BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986
“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.
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. Prior to the official release date of the single, the song had been performed during their 1985 “Whamamerica!” tour.
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 — a 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 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”).
**As a special bonus track, I have added the mega-rare “Extended Edit” of “Battlestations” which should have been released as a single in my opinion. The track is remixed and edited by Steven Bourasa for the Hot Tracks remix service.
SIDE A:
The Edge Of Heaven 4:31
Written-By – G. Michael*
SIDE B:
Where Did Your Heart Go? 5:41
Written-By – Don Was & Dave Was*
BONUS TRACK:
Battlestations (Extended Edit) 6:36
Edited By – Steven Bourasa*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Edge Of Heaven | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #10 |
| 1986 | The Edge Of Heaven | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #22 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic – 12・3P-748
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 21 Jul 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Engineer – Chris Porter
Producer, Arranged By – George Michael
NOTES:
Special thanks to Elton for The Edge Of Heaven
“Battlestations” taken from Hot Tracks Series 5, Issue 11
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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