The Edge of Heaven

"The Edge of Heaven"
Single by Wham!
from the album Music from the Edge of Heaven
Released	18 June 1986
Format	12", 7"
Recorded	1984–1985
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:34
Label	CBS
Writer(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"I'm Your Man" (1985) "The Edge of Heaven" (1986) "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (1986)
The Final track listing "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (13) "The Edge of Heaven" (14)

"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").

Two months earlier, George Michael had achieved his second solo No. 1 with "A Different Corner" (which also made #7 in the US), and he was back in the charts as a permanent solo artist within six months of "The Edge of Heaven".

Music video

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

Track listing

All songs written and composed by G. Michael except where indicated. 

7": Epic / A FIN 1 (UK)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Edge of Heaven"		4:37
2.	"Wham Rap '86"	G. Michael, A. Ridgeley	6:33

7": Columbia / 38-06182 (US)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Edge of Heaven"		4:37
2.	"Wham Rap '86"	G. Michael, A. Ridgeley	6:33
3.	"Battlestations"		5:25
4.	"Where Did Your Heart Go?"	D. Was, D. Was	5:43

12": Epic / FIN T1 (UK)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Battlestations"		5:25
2.	"Where Did Your Heart Go?"	D. Was, D. Was	5:43
3.	"The Edge of Heaven"		4:37
4.	"Wham Rap '86"	G. Michael, A. Ridgeley	6:33

Chart positions

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australia	2
Austria	11
France	22
Germany	4
Ireland	1
Italy	3
The Netherlands[5]	1
Norway	2
Sweden	10
Switzerland	4
United Kingdom[2]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[6]	10
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[6]	22

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 October 31, 2015.
5. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 28, 1986". Retrieved 5 March 2008.
6. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 11 December 2007)

External links

• AllMusic.com entry for "The Edge of Heaven"