Berlin – Take My Breath Away

TV performance by Berlin with ‘Take My Breath Away” on Dutch popshow “Countdown”.

“Take My Breath Away” – Single by Berlin from the album Top Gun and Count Three & Pray
B-side “Radar Radio”
Released: June 1986
Label: Columbia
Composer: Giorgio Moroder
Lyricist: Tom Whitlock
Producer: Giorgio Moroder
Charted No.1 in in US, No.1 in UK, No. 3 in West Germany, No.2 in France, No.1 in Netherlands, No.5 in Italy

The song was first offered to The Motels, who much later released their original demo, which is fairly similar to Berlin’s released version, on their compilation album Anthologyland (2001). Columbia Records suggested some of their signed artists, but eventually Moroder thought of the band Berlin, whose song “No More Words” he had produced. Whitlock made a few changes to the lyrics before Terri Nunn recorded the vocals. Moroder has said that of all the songs he has produced in his career, he is most proud of this song.

This was featured in the movie Top Gun, helping its soundtrack become one of the best selling ever. It was the love theme from the movie, which starred Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. The song plays over a steamy love scene between the two that was not originally in the film – test audiences asked for something more intimate, so Cruise and McGillis were called back to the bedroom. They are seen in silhouette because by then, McGillis had dyed her hair for another role.

Before becoming the lead singer of Berlin, Terri Nunn appeared in several films in the late 1970s. She auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars.

The song’s success proved to be a double-edged sword for Berlin. Terri Nunn was ecstatic when the ballad brought the band worldwide acclaim and enabled them to tour internationally, but Crawford resented being saddled with an unoriginal hit they’d be expected to perform for the rest of their career. Nunn said it was “one of the nails in the coffin” that ended the band in 1987.