Many ERV readers will recognize Cutting Crew as the band behind "(I Just) Died in Your Arms," a #1 song from 1987. In typical Eighties Rare Videos form, we're not featuring that song; instead we are opting for the last of their three top 40 hits, the upbeat "One for the Mockingbird."
Cutting Crew's roots date back to The Drivers, a British band who landed a minor hit in Canada in 1982 with "Tears On Your Anorak." [For American readers, an anorak is British slang for a heavy jacket.] During The Drivers tour of Canada, the Canadian group Fast Forward was the opening act, and Nick Van Eede (the lead singer of The Drivers) and Kevin MacMichael (Fast Forward's guitarist) struck up a friendship. After The Drivers broke up, Van Eede and MacMichael formed a new band - Cutting Crew.
In 1986, Cutting Crew's debut album (Broadcast) went on to become a hit, reaching #16 on the album charts, with the aforementioned three top 40 singles. Unfortunately, the band was unable to maintain this momentum, and after two relatively unsuccessful follow up LPs, they broke up in 1993.
By the by, the video for "One for the Mockingbird" is peak MTV ... wow. It is a rapid-cut assault on your senses, with more visual effects than most sci-fi movies. Still, we have to admit that it is fun in a totally 1987 way. And as a bonus, the video includes Frosty Beedle on drums (total bonus points for a seriously cool name).
Nick Van Eede has re-formed Cutting Crew a few times through the years, without any of the other original members. Sadly, Kevin MacMichael died of lung cancer in 2002.
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