Cutting Crew

While working as a hospital orderly, Cutting Crew frontman Nick van Eede was discovered by Slade’s manager, leading to a solo record deal and tours with David Essex and Hot Chocolate. ∙ Cutting Crew’s core members met when Kevin MacMichael’s band, Fast Forward, opened for Nick van Eede’s band, The Drivers, who were known for the Canadian hit “Tears on Your Anorak.” ∙ The band’s debut single, “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” spent two weeks atop the US Pop chart in 1987. ∙ Cutting Crew was nominated for Best New Artist at the 1987 Grammy Awards. ∙ MacMichael and van Eede coproduced the original demo of Cher’s “Believe,” for which they were paid one bottle of whiskey. ∙ MacMichael cowrote three songs and contributed guitar to Robert Plant’s 1993 album, Fate of Nations. ∙ In 2020, Cutting Crew released Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven, an album featuring the band’s biggest hits rerecorded with an orchestra.