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A View to a Kill (song)

"A View to a Kill" is a song by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 7 May 1985. Written and recorded as the theme for the James Bond film of the same name, it became one of the band's biggest hits. It is the only James Bond theme song to have reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it also made it to number two for three weeks on the UK Singles Chart while stuck behind Paul Hardcastle's "19".[4][5] The song was the last track recorded by the most famous five-member lineup of Duran Duran until their reunion in 2001 and was also performed by the band at Live Aid in Philadelphia, their final performance together before their first split.

"A View to a Kill"
Artwork for the UK single
Single by Duran Duran
from the album A View to a Kill (soundtrack)
B-side"A View to a Kill" (That Fatal Kiss)
Released7 May 1985 (1985-05-07)[1]
RecordedEarly 1985
Studio
  • Maison Rouge
  • CTS (London)
Genre
Length3:37 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Duran Duran singles chronology
"The Wild Boys"
(1984) 		"A View to a Kill"
(1985) 		"Notorious"
(1986)
James Bond theme singles chronology
"All Time High"
(1983) 		"A View to a Kill"
(1985) 		"The Living Daylights"
(1987)
Music video
"A View to a Kill" on YouTube
Audio sample

The following year, composer John Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "A View to a Kill". Following Barry's death in 2011, the band paid tribute to him for their encore at the Coachella Festival later that year, with Simon Le Bon reappearing in a tuxedo for a pared-down version backed by an orchestra,[6] before launching into the familiar full-band hit version.[7] Bassist John Taylor introduced the song by saying, "We lost a dear friend of ours this year. A great English composer familiar to Hollywood, his name was John Barry. We're gonna play this for him."[8]

Background

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The song was written by Duran Duran and John Barry, and recorded at Maison Rouge Studio and CTS Studio in London with a 60-piece orchestra.

Duran Duran were chosen to do the song after bassist John Taylor (a lifelong Bond fan) approached producer Cubby Broccoli at a party and somewhat drunkenly asked, "If I give you a fiver, can I write a theme tune please."[9][10] The band was then introduced to Bond composer John Barry, and also composer/producer Jonathan Elias (with whom Duran Duran members would later work many times). An early writing meeting at Taylor's flat in Knightsbridge led to everyone getting drunk instead of composing.[11]

Composition

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Singer Simon Le Bon said of Barry: "He didn't really come up with any of the basic musical ideas. He heard what we came up with and he put them into an order. And that's why it happened so quickly because he was able to separate the good ideas from the bad ones, and he arranged them. He has a great way of working brilliant chord arrangements. He was working with us as virtually a sixth member of the group, but not really getting on our backs at all."[12]

Due to a clear separation of areas of responsibility, the cooperation between band and composer turned out to be largely harmonious. The band was in charge of the actual songwriting while Barry created the final arrangement, including the orchestral parts. The song was finally completed in April 1985 and released that May. In the UK, it entered the singles chart at No. 7 before peaking at No. 2 the following week, and remained at that position for three weeks. In the US, it entered the charts at No. 45, and on 13 July it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[13] It remains the only Bond theme to achieve this chart placing.[14]

The B-side of the single was an instrumental piece orchestrated by Barry with a flute solo by Susan Milan that incorporates the melody of the Duran Duran song, titled "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)", which appeared on the A View to a Kill soundtrack album as "Bond Meets Stacey (A View to a Kill)".[15]

Reception

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Cash Box described the single as "a memorable and dynamic cut and easily one of Duran Duran's very best efforts" that is "melodically strong" and employs "highly sophisticated state of the art production".[16] Reviewing singles for Smash Hits, Stephen Duffy wrote: "Quite stunning production. Producer Bernard Edwards seems to have superseded Nile Rodgers in every direction. Takes a long time to get to the hook, but very interesting."[17] As of October 2021 "A View to a Kill" was the seventh most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK.[18]

Music video

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The song's music video was filmed in the Eiffel Tower and was directed by the duo of Godley & Creme. The video opens with the iconic gun barrel sequence and is centered around the scene from the film where Max Zorin's henchwoman May Day kills private detective Achille Aubergine in front of James Bond at the Tower. It then cuts to the band walking by the Tower on a secret mission: Simon Le Bon, disguised as a tourist, wearing a gray trenchcoat and carrying a Walkman; John Taylor, a long-haired tourist dressed in black; Nick Rhodes, a photographer working with a top model (Gail Elliott); Andy Taylor, a blind accordionist who plays the Bond theme on the accordion; and Roger Taylor, a supervisor inside a van. The band's actions coincide with events shown from the movie, while Bond pursues May Day through the Tower, culminating in her escape via parachute. The video ends with a beautiful young girl approaching Le Bon to question him, "Excuse me... aren't you?", where he breaks the fourth wall to say, "Bon. Simon Le Bon." However, her moving Le Bon's arm to talk to him causes him to accidentally activate a detonator concealed inside his Walkman, blowing up the Eiffel Tower.[19]

Track listing

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UK 7-inch (EMI, Duran 007)

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A: "A View to a Kill" – 3:37
B: "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" – 2:31
  • Also released in a gatefold sleeve (DURANG 007). Released by Capitol in US as B-5475. Reissued on CD in Singles Box Set 1981–1985 (2003).

Note:

  • An unreleased 12-inch remix of the song was made by producers Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero. According to Thompson, "The mystery [is] solved. I did this mix with Mike Barbiero and the band was there except John. We did that mix in a studio in Paris. All [the] sounds of the mix were done with the band. [...] I could never understand why the mix didn't come out. And yes I brought it to [alternative New York radio station] WLIR because we were all friends of the station and I would always give them exclusives."[20]

Personnel

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Duran Duran

Technical

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[54] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Silver 250,000^
United States — 149,000[56]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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DJ's Factory, a Eurodance project of German producer Bülent Aris and British keyboarder Adrian Askew, released a dancefloor-oriented version of the song in summer 1985, reaching No. 22 on the German single charts.[57]

In 1987, Shirley Bassey covered the song for her album The Bond Collection, which contained her renditions of Bond theme songs. However, she wasn't satisfied with the quality, so the album was withdrawn from sale.

In 2008, the song was covered in a bossa nova style by former Morcheeba singer Skye on the various artists compilation album Hollywood, Mon Amour, containing cover versions of songs from 1980s films.

Måns Zelmerlöw performed a live version of the song at the beginning of the Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round of Melodifestivalen 2010 in Örebro, Sweden.[58]

Further cover versions of the song have been recorded by the Welsh alternative metal band Lostprophets,[14] Canadian punk rock band Gob,[14] Australian band Custard, on the tribute album The Songs of Duran Duran: UnDone (1999),[59] and the Chilean heavy metal band Los Mox, on their album ...Con Cover (2006). Finnish melodic death metal band Diablo has covered the song, as well as Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup Northern Kings.[14] Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers covered the song in a bossa nova style on the various artists compilation album Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007 (2017).[60]

In 2016, Duran Duran performed the song live at the unveiling of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 (ND).[61]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 4 May 1985. p. 28. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  2. ^ Zaleski, Annie (4 November 2015). "Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill" propelled James Bond into the modern world". The A.V. Club.
  3. ^ Slant Staff (4 October 2021). "Every James Bond Theme Song Ranked". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 27 January 2024. ...elevating an otherwise nonsensical collage of fire and ice and fatal kisses to a new wave banger.
  4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
  6. ^ Breihan, Tom (14 October 2020). "The Number Ones: Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill"". Stereogum. Stereogum Media. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Duran Duran - Bond Medley & A View To A Kill ( Coachella Festival 2011)". YouTube. Jcc. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Duran Duran -Bond medley View to a kill live Coachella 2011". YouTube. RocioDD. 23 April 2011. Event occurs at 0m 30s. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  9. ^ Malins, Steve. (2005) Notorious: The Unauthorized Biography, André Deutsch/Carlton Publishing, UK (ISBN 0-233-00137-9). pp 161–162
  10. ^ Paul Gambaccini Interview with John Taylor, 1985, Greatest DVD extras.
  11. ^ Pattenden, Sian. "Blame It on Rio." Deluxe Magazine, December 1998 (pp 125–129)
  12. ^ "BOND BY BARRY". Archived from the original on 28 November 1999. Retrieved 26 November 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ "The Hot 100 - Week of July 13, 1985". Billboard. Billboard Media, LLC. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Jost, PD Dr. Christofer (March 2014). "A View to a Kill". University of Freiburg (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  15. ^ Jon Burlingame. The Music of James Bond. Oxford University Press, 2012. pp. 178-179n. ISBN 9780199863303
  16. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 18 May 1985. p. 13. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Singles reviewed by Stehen "Tin Tin" Duffy". Smash Hits 8-21 May 1985. p. 19.
  18. ^ "Duran Duran's Official Top 20 most-streamed songs revealed". Official Charts. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  19. ^ "A View to a Kill". YouTube. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  20. ^ Sinclair, Paul (22 November 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Steve Thompson solves mystery of "A View to A Kill" remix". SuperDeluxeEdition. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  21. ^ bulion. "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts - CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". ARIA. Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  22. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  24. ^ "Radio 2 Top 30" (in Dutch). Top 30. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0542." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Danish Charts Archive?". UKMIX Forums. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  28. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A View to a Kill". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  29. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 6 April 2024. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Duran Duran" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  30. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 26, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  31. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  32. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  33. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  34. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts D". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  35. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  36. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  37. ^ "Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  39. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 – Week of July 20, 1985". Billboard. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  40. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 13, 1985". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Cash Box magazine.
  41. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  42. ^ "Kent Music Report No 599 – 30 December 1985 > National Top 100 Singles for 1985". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.
  43. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  44. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1985". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  45. ^ "Ultratop Jaaroverzichten 1985". Ultratop 50 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  46. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0619." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  47. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  48. ^ "Dutch Charts Jaaroverzichten Single 1985". Single Top 100 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  49. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". Swiss Singles Chart (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. 18 January 1985. p. 10.
  51. ^ "Top Pop Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. New York, NY, USA. 28 December 1985. p. T-21. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  52. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1985". Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Cash Box magazine.
  53. ^ "Single-Jahrescharts 1985". GfK Entertainment Charts (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  54. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Music Canada.
  55. ^ "British single certifications – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". British Phonographic Industry.
  56. ^ "007 by the Numbers". Nielsen Media Research. February 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  57. ^ "Official German Charts". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  58. ^ "Veteranernas kväll i Örebro". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). 6 March 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  59. ^ "A View to a Kill-Custard". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  60. ^ "A View To A Kill, by Jay Gonzalez". Curry Cuts. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  61. ^ "Watch the 2016 Mazda Miata MX-5 Debut with Duran Duran in TFL4K". YouTube. The Fast Lane Car. 4 September 2014. Event occurs at 2m 52s. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
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