A Different Corner

Last updated

"A Different Corner"
A Different Corner.jpg
Single by George Michael
from the album Music from the Edge of Heaven and The Final
Released24 March 1986 (1986-03-24)
RecordedAutumn 1985 [1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:32(LP version)
  • 3:57 (single edit)
Label
Songwriter(s) George Michael
Producer(s) George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"Careless Whisper"
(1984)		"A Different Corner"
(1986)		"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
(1987)
Music video
"A Different Corner" on YouTube

"A Different Corner" is a song written and performed by George Michael that was released on Epic Records (Columbia Records in the US) in 1986.

Contents

Background and writing

"A Different Corner" was written by Michael while Wham! were at their peak as a duo, and during a low point in his life:

"I felt like shit. I went in and recorded exactly the way I felt, and that's the way it sounds. It was partly Wham! and partly the end of a relationship. It was the farthest I'd ever fallen, and in a very short period of time. I had to get rid of it somehow, I had to write about it. That's a really perverse side that I'm sure a lot of writers have—'I feel like shit, but maybe I'll get a good song out of it.'" [2]

Michael admitted that "A Different Corner" was the "most honest" and personal song he had ever done. [3] He elaborated further on the song's meaning:

"That was about a very quick relationship, a here today gone tomorrow one. It's amazing how emotional you can get in a short period of time and how long it can last. Someone can really shake you up and it takes you a long time to get yourself back on your feet; that was what that was about." [4]

According to Michael, the song took roughly 14 hours to write and record from beginning to end. [5] The synthesizer textures were created with a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer. [6]

History

At the time of its release in March 1986, Michael was still a member of pop duo Wham! (the song is included on Wham!'s album Music from the Edge of Heaven only released in Japan and North America, as well as their compilation album The Final , released worldwide), though he and partner Andrew Ridgeley had announced that they would split in the summer after a farewell single, album and concert. Michael had already enjoyed a solo number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 with "Careless Whisper", which was credited as Wham! featuring George Michael in the US.

After radio DJ Simon Bates first aired "A Different Corner" on Radio 1, he rated the song so highly that he immediately played it again from the beginning. Michael went back to the top of the UK chart with "A Different Corner", becoming the first solo act in the history of the UK chart to reach number one with his first two releases, although he was hardly an unknown or new act on either occasion due to his previous hits with Wham!. The song reached number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, thus becoming the first single credited solely to Michael to become an American top-ten hit which was enough to make American executives at Epic Records confident that Michael would be viable as a solo artist and helped get the gears in motion for his solo album debut Faith . It was the first song to reach number one in the UK charts to be written, performed and produced by the same person.

The song was also remixed for his compilation Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael . This version omitted the guitar and Michael's background vocals during the instrumental break.[ citation needed ]

Cover versions

Music video

The music video is set in a sparse white room with a window. George Michael is also dressed in white, and is shown sitting and walking around the room whilst singing the song.

Track listing

7": Epic / A 7033 (UK)

  1. "A Different Corner" – 3:57
  2. "A Different Corner" (instrumental) – 4:13

12": Epic / GTA 7033 (UK)

  1. "A Different Corner" – 3:57
  2. "A Different Corner" (instrumental) – 4:13

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI) [42] Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  7. ↑ Coldplay ~~A Different Corner----- Tribute to George Michael , retrieved 6 March 2024
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