The Final (album)

The Final is a greatest hits album released in 1986 to summarise the career of British pop duo Wham!. The album was not initially released in North America, where Wham!'s third and final studio album Music from the Edge of Heaven was released instead. Six songs from that album appear on this compilation. The compilation album was followed by the farewell concert of the same name on June 28, 1986 at Wembley Stadium.

The Final
Greatest hits album by Wham!
Released	31 May 1986
Recorded	1981–1986
Genre	Pop
Length	80:24 (Double LP and Cassette version) 71:07 (CD version)
Label	Epic 88681
Producer	George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, Steve Brown
Wham! chronology
Make It Big (1984) The Final (1986) Music from the Edge of Heaven (1986)
Singles from The Final
"Last Christmas" Released: 3 December 1984 "I'm Your Man" Released: 14 September 1985 "A Different Corner" Released: 2 April 1986 "The Edge of Heaven" Released: 18 June 1986 "Where Did Your Heart Go?" Released: 14 October 1986

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The CD edition omits "Blue (Armed with Love)" and the extended mixes. A deluxe edition of the album was released on CD/DVD and download in November 2011, with the DVD featuring all of Wham!'s music videos, including the video for "Young Guns (Go for It!)", "Last Christmas", and a remix version of the video for "Everything She Wants". It follows the track listing of the CD, with the exception of "Battlestations", as it was a B-side and not an official single.

Track listing

All songs written by George Michael, except where noted.

Double LP/Cassette

Side one

1. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" (Special US Re-Mix) (Michael, Andrew Ridgeley) – 6:43
2. "Young Guns (Go for It!)" (12" Version) – 5:09
3. "Bad Boys" (12" version) – 4:52
4. "Club Tropicana" (Michael, Ridgeley) – 4:25

Side two

5. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – 3:51
6. "Careless Whisper" (12" version) (Michael, Ridgeley) – 6:30
7. "Freedom" (7" Version) – 5:20
8. "Last Christmas" (Pudding Mix) – 6:47

Side three

9. "Everything She Wants" (Long Remix) – 6:34
10. "I'm Your Man" (Extended Stimulation) – 6:50
11. "Blue (Armed with Love)" – 3:50

Side four

12. "A Different Corner" – 3:59
13. "Battlestations" – 5:27
14. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (David Was, Don Was) – 5:45
15. "The Edge of Heaven" – 4:37

CD

1. "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" (Special US Re-Mix) (Michael, Ridgeley) – 6:43 from Fantastic
2. "Young Guns (Go for It!)" – 5:09 from Fantastic
3. "Bad Boys" – 3:20 from Fantastic
4. "Club Tropicana" (Michael, Ridgeley) – 4:25 from Fantastic
5. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – 3:51 from Make It Big
6. "Careless Whisper" (7" version) (Michael, Ridgeley) – 5:02 from Make It Big
7. "Freedom" (7" version) – 5:20 from Make It Big
8. "Last Christmas" (Pudding Mix) – 6:47 from Music from the Edge of Heaven
9. "Everything She Wants" (Remix) – 6:30 from Make It Big
10. "I'm Your Man" – 4:04 from Music from the Edge of Heaven
11. "A Different Corner" – 3:59 from Music from the Edge of Heaven
12. "Battlestations" – 5:27 from Music from the Edge of Heaven
13. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Dave Was & Don Was) – 5:45 from Music from the Edge of Heaven
14. "The Edge of Heaven" – 4:37 from Music from the Edge of Heaven

DVD

Track listing
"Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)" (Michael, Ridgeley) "Young Guns (Go for It!)" "Bad Boys" "Club Tropicana" (Michael, Ridgeley) "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" "Careless Whisper" (Michael, Ridgeley) "Freedom" "Last Christmas" "Everything She Wants" (Remix) "I'm Your Man" "A Different Corner" "Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Was, Was) "The Edge of Heaven"

VHS

Track listing
(CBS Fox Video / 3846) "Freedom" (not included on UK editions) "I'm Your Man" (not included on UK editions) "The Edge of Heaven" "A Different Corner" "Where Did Your Heart Go?"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1986) Position Australian Kent Music Report[2] 5 Austrian Albums Chart[3] 3 Dutch Albums Chart[4] 1 French SNEP Albums Chart[5] 13 Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[6] 11 New Zealand Albums Chart[7] 1 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[8] 7 Swedish Albums Chart[9] 16 Swiss Albums Chart[10] 2 UK Albums Chart[11] 2 West German Media Control Albums Chart[12] 2 UK Albums Chart[13] 2

Chart (2017) Peak position UK Albums Chart[14] 74 Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Australian Albums Chart[2] 49 Austrian Albums Chart[15] 21 Dutch Albums Chart[16] 3 French Albums Chart[17] 32 Chart (1989) Position Dutch Albums Chart[18] 95

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[19]	Platinum	50,000^*
France (SNEP)[20]	Platinum	392,200[21]
Germany (BVMI)[22]	Gold	250,000^^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[23]	Platinum	20,000^*
Japan (RIAJ)[24]	Platinum	147,000[6]
Netherlands (NVPI)[25]	Platinum	100,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26]	Platinum	15,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Platinum	300,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Promis, Jose F. Review: The Final. Allmusic. Retrieved on 18 July 2010.
2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
3. "austriancharts.at Wham! – The Final" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
4. "dutchcharts.nl Wham! – The Final" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
5. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2012.Note: user must select 'WHAM !' from drop-down
6. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
7. "charts.nz Wham! – The Final" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
8. "norwegiancharts.com Wham! – The Final" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
9. "swedishcharts.com Wham! – The Final" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
10. "Wham! – The Final – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
11. "Wham! > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
12. "Album Search: Wham! – The Final" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
13. "Wham! | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
14. "Official Album Chart: Top 100 Official UK Albums". Official Charts Company. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1986" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
16. "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1986" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
17. "Les Albums (CD) de 1986 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
18. "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1989" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
19. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1995". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
20. "French album certifications – Wham – The Final" (in French). InfoDisc. Select WHAM and click OK. 
21. "Les Albums Platine". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
22. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Wham; 'The Final')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
23. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1988". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
24. "Japanese album certifications – ワム! – ザ・ファイナル" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1992年12月 on the drop-down menu
25. "Dutch album certifications – Wham – The Final" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 14 October 2018. Enter The Final in the "Artiest of titel" box.
26. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
27. "Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979–1990". Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano.
28. "British album certifications – Wham – The Final". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 February 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Final in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.