Kevin Scott Macmichael (7 November 1951 – 31 December 2002) was a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for being a member of the 1980s UK-based pop-rock band,

Cutting Crew Cutting Crew is an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut studio album ''Broadcast'' (1986) and their UK Top 40 hit singles, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" and " I've Been in Love Before". History 1985� ...

, who had a number-one hit in 1986 with "

(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 on 25 July 1986 as a single from their debut studio album, ''Broadcast''. The song was written by frontman Nick Van Eede, produced by Terry Br ...

". Cutting Crew was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that art ...

in 1988.

Early life

Macmichael was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

and raised in

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Dartmouth ( ) (Scottish Gaelic, Scottish-Gaelic: Baile nan Loch) is a Urban area, built-up community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 101 ...

Career

Early years

Kevin got his first guitar in 1963, as did his friend Sandy Bryson. They were

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

fans from the very beginning, learned to play many of their early songs, and went to see '' A Hard Day's Night'' in Halifax. MacMichael and Bryson started a band called The FourToGo in Dartmouth in 1964 with drummer Darrell Lysens and lead guitarist Al Arsenault, managed by Larry Manette. MacMichael then played with Bedford Row and Yellow Bus, later playing with the Nova Scotia band Chalice before joining the band Spice in 1978.

Cutting Crew

In the early 1980s, Macmichael was part of the Halifax band, Fast Forward, when he met Nick Van Eede, who was touring Canada as vocalist with the band The Drivers. Macmichael moved to London, England and began Cutting Crew along with Van Eede, bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin "Frosty" BeedlePierre Perrone
Obituary
''The independent'', 7 January 2003 in 1985.

Robert Plant

After Cutting Crew's run of success ended and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

let them go, he worked with

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

playing guitar and composing songs for his 1993 album, '' Fate of Nations''. His interlude with Plant was short-lived; MacMichael recalled when he auditioned for Plant: "'Play me something', he said. He's about my age so the first things that came to mind were songs by

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

and Moby Grape. His jaw just dropped and he picked me up off the sofa and said: 'Never leave me'." The partnership lasted the single album and a world tour before Plant reunited with Jimmy Page, but the album's single "Calling to You", on which he played guitar, resulted in a Grammy nomination.

East Coast

After nine years in the United Kingdom, MacMichael returned to Nova Scotia where he collaborated with a number of Canadian East Coast musicians including Wayne Nicholson, Tribute, Chris Colepaugh & The Cosmic Crew, The Rankin Family and Sons of Maxwell.

Death

MacMichael died of lung cancer at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

on 31 December 2002. His surviving family members include his wife and two daughters, father, brother, and sister.

References

External links

Kevin Macmichael biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmichael, Kevin 1951 births 2002 deaths Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian male songwriters Canadian record producers Canadian expatriates in England Deaths from cancer in Nova Scotia Deaths from lung cancer in Canada Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Musicians from Saint John, New Brunswick People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male musicians