The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...

The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...
Greatest hits album by Wham!
Released	1997
Recorded	1981–1986, 1996
Genre	Compilation
Length	70:23
Label	Epic CK-91200 Columbia Records (CAN)
Producer	George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, Steve Brown
Wham! chronology
The Final (1986) The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... is the second UK-released compilation, released in 1997 to summarize the career of British pop duo Wham!. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. The end of the album features a hidden track that was first heard on their debut album, Fantastic.

Many Wham! fans consider this compilation vastly inferior to the band's previous compilation, 1986's The Final, not only due to the non-inclusion of "Bad Boys", but also discarding "Careless Whisper" and "A Different Corner". Although the latter two songs were credited as George Michael solo singles, they did appear on official Wham! studio albums. This compilation was compiled by George Michael to present the band as more serious artists and to draw connections with his solo career. As a result of his endorsement of it, it is more widely available than The Final.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by George Michael, except where indicated.

Album

1. "If You Were There" (The Isley Brothers) – 3:43
2. "I'm Your Man" – 4:06
3. "Everything She Wants" – 6:29
4. "Club Tropicana" (Michael, Andrew Ridgeley) – 4:30
5. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – 3:51
6. "Like a Baby" – 4:16
7. "Freedom" – 5:20
8. "The Edge of Heaven" – 4:37
9. "Wham Rap!" (Michael, Ridgeley) – 6:46
10. "Young Guns (Go for It!)" – 3:41
11. "Last Christmas" (Pudding Mix) – 6:48
12. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Dave Was, Don Was) – 5:42
13. "Everything She Wants '97" – 6:01
14. "I'm Your Man '96" – 4:33

Notes

• Everything She Wants '97 is a re-release of the original song
• I'm Your Man '96 is a re-release of the original song

Video

1. "Wham Rap!" (Michael, Ridgeley) – 3:15
2. "Club Tropicana" (Michael, Ridgeley) – 4:31
3. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – 3:45
4. "Last Christmas" – 4:20
5. "The Edge of Heaven" – 4:25
6. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Was, Was) – 5:10
7. "I'm Your Man" – 5:40
8. "Everything She Wants" – 6:30
9. "Freedom" – 6:32

Charts

Peak positions Chart Position Australian Albums Chart[2] 29 Austrian Albums Chart[3] 23 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[4] 5 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[5] 6 Dutch Albums Chart[6] 18 Finnish Albums Chart[7] 35 German Albums Chart[8] 40 Japanese Albums Chart[9] 30 New Zealand Albums Chart[10] 29 Swiss Albums Chart[11] 28 UK Albums Chart[12] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[13] 22 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[14] 24 Chart (1998) Position Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[15] 52 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[16] 42

Certifications

Album Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[17] Gold 35,000^^ Japan (RIAJ)[18] Gold 100,000^^ Poland (ZPAV)[19] Gold 50,000^* United Kingdom (BPI)[20] 2× Platinum 600,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Video/DVD Region Certification Sales/shipments United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 25,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: The Best of Wham!: If You Were There.... AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-07-18.
2. "australian-charts.com Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
3. "austriancharts.at Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
4. "ultratop.be Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
5. "ultratop.be Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
6. "dutchcharts.nl Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
7. "finnishcharts.com Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
8. "Album Search: Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
9. "ザ・ベスト／ワム!-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of If You Were There: The Best by Wham!]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
10. "charts.org.nz Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
11. "Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
12. "Wham! > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
13. "Jaaroverzichten 1997". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
14. "Rapports annuels 1997". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
15. "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
16. "Rapports annuels 1998". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
18. "RIAJ > The Record > March 1999 > Certified Awards (January 1999)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 3, 2014.
19. "Polish album certifications – Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There..." (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
20. "British album certifications – Wham! – The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
21. "British video certifications – Wham – The Best of". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Best of in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select DVD in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search