Released 18 June 1986 Recorded 1984–1985 Length 4:34 | Format 12", 7" Genre Dance-pop Label CBS | |
"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.
Contents
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.
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 (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."
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.
Track listing
All tracks written by George Michael except where indicated.