singer's self-titled debut solo album, Alexander O'Neal (1985).

"If You Were Here Tonight" is a melancholy ballad about the break-up of a relationship.

The song was O'Neal's first successful solo single in the United Kingdom, reaching No.

81 in August 1985, but following the top ten success of the Cherrelle duet "Saturday Love", the single re-entered the charts in early 1986.

It remains one of his most aired songs on British radio.