(I Just) Died in Your Arms

"(I Just) Died in Your Arms"
Single by Cutting Crew
from the album Broadcast
B-side	"For the Longest Time"
Released	25 July 1986 (UK) 1 January 1987 (US)
Format	7" single
Length	4:39
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Nick Van Eede
Producer(s)	Terry Brown Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew singles chronology
"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" (1986) "I've Been in Love Before" (1987)
Music sample "I Just Died in Your Arms"

"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a song by the English rock band Cutting Crew. The song was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Broadcast (1986). It was first released on 25 July 1986 in the United Kingdom, and then released to the United States on 1 January 1987. The song was written by frontman Nick Van Eede, produced by Terry Brown, and mixed at Utopia Studios in London by Tim Palmer.

As of 2015, the song remains as the band's biggest hit, peaking at number-one in the United States, Canada and Finland, and reaching the top five in the UK, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.

Background and writing

The actual words "I just died in your arms tonight" originally came to Van Eede while he was having sex with his girlfriend,^[1] the French phrase la petite mort, or "the little death", being a metaphor for orgasm. After writing down his version of the phrase, he later used it as the opening line to the song as well as using it as the chorus.

Music video

There were two music videos produced. The North American version featured artistic fragmented shots using a model, with the band performing to camera. The UK version was filmed both in color as well as in black and white in a film studio.^[2]

Chart performance

First released in Britain, the song peaked at #4 on the UK charts in August 1986. Upon its release in the United States, the previously unknown band's debut single shot to number one on 2 May 1987, and stayed there for two weeks. It also reached #4 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #24 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and (in a remix version) #37 on the Hot Dance/Club Play chart.^[3] The song spent three weeks at #1 in Canada.

Covers and samples

• Covered in 1989 by Savage
• Covered in 1995 by Canadian freestyle artist Joée, who returned the song to #1 in Canada but only cracked the U.S. Hot 100
• Covered in 2001 by English rock band Smokie
• Covered in 2002 by German band Resource
• Covered in 2003 by Finnish Gothic metal band To/Die/For on the album Jaded
• Sampled in 2006 by British singer Mika
• Covered in 2007 by Northern Kings
• Covered in 2008 by Trust Company
• Covered in 2010 by Dommin, appearing on a special edition of their album Love Is Gone
• Covered in 2010 by Jason Donovan for his 80s covers album Soundtrack of the 80s
• Covered in 2010 by Australian metal band Lord and included a cover on their 2010 EP Return of the Tyrant
• Covered in 2012 by Lakyn Heperi on his album Better Than That
• Covered in 2012 by Throw the Fight on the album What Doesn't Kill Us
• Covered in 2013 by Bastille, appearing on the compilation album Virgin Records: 40 Years Of Disruptions^[16]
• Sampled in 2013 by Dead Celebrity Status, on their song, What Have We Become, on their album, The Throwaway Kids

In popular culture

The track appears in the 1999 movie Never Been Kissed, the 2007 movie Hot Rod and in the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine. The song was made available for download on 7 August 2012 to play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards. It also can be heard on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on Emotion 98.3 radio. It also played briefly during DC's Legend of Tomorrow in the episode Compromised.

References