If

If was a British progressive rock and jazz rock band formed in 1969. In the period spanning 1970–75, they released eight studio-recorded albums and undertook 17 tours of Europe, the US and Canada.
The band was formed in 1969 by Dave Quincy, Dick Morrissey, and Terry Smith. They were managed by Lew Futterman, who was also the band's album producer. Signed by Chris Blackwell to Island Records in the UK and to Capitol Records in the US, their debut album, If (1970), entered the charts in both the States (Billboard) and the UK. The second album, If 2, was released the same year. They toured in Europe and the United States during the early 1970s, with two US tours during their first year, performing at Newport Jazz Festival, Reading Festival, and the Fillmore East (10 November 1970). (Read more at Wikipedia) 
== Links to Peel ==
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If only did one session for Top Gear, together with four sessions for other Sounds of the Seventies DJs, a couple of In Concert shows, and TV appearances on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Top Of The Pops, but they, like Nucleus, were formed by experienced jazz musicians who had also "paid their dues" by recording and going on the road with pop and soul artists. Founder members Dick Morrissey and Terry Smith had both played in the band of soul singer J.J. Jackson, who did a session for Top Gear in 1967.
Peel would also have known of Morrissey and Smith from reading Melody Maker, where they had both been voted best British musicians on their respective instruments in the paper's annual jazz poll - and perhaps also via his producer John Walters, who kept up his links with the British jazz scene despite sometimes being highly critical of it. When Peel played a track from If's first LP in 1970, he referred to them as "Dick Morrissey's band". After playing an In Concert show in 1971, Dick Morrissey told Melody Maker: "We did a John Peel show recently and there must have been a lot of If fans because they made a huge noise and called out for tunes! It was really rewarding and flattering and gave us a lot more confidence....." 
As with many bands of their era, If had a shifting line-up and ex-members of the group worked with other artists or bands (see the Wikipedia page on If for details). After they split up in 1975, Peel doesn't seem to have revisited their work - but five LPs by them appear in his Record Collection ..
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
* None
== Sessions ==
*One session. No known commercial release 
1. Recorded: 1972-01-03. First broadcast: 28 January 1972. Repeated: 24 March 1972
*The City Is Falling / Box / Reaching Out On All Sides (TX on 24/3/72) 
== Live ==
Recording date and venue details unknown. First Broadcast: 02 August 1970
# The Promised Land
# unknown
Recording date and venue details unknown. First Broadcast: 05 September 1971
#Upstairs
#Sunday Sad
#Fibonacci's Number
#Forgotten Roads
== Other Shows Played ==
* 23 May 1970: I’m Reaching Out On All Sides (b-side of single - Raise The Level Of Your Conscious Mind) Island
== See Also ==
*Record Collection: I
*Gigography 1970 
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Unofficial Site
Category:Artists