The Edge of Heaven

For other uses, see Edge of Heaven (disambiguation).

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

"The Edge of Heaven"
Single by Wham!
from the album The Final and Music from the Edge of Heaven
B-side	"Wham Rap '86" (UK) "Blue (Live in China)" (various) "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Japan) "Battlestations" (various)
Released	9 June 1986 (1986-06-09)[1]
Recorded	March 1986
Studio	Sarm West (London)[2]
Genre	Dance-pop disco[3]
Length	4:34
Label	Epic
Songwriter(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)
Music video
"The Edge of Heaven" on YouTube

History

With the known desire of George Michael to move into a more adult market, Wham! had announced in early 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 28 June 1986.^[4] Prior to the official release date of the single, the song had been performed during their 1985 Whamamerica! tour.^[5]

The single, a five-minute tale of emotional and physical frustration within a relationship, featured a guest appearance by the duo's friend Elton John on piano. The song became Wham!'s fourth No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart^[6] and their final US top-ten hit.

Michael said the lyrics to the song were "deliberately and overtly sexual, especially the first verse". The reason for this, he said, was he thought no one would care "because no one listens to a Wham! lyric. It had got to that stage."^[7]

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-side of the second disc. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" was later given an equal billing and reached 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 fourth and final single from Music from the Edge of Heaven (the shortened American version of The Final), and charted at number 50.

Reception

Cash Box said that "The live-wire, uptempo track moves along at a "Wake Me Up Before You GoGo" pace."^[8]

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan and filmed at stage 1, Twickenham Film Studios on 5 June 1986.^[9][10] It features a performance in front of a crowd and is filmed in black and white.^[11][12] It features a brief early appearance by Danny John-Jules, emerging from the audience to dance alongside Michael onstage, as well as appearances by David Austin on guitar and Deon Estus on bass.

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Michael except where indicated.

7-inch: 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-inch: Columbia / 38-06182 (US)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Edge of Heaven"	4:37
2.	"Blue" (Live in China)	5:18

2×7-inch: Epic / FIN 1 (UK) – Limited edition double 7-inch 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-inch: 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

Personnel

Wham!

• George Michael – lead and backing vocals
• Andrew Ridgeley – backing vocals, guitar

Additional personnel

• Danny Cummings – percussion
• Charlie Morgan – drums
• Deon Estus – bass
• Elton John – piano
• David Austin, Hugh Burns – guitar
• Andy Hamilton – tenor saxophone
• Simon Gardner, Paul Spong – trumpet
• Rick Taylor – trombone
• Janet Mooney, Jenny Hallet, and Leroy Osbourne, Shirlie Holliman, Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "The Edge of Heaven" Chart (1986) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 1 Bolivia (UPI)[16] 4 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[17] 10 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[18] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 3 France (SNEP)[20] 22 Greece (Music & Media)[21] 1 Iceland (RÚV)[22] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[23] 1 Italy (Musica e dischi)[24] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[27] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 10 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[31] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[32] 10 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[33] 22 West Germany (GfK)[34] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "The Edge of Heaven" Chart (1986) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[35] 57 Belgium (Ultratop)[36] 11 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[37] 92 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[38] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 17 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 26 West Germany (Media Control)[41] 33

Certifications

Certifications for "The Edge of Heaven"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] The Edge of Heaven/Where Did Your Heart Go	Silver	519,894[43]