(I Just) Died in Your Arms



"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a song by the English pop 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, John Jansen and the band, and mixed at Utopia Studios in London by Tim Palmer.

The song was 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 words "I just died in your arms tonight" allegedly came to Van Eede while he was having sex with his girlfriend, 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.

Chart performance
First released in Britain, the song peaked at number four 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 number four on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, number 24 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 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.

In popular culture
The track appears in the 1999 movie Never Been Kissed, the 2007 movie Hot Rod, the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine, the 2015 film Gravy, the 2015 television series Ash vs Evil Dead (season two "Home Again") and the 2017 film The Lego Batman Movie. 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". A Spider-Man collected edition graphic novel is named Spider-Man: Died in Your Arms Tonight (and it collects The Amazing Spider-Man (1998 – second series) number 600–601, annual number 36 and material from Amazing Spider-Man Family (2008) number seven, 200 pages, November 2009, ISBN 0-7851-4459-5). A snippet of the track can also be heard in episode one of Stranger Things 3 when Mrs. Wheeler is getting ready to see Billy, although it is anachronistic, since the episode is set in 1985.