Nick Van Eede (born Nicholas Eede, 14 June 1958) is an English

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and songwriter. He is best known for singing and writing the 1986 No. 1 power ballad, "

(I Just) Died in Your Arms "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is the debut single by the English pop rock band Cutting Crew, released in July 1986 as a single from their debut studio album, ''Broadcast''. The song was written by frontman Nick Van Eede, produced by Terry Brown ...

" for his band Cutting Crew, which saw international success including a top 10 placing on the UK Singles Chart.

Career

1978–1981

While working as a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

orderly in the late 1970s, Van Eede was discovered playing by ex-member of the Animals, Chas Chandler, who sent him on a tour of Poland as support for Slade. Van Eede was only 18 when sent on the road. He recalls, "I went with a kazoo and an acoustic guitar and opened for Slade in amphitheatres in front of 18,000 people. I went down as a storm and had the loudest kazoo in Europe, because Slade took their own PA on the road!" His career continued with tours supporting headliners like David Essex, Hot Chocolate and

Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...

. During that time, Van Eede released five solo

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

Barn Records Barn Records was a record label established by the English musician, record producer and manager Chas Chandler. It was active from 1976 to 1980, and included the production company Barn Productions and publishing company Barn Publishing Ltd. The l ...

between 1978 and 1980, but none of them charted on the UK Singles Chart. The first three were "Rock 'n' Roll Fool" b/w "Ounce of Sense", "All or Nothing" b/w "Hold on to Your Heart" and "I Only Want to Be Number One" b/w "Dicing".

The Drivers (1981–1983)

Van Eede formed The Drivers with friends Mac Norman and Steve Boorer. In the early 1980s, they signed with a record label in Canada. They had a couple of

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

there with "Tears on Your Anorak" and "Talk All Night", plus an album, ''Short Cuts''. They had a support band called Fast Forward, whose line up included guitarist Kevin MacMichael. Van Eede was so impressed with MacMichael's guitar playing that the former asked MacMichael to form a new band with him; however, MacMichael could not commit at that time. After a final single release with "Things", a Bobby Darin

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

, The Drivers split in 1983.

Cutting Crew (1985–1992)

Whilst Kevin MacMichael was with Fast Forward, the band was involved in a car crash which left all of the members except MacMichael unable to continue touring. Ready to begin working with Van Eede, MacMichael moved from Toronto to London, where the two of them gave themselves one year to sign a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

. They recruited

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Martin "Frosty" Beedle, previously a member of the cabaret band on the

QE2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

, and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player Colin Farley, a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

living in Spain. Van Eede came up with the band's name after reading an article in the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

'' Sounds'', which described the band Queen as a "cutting crew", meaning a band that does not play concerts and instead stays in the

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

recording new songs. In 1985, Cutting Crew staged a showcase at a London recording studio for representatives from numerous record labels, and signed a

with Siren Records, part of Virgin Records. The first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to be released by the band was "

" b/w "For the Longest Time", released in the UK in August 1986. After an appearance on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

'' Top of the Pops'', with the song being regularly played on the radio and its music video shown on TV, the single shot up to number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and in May 1987 was number 1 in America for two weeks ( Virgin's first number one single in America). In total, the song went to No. 1 in nineteen countries. This would be their biggest hit single. Van Eede came up with the title and concept for "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" after making love with his then-girlfriend. "I actually remember saying that," he admitted, and promptly jotted a note on a pad he always kept close at hand. The next single, "

I've Been in Love Before "I've Been in Love Before" is a song by English Rock music, rock band Cutting Crew. Written by lead singer Nick Van Eede, it was released as the second single from the band's debut album, ''Broadcast (Cutting Crew album), Broadcast'' (1986). It re ...

" b/w "Life in a Dangerous Time" failed to break the UK in its first release in November 1986 but was quickly released again to reach No. 50 in the charts. The 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 ...

'' was released shortly, which reached 41 on the UK Albums Chart.

Genesis audition (1996)

After Cutting Crew's demise, Van Eede went on to write and produce for other artists, including producing the original demo of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's hit "

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

". In 1996, he auditioned for the job as the new lead singer of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

following

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

's departure, in a process where Kevin Gilbert, future Big Big Train vocalist

David Longdon David Longdon (17 June 1965 – 20 November 2021) was a British multi-instrumentalist and singer, who was best known as the lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the progressive rock band Big Big Train. Besides singing, Longdon played flute, keyb ...

, and former

Stiltskin Stiltskin are a Scottish rock band, who first achieved widespread popularity in the mid-1990s. Stiltskin are led by frontman Ray Wilson, the only constant member throughout the band's history. They are best known for their 1994 UK chart-toppe ...

singer Ray Wilson were also seriously considered for the role; which ultimately went to Wilson.

2000s

On the 2001

Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...

album ''

Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album, by the British rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaign, 12,674 copies were p ...

'', Van Eede is credited with co-writing the lyrics to the song "Map of the World" with Marillion frontman Steve Hogarth. A new album originally titled ''Grinning Souls'' was released by Cutting Crew in 2005. Van Eede also appeared on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

show '' Hit Me Baby One More Time'', on which he performed "

" and a cover version of Macy Gray's hit " I Try". He then embarked on tour with his new line-up: Gareth Moulton (guitar), Sam Flynn (keyboards), Dominic Finley (bass) and Tom Arnold (drums). They toured the UK (which included the 'Here & Now 2008 Tour'), Germany, Trinidad and the United States.

Recent work

In 2015, a new album was released, ''Add to Favourites''. Joining Van Eede on the album included guitarists Gareth Moulton and Joolz Dunkley, bassist Nick Kay, keyboardist Jono Harrison, drummer Martyn Baker and the Blackjack Horns. Throughout 2015–2017, the band toured South America, the U.S., Australasia and Europe. In 2020, Van Eede received a BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) award for 5 million plays on US radio for "(I Just) Died in Your Arms". The track was also used in the hit film '' The Lego Batman Movie'' and in a season 3 episode of the Netflix series ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

''.

Other projects

Since 2008, Van Eede has been a member of supergroup Man Doki Soulmates, formed by Hungarian musician Leslie Mándoki. Alongside Van Eede, the band's members in the group have included, amongst others: Randy Brecker,

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

, John Helliwell, Chris Thompson,

Bobby Kimball Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the original and longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and ...

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist w ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, Tony Carey and the late Jack Bruce and

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

Personal life

Van Eede married Nikki McFarlane in June 1996. He has a daughter, Lauren (born 13 May 1986), with ex-partner Andrea Hodder.

References

External links

BMI entry for Van Eede
* ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Eede, Nick 1958 births Living people English male singers English pop rock singers English songwriters English record producers People from East Grinstead British male songwriters