Music Matters: 40 years of the Cutting Crew.
The danger with writing a music column is that you often find yourself feeling very old, very quickly, especially when you discover that certain songs or albums are celebrating a significant anniversary.
Next month will be the 40th anniversary of the release of ‘Broadcast’ - the debut album by the band Cutting Crew. Their debut release contained two of the band’s must successful songs ‘I Just Died In Your Arms’ which topped the US charts and reached the number four spot in the UK.
The album also contains the follow-up single ‘I’ve Been In Love Before’ which was also a top 40 hit on both sides of the Atlantic and which is criminally underplayed on UK radio these days which is something I rectify frequently on my late night show on Nation Easy Radio!
The band are still going strong and touring the UK and Europe, and unlike other bands of a similar era, still feature original members Nick Van Eede on guitar and vocals, bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin ‘Frosty’ Beedle.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of ‘Broadcast’, a special vinyl edition of the album will be released – this will be the first time the album has been released on vinyl in over 30 years.
Their big hit, ‘I Just Died In Your Arms’ has certainly stood the test of time and is one of the great power ballads of the 1980s. It has found new fans over the last four decades as it has achieved over 1 BILLION streams worldwide, proving that a good song is a good song no matter how old it might be.
My musical gems: As the nights draw in, just a reminder there are two fantastic candlelight concerts taking place next month to celebrate two legends of music – the music of Bruce Springsteen will be showcased at Chichester Cathedral on 6 and 7 November, while the songs of Luther Vandross are celebrated at Portsmouth Cathedral on 20 November.
Listen to Duncan Barkes on Nation Easy Radio, Monday to Friday nights from 10pm. Nation Easy Radio can be heard on DAB digital radio, via the Nation Player app and on your smart speaker – just say “Play Nation Easy Radio.”