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").

Music video

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

Track listing

All tracks written 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	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 and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1986) Peak Position Australia (ARIA)[5] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 1 France (SNEP)[9] 22 Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 12 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[12] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 10 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 10 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[17] 10 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[18] 22

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 250,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

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. David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
7. "Ultratop.be – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
9. "Lescharts.com – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Edge of Heaven". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
12. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". VG-lista. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
13. "Charts.org.nz – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
16. "Archive Chart: 1986-06-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
17. "Wham! – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Wham!. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
18. "Wham! – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Wham!. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
19. "British single certifications – Wham! – The Edge of Heaven". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Edge of Heaven in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

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