Cutting Crew: 40th anniversary of band behind I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight

I heard a guy play Shakin’ All Over on guitar this week in a bar - and what a great riff that was. Famously covered by The Who on Live At Leeds album it originally appeared in 1960 by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. Written by Kidd, it reached number one in the UK and has been covered by many since.

I see it is now 40 years since Nick Van Ede met guitarist Kevin McMichael when touring Canada with his band. On their return they started working together as Cutting Crew and within three years had produced a Grammy nominated debut album and a million selling first sing, I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight. It became a smash hit across the world and number one in 19 countries.

Their album Broadcast would sell three million copies. Several albums were then released, and they toured Europe, the US and Asia selling out concerts. The BMI certified that (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight had been played on US radio six million times and had been in movies like Hot Tub Time Machine, Stitches and Never Been Kissed along with some TV soundtracks. Sadly, Kevin died from cancer in 2002 but the legacy continues.

In 2015 the album, Add To Favourites, was released featuring guest musicians and in 2020 classic interpretations of Cutting Crew songs was released as Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven with the Prague and Slovenia Philharmonic Orchestras.

Currently on a European tour Nick will release a new 2023 edit of Looking For A Friend next month to commemorate the 40 years since meeting Kevin and starting off this musical journey. The Cutting Crew name lives on in films like The Lego Batman Movie, being played at Superbowl and on TV like Netflix’ series Stranger Things.