Ever since the dawn of MTV and Friday Night Videos, the music video has significantly impacted musical tastes and pop culture. It might not be as extreme as when the Buggles declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star", but there is no arguing that the music video certainly could make or break a song's popularity. So this regular Flashback Video feature will serve to remember some of the music videos from the great '80s decade that made an impact on me in one way or another.
This issue we will cover "The Edge of Heaven" by Wham. This was the farewell single for Wham! as a group released in June 1986 as George Michael was planning on pursuing a solo career. It would peak at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at the end of August while achieving international success reaching #1 in five other countries and the Top 5 in at least eight more. Elton John played the piano on 7-inch version of this song and he also played the piano at Wham!'s farewell concert at Wembley Stadium in front of 73,000 fans in June 1986. Surprisingly, Elton John was not shown playing the piano in the music video.
The music video for "The Edge of Heaven" was directed by Andy Morahan. He had previously worked with Wham for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "I'm Your Man" as well as Pet Shop Boys for "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" and "West End Girls", Ozzy Osbourne for "Shot in the Dark" and "Ultimate Sin", Luther Vandross for "Give Me the Reason" and "Stop to Love" and The Human League for "Human" among many others in the '80s. Morahan then did the video for the Aretha Franklin & George Michael duet "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" which led to directing George Michael's first solo video for "I Want Your Sex" followed by videos for "Faith", "Father Figure" and "Monkey". He continued directing music videos through '90s and beyond.
The video which was filmed at Twickenham Film Studios is relatively simple. It features a performance by the band in front of an excited crowd and was filmed in black and white. Here is the music video for "The Edge of Heaven" by Wham...
Obviously George Michael went on to major solo success, but there is something fun about those Wham! hits from the mid-80s and this final hit is one of the best.
Hope you enjoyed another trip back to the '80s thanks to Flashback Video!