Heal the Pain

"Heal the Pain"
"Heal the Pain"
	Promotional single by George Michael and Paul McCartney
from the album Twenty Five (US release)
Released	2006 (UK release of Twenty Five); 2008 (US release, also as single);
Recorded	week of 28 November 2005
Genre	Pop
Length	4:46
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
Paul McCartney singles chronology

"Heal the Pain"
"Heal the Pain"
Single by George Michael
from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
B-side	"Soul Free"
Released	4 February 1991
Genre	Pop
Length	4:46
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
Licensed audio
	"Heal the Pain" on YouTube

"Heal the Pain" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter George Michael and released on Epic Records in February 1991. A contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song, it was the fourth of five UK singles taken from his second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990).

The song entered the

UK Singles Chart in February 1991 and peaked at number 31. It followed a pattern of being slightly lower than its predecessor (the previous three singles had peaked at numbers 6, 23 and 28, respectively). One more single from the album would continue the pattern, by not even breaking the threshold of the top 40. "Soul Free", also taken from Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, appeared as the B-side. For the fourth US single, Columbia Records used "Soul Free" as the A-side and "Cowboys and Angels

" as the B-side, but the single did not chart.

The band

Rolled/Oats". Brazilian singers Fernanda Takai and Samuel Rosa recorded a version of the song in Portuguese

titled "Pra Curar Essa Dor", for Takai's fourth studio album, Na Medida do Impossível, released in 2014.

Critical reception

Beatles-type pop. If The Beatles are the healer, Michael is the dealer."^[3] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, declaring it as a "gentle acoustically jangling, intimately sung ballad", noting that it was Michael's personal favourite. He concluded, "Not a Top 10 hit, but a breath of fresh air."^[4]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[5]	36
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[6]	16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[7]	25
Ireland (IRMA)^[8]	16
UK Singles (OCC)^[9]	31

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Position
Europe (European Hit Radio)^[10]	78

2006 version

In 2005, it was announced that Michael would be recording a version of the track with Paul McCartney, in whose style the song was written. Michael appeared on the Chris Evans show on BBC Radio 2 on 5 December 2005, and announced that he had recorded the song with McCartney "last week" but did not know what he was going to do with it yet. The track was later included on the greatest hits collection Twenty Five (2006), and was released as a promotional single from the US release of the album in 2008.

References

^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 2 February 1991. p. vi.
^ Sweeting, Adam (30 August 1990). "Music: Now George Wants Your Cheques". The Guardian.
^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 February 1991. p. 24. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
^ Jones, Alan (2 February 1991). "Mainstream: Singles — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
^ "George Michael – Heal the Pain" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
^ "George Michael – Heal the Pain" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ The Irish Charts. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
^ Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
^ "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

External links

Fernanda Takai and Samuel Rosa – "Pra Curar Essa Dor" on
YouTube

[1] "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 2 February 1991. p. vi.

[2] Sweeting, Adam (30 August 1990). "Music: Now George Wants Your Cheques". The Guardian.

[3] "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 February 1991. p. 24. Retrieved 6 April 2023.

[4] Jones, Alan (2 February 1991). "Mainstream: Singles — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Retrieved 6 April 2023.

[sc_Flanders_George_Michael-5] "George Michael – Heal the Pain" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

[6] Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 22 May 2011.

[sc_Dutch100_George_Michael-7] "George Michael – Heal the Pain" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

[8] The Irish Charts. Retrieved 22 May 2011.

[9] Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 22 May 2011.

[10] "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

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v t e George Michael singles
Discography Awards and nominations
1980s	"Careless Whisper" "A Different Corner" "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" "I Want Your Sex" "Faith" "Hard Day" "Father Figure" "One More Try" "Monkey" "Kissing a Fool"
1990s	"Praying for Time" "Freedom! '90" "Waiting for That Day" ("Mother's Pride") "Heal the Pain" "Cowboys and Angels" "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" "Too Funky" "Killer" / "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" "Jesus to a Child" "Fastlove" "Spinning the Wheel" "Older" / "I Can't Make You Love Me" "Star People '97" "Waltz Away Dreaming" "You Have Been Loved" / "The Strangest Thing '97" "Outside" "As"
2000s	"If I Told You That" "Freeek!" "Shoot the Dog" "Amazing" "Flawless (Go to the City)" "Round Here" "John and Elvis Are Dead" "An Easier Affair" "This Is Not Real Love" "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)"
2010s	"True Faith" "White Light" "Let Her Down Easy" "Going to a Town" "Feeling Good" "Fantasy"
Other	"Turn to Gold" "Nikita" "Wrap Her Up" "Jive Talkin'" "You and I"
Category

v t e Paul McCartney singles discography
1970s	"Another Day" / "Oh Woman, Oh Why" (with Linda McCartney) "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" / "Too Many People" (with Linda McCartney) "The Back Seat of My Car" / "Heart of the Country" (with Linda McCartney) "Eat at Home" / "Smile Away" (with Linda McCartney) "Wonderful Christmastime"
1980s	"Coming Up" "Waterfalls" "Temporary Secretary" "Ebony and Ivory" (with Stevie Wonder) "Take It Away" "Tug of War" "The Girl Is Mine" (with Michael Jackson) "Say Say Say" (with Michael Jackson) "Pipes of Peace"/""So Bad" "No More Lonely Nights" "We All Stand Together" "Spies Like Us" "Press" "Pretty Little Head" "Stranglehold" "Only Love Remains" "Once Upon a Long Ago" "Ferry Cross the Mersey" "My Brave Face" / "Flying to My Home" "This One" "Figure of Eight"
1990s	"Put It There" / "Mama's Little Girl" (with Wings) "Birthday" (live) / "Good Day Sunshine" (live) "All My Trials" (live) "Hope of Deliverance" "C'Mon People" "Off the Ground" "Biker Like an Icon" / "Things We Said Today" "A Leaf" (with Anya Alexeyev) "Come Together" (The Smokin' Mojo Filters) "Young Boy" "The World Tonight" "Beautiful Night" "No Other Baby" / "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" "Run Devil Run" (promo)
2000s	"From a Lover to a Friend" "Freedom" / "From a Lover to a Friend" "Hello Goodbye" (promo) "Tropic Island Hum" / "We All Stand Together" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (with U2) "Fine Line" "Jenny Wren" "Really Love You" (Twin Freaks) "This Never Happened Before" (promo) "Dance Tonight" / "Nod Your Head" "Ever Present Past" "Heal the Pain" (with George Michael) "Walk with You" (with Ringo Starr)
2010s	"(I Want to) Come Home" "My Valentine" "Only Our Hearts" Christmas Kisses: "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" / "Wonderful Christmastime" "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (The Justice Collective) "New" "Queenie Eye" "Only One" (with Kanye West) "FourFiveSeconds" (with Rihanna & Kanye West) "All Day" (with Kanye West) "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" (with Timo Maas & James Teej) "I Don't Know" / "Come On to Me" "Fuh You" "Who Cares" "Back in Brazil" "Get Enough" "Home Tonight / In a Hurry"
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