The Edge of Heaven

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This article is about the Wham! song. For the film by Fatih Akın, see The Edge of Heaven (film). For the TV series, see Edge of Heaven.
"The Edge of Heaven"
Song

"The Edge of Heaven" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!'s farewell single.

History

With the known desire of George Michael to move into a more adult market, Wham! had announced in the spring of 1986 that Michael and his musical partner Andrew Ridgeley would go their separate ways after a farewell single, album and concert. The album was called "The Final" and the concert was held in front of 72,000 fans at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday 28 June 1986.[1]

The single, a five-minute tale of emotional and physical frustration within a relationship, was a slick and upbeat — albeit harder-edged than earlier works — pop tune which became the fourth and final No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart[2] (and the final US Top Ten hit, reaching #10) for the duo. Elton John, a friend of Michael and Ridgeley, played piano on the track.

Michael has said the lyrics to the song were "deliberately and overtly sexual, especially the first verse". The reason for this, he says, was he thought no one would care "because no one listens to a Wham! lyric. It had got to that stage."[3]

Epic released a double record set in the UK, with an updated version of Wham!'s early signature song "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" on the flip of disc one, and two new songs - "Battlestations" and a cover of the Was (Not Was) song "Where Did Your Heart Go?" - on the flip of the second disc. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" was later given an equal billing and reached a lowly position in the UK Top 40 as a result.

In the United States, "The Edge of Heaven" was backed with a live version of "Blue" from Wham!'s tour of China. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" was released separately as the follow-up and the fourth and last single from Music from the Edge of Heaven (the shortened American version of The Final), and charted at #50 (backed with "Wham! Rap '86").

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by G. Michael except where indicated

7": Epic / A FIN 1 (UK)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Edge of Heaven" 4:37
2."Wham Rap '86"G. Michael, A. Ridgeley6:33
7": Columbia / 38-06182 (US)
No.TitleLength
1."The Edge of Heaven"4:37
2."Blue" (Live in China)5:18
2x7": Epic / FIN 1 (UK) - Limited edition double 7" pack
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Edge of Heaven" 4:37
2."Wham Rap '86"G. Michael, A. Ridgeley6:33
3."Battlestations" 5:25
4."Where Did Your Heart Go?"D. Was, D. Was5:43
12": Epic / FIN T1 (UK)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Battlestations" 5:25
2."Where Did Your Heart Go?"D. Was, D. Was5:43
3."The Edge of Heaven" 4:37
4."Wham Rap '86"G. Michael, A. Ridgeley6:33

Chart and certifications

References

  1. ^ "Tours Menu". Tours.yogsbackyard.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 463. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991, page 170 ISBN 0-14-013235-X
  4. ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Wham! - "The edge of Heaven"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  5. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  7. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  8. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  9. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Edge of Heaven". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  11. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". VG-lista. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  14. ^ "Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  16. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  17. ^ "Wham! Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  18. ^ "British single certifications – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Edge of Heaven in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

Preceded by UK number-one single
22 June 1986 		Succeeded by
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