Music from the Edge of Heaven

Music from the Edge of Heaven
North American cover artwork
Studio album by
Wham!
Released27 June 1986
Recorded
VenueWorkers' Gymnasium (Beijing)[1]
Studios
Length45:14
Labels
ProducerGeorge Michael
Wham! chronology
Make It Big
(1984)		 Music from the Edge of Heaven
(1986)		 The Final
(1986)
Singles from Music from the Edge of Heaven
  1. "Last Christmas"
    Released: 3 December 1984
  2. "I'm Your Man"
    Released: 11 November 1985[2]
  3. "A Different Corner"
    Released: 24 March 1986
  4. "The Edge of Heaven"
    Released: 9 June 1986[3]
  5. "Where Did Your Heart Go?"
    Released: October 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[4]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[5]
Stylus Magazine(Positive)[6]

Music from the Edge of Heaven is the third and final studio album by the English pop duo Wham!. It was released on 27 June 1986 by Columbia Records in North America[7] and on 21 July 1986 by Epic Records in Japan.[8]

Background

Between 1982 and 1985, the pop duo Wham! had released two studio albums, and enjoyed a string of successes, with three of their singles reaching number one on the UK singles chart.[9] With the known desire of George Michael to move into a more adult market, Wham! announced in early 1986 that Michael and his musical partner Andrew Ridgeley would go their separate ways after a farewell single, album, and a concert.[10]

The farewell single, "The Edge of Heaven", was released on 9 June 1986, and earned Wham! their fourth number one single in the UK.[9] The farewell concert, entitled the Final, was held in front of 72,000 fans at London's Wembley Stadium on 28 June 1986.[11] The accompanying greatest hits album, also entitled The Final, was released on 7 July 1986. In North America, a pared-down version of the album (Music from the Edge of Heaven) was issued instead, essentially serving as the group's third and final studio album.

Content

"The Edge of Heaven", "Battlestations", "Wham! Rap '86" and "Where Did Your Heart Go?", according to the liner notes, are newly recorded for the album, with "The Edge of Heaven", "Battlestations" and "Where Did Your Heart Go?" also appearing on The Final; the other half was slightly changed for the collection, with the exception of the Pudding mix of "Last Christmas":

  • The version of "A Different Corner" featured has an intro that does not appear elsewhere, aside from the song's music video.
  • The version of "I'm Your Man" is slightly edited down from the Extended Stimulation mix and features a newly recorded spoken bridge.
  • This marks the only appearance of "Blue (live in China)" on CD.

Decades later, Music from the Edge of Heaven was not included in the CD remastering series by the duo's record company because of the album's limited release; however, The Final was included. A box set of the three studio albums by the band titled Original Album Classics was released on 20 March 2015, which included Music from the Edge of Heaven.

Although it did not have a physical release in forms such as vinyl or CD in Europe, Music from the Edge of Heaven was released in Europe on the iTunes Store for the first time to download in late 2017.[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Michael, except where noted.

Hot Side
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Edge of Heaven" 4:31
2."Battlestations" 5:25
3."I'm Your Man" 6:05
4."Wham! Rap '86"
6:33
Cool Side
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."A Different Corner" 4:30
6."Blue" (live in China; recorded at the Workers' Gymnasium, Beijing[1]) 5:43
7."Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Was (Not Was) cover)
5:43
8."Last Christmas" (Pudding mix) 6:44
Total length:45:14

Personnel

  • George Michael – vocals, keyboards, piano, drum machine, arranger, producer
  • Andrew Ridgeley – backing vocals, guitar
  • Danny Cummings – drums, percussion
  • Andy Duncan – drums, percussion
  • Charlie Morgan – drums, percussion
  • Trevor Murrell – drums, percussion
  • Deon Estus – bass
  • John McKenzie – bass
  • Bob Carter – keyboards, piano
  • Richard Cottle – keyboards, piano
  • Tommy Eyre – keyboards, piano
  • Elton John – keyboards, piano
  • Danny Schogger – keyboards, piano
  • Robert Ahwai – guitar
  • David Austin – guitar
  • Hugh Burns – guitar
  • David Baptiste – alto saxophone
  • Andy Hamilton – tenor saxophone (2, 7)
  • Guy Barker – horns
  • Simon Gardner – horns
  • Chris Hunter – horns
  • Paul Spong – horns
  • Rick Taylor – horns
  • Shirlie Holliman – backing vocals
  • Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque – backing vocals
  • Janet Mooney – backing vocals
  • Leroy Osbourne – backing vocals
  • Jenny Hallet – backing vocals
  • Dee C. Lee – backing vocals
Technical
  • Chris Porter – engineer, mixing

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Music from the Edge of Heaven
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 158,000[14]
Poland (ZPAV)[18] Platinum 30,000‡
United States (RIAA)[7] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Last Christmas"
  2. ↑ "I'm Your Man" and "A Different Corner"

References

  1. 1 2 Patrick, Al (28 April 1985). "ROCK: East meets Wham!, and another great wall comes down". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Booker T & The Mgs, Green Onions, Single". BPI.
  3. ↑ "Booker T & The Mgs, Green Onions, Single". BPI.
  4. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Music from the Edge of Heaven at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Fricke, David (28 August 1986). "Wham: Music from the Edge of Heaven: Music Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007.
  6. ↑ Inskeep, Thomas (6 December 2005). "Music from the Edge of Heaven – On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 March 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. 1 2 "American album certifications – Wham! – Music from the Edge of Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "エッジ・オヴ・ヘヴン | ワム!" [Edge of Heaven | Wham!] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Wham!: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wham! Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "When George Michael performed with Wham! for the last time and said it was 'most important day of my life'". Smooth Radio. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Wham! – Music from the Edge of Heaven". Apple Music. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 0712". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  14. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  15. ↑ "Wham! Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. 27 December 1986. p. 9. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  17. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Wham – Music from the Edge". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  18. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 January 2026. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Music from the Edge of Heaven in the search box.
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