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Cover of Deep by Peter Murphy
Cover: Deep

Song · Peter Murphy

“Cuts You Up” by Peter Murphy

From the album Deep (1989)

“Cuts You Up” by Peter Murphy appears on 58 radio countdowns from 18 stations between 1990 and 2026. It was first released in 1989 on the album Deep. Its best result is #10 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #15 alternative song of 1990, #281 alternative song of all time and #457 of the '90s.

58countdowns
18stations
#10best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1990–2026years charted

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Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up HD

Video from YouTube (Beggars Banquet Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Cuts You Up" was the second single from Deep, Peter Murphy's third solo album from 1989, and it became the biggest record of the English singer's career. Murphy wrote it with Paul Statham, penned the words himself and mixed it with producer Simon Rogers, and the Beggars Banquet release is a lush, swaying ballad built around his deep, velvety voice.

It's dramatic without being gloomy, romantic without going soft, and Murphy sings it like he's leaning in close to confide something he shouldn't. It went all the way to the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and it crossed over onto the Hot 100 and the Album Rock Tracks chart too.

He kept it in his live sets for years. Live recordings turned up on the B-side of the 1992 single "You're So Close" and on the 2001 live album Alive Just for Love.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 23 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 12 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 36 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105
1990 19 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 96 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 135 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 134 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 182 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 121 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 55 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 420 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 161 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 126 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 245 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 315 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 194 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 150 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 143 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 256 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 102 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 216 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 823 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 187 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 1397 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 425 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 165 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 1397 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 167 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 1402 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 272 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 206 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 1401 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 683 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 208 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1387 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 10 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1387 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 195 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1385 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 699 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 70 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 359 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 204 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 1100 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 433 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1015 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 487 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1034 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1073 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1109 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1143 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1204 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2019 609 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2021 445 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 905 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 249 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 542 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2026 519 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

Also listed as: Cuts You up.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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