Close (to the Edit) is a single by Art of Noise, released on various formats in October 1984. It was closely related to their earlier single (and hip-hop club hit) "Beat Box", though the two tracks were developed as separate pieces from an early stage.
The first release of a version of "Close (to the Edit)" was as a nominal remix of "Beat Box" under the title "Beat Box (Diversion Two)". This was then re-edited and partly remixed with different effects applied, to become the version of "Close (to the Edit)" which appeared on the subsequent album Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise?. Paul Morley's sleevenotes for the single simplify the relationship between "Diversion Two" and "Close", noting only that 20 seconds were "snipped out".
The song takes its title from Close to the Edge by Yes, and also samples "Leave It" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by the same group, the latter two of which Trevor Horn produced. The single heavily features the recorded sample of a car, a Volkswagen Golf owned by a neighbour of band member J. J. Jeczalik, stalling and restarting. It also contains a (re-sung) vocal sample from the song "Beer Barrel Polka", as performed by The Andrews Sisters. The short spoken-word vocal and the "Hey!" sample – used in a number of songs most notably in "Firestarter" by The Prodigy and "Back in the Day" by Christina Aguilera (uncredited) – was the voice of Camilla Pilkington-Smyth
The single was released in the UK on what had become ZTT's customary array of formats: standard and picture disc 7" versions, five 12" singles (one a picture disc) and a cassette single, each featuring a number of unique mixes. The many remixes were given their own titles derived from the overall title, including "Edited", "Closely Closely (Enough's Enough)" and "Close-Up".
The cassette single version, "That Was Close", was a medley of a number of the mixes from the various formats, featuring "Diversion Eight", "Diversion Two", "Closest", "Close-Up", the album version of "Close (to the Edit)" and "Closed". This medley lasted in excess of 20 minutes in length, repeated on both sides of the cassette, and remained otherwise unavailable until it was included in its entirety on the 2006 CD box-set compilation And What Have You Done with My Body, God?.
The single was Art of Noise's first major UK hit, reaching number eight in the UK singles chart in February 1985.