"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is the debut single by the English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

Cutting Crew Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, " (I Just) Died in Your Arms". History 1985–1986: Formation While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede (b ...

, released in July 1986 as a single from their debut studio album, ''

Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

''. The song was written by

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Nick Van Eede Nick Van Eede (born Nicholas Eede, 14 June 1958) is an English musician, producer and songwriter. He is best known for singing and writing the 1986 No. 1 power ballad, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" for his band Cutting Crew, which saw internati ...

, produced by Terry Brown, John Jansen and the band, and mixed at Utopia Studios in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative music. He Audio mixing (recorded music), mixed Pearl Jam's d ...

. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

is the band's biggest hit, peaking at number one in the United States, Canada, Norway, and Finland, and reaching the top five in the UK, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Background and writing

The words "I just died in your arms tonight" allegedly came to Van Eede while he was having sex with his girlfriend,Bronson, Fred (2001). ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits''. . Retrieved 25 January 2007. the French phrase ''

la petite mort (; "the little death") is an expression that means "the brief loss or weakening of consciousness" and in modern usage refers specifically to "the sensation of post orgasm as likened to death." The first attested use of the expression in English ...

'', or "the little death", being a metaphor for

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...

. 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 in a studio, both in color as well as

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, while only the latter had been made available in

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

stores, from countries like

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. On 29 October 2020, Van Eede announced, through Cutting Crew's official

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page, that a remastered HD edition of the "UK version" music video was uploaded to the band's former

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

official account on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

2020 reissue

In early 2020, the song was rerecorded and reissued as in an orchestral incarnation as well as in several other versions as the lead single for the second Cutting Crew

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven'', accompanied by a new music video uploaded to

, through the official account of the band's new label, August Day. The new release for the hit has been through an 8-track EP released to digital platforms. There is also a physical release, on CD, offered as a solo release and also included as part of the limited deluxe version of the new greatest hits album, both sold through the band's official webstore.

Chart performance

First released in Britain, the song peaked at number four on the UK charts in September 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 number four on the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, number 24 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

chart and (in a remix version) number 37 on the Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The song spent three weeks at number one in Canada.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Just Died in Your Arms 1986 songs 1986 debut singles 1987 singles 1995 singles Cutting Crew songs Smokie (band) songs Trust Company (band) songs Jason Donovan songs Bastille (band) songs Songs written by Nick Van Eede Rock ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland RPM Top Singles number-one singles Virgin Records singles Black-and-white music videos 1980s ballads