A View to a Kill (song)

"A View to a Kill" is the thirteenth single by the English new wave and synth-pop band Duran Duran, released on 6 May 1985. Written and recorded as the theme for the 1985 James Bond movie of the same name, it became one of the band's biggest hits. It remains 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.[1][2]

"A View to a Kill"
Single by Duran Duran
from the album A View to a Kill (soundtrack)
B-side"A View to a Kill" (That Fatal Kiss)
Released6 May 1985
RecordedSpring 1985
Studio
  • Maison Rouge Studios
  • CTS Studios
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

In 1986, composer John Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "A View to a Kill". The song was the last track recorded by the most famous five-member lineup of Duran Duran until their 2001 reunion. It was performed by the band at Live Aid in Philadelphia, their final performance together before their first split. Following Barry's death, the band paid tribute as their encore at the 2011 Coachella Festival, Simon Le Bon reappearing in a tuxedo for a pared-down version backed by an orchestra, before launching into the full, upbeat track. Bassist John Taylor told the crowd: "We lost a dear friend of ours this year – English composer John Barry. This is for him."

About the song

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 "When are you going to get someone decent to do one of your theme songs?"[3][4] This inauspicious beginning led to some serious talks, and the band was introduced to Bond composer John Barry, and also Jonathan Elias (whom Duran Duran members would later work with many times). An early writing meeting at Taylor's flat in Knightsbridge led to everyone getting drunk instead of composing.[5]

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."[6]

Due to a clear separation of areas of responsibility, the cooperation between band and composer turned out to be harmonic to a large extent. The band was in charge of the actual songwriting and Barry created the final arrangement including the orchestra part. The song was finally completed in April 1985, and released in May 1985. 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 US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains the only Bond theme with this chart performance.[7]

Formats and track listing

7": EMI. / Duran 007 United Kingdom
  1. "A View to a Kill" – (3:37)
  2. "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" – (2:31)
  • Also released in a gatefold sleeve (DURANG 007)

7": Capitol Records. / B-5475 United States
  1. "A View to a Kill" – (3:37)
  2. "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" – (2:31)

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981–1985" boxset
  1. "A View to a Kill" – (3:37)
  2. "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" – (2:31)

Covers, samples, and media references

Cover versions have been recorded by the Welsh alternative metal band Lostprophets,[7] Canadian punk rock band Gob,[7] Australian band Custard, appearing on the 1999 released album The Songs Of Duran Duran: UnDone[8][9] and the Chilean heavy metal band Los Mox on their album ...Con Cover, released in 2006.[10]

DJ's Factory, a Eurodance project of German producer Bülent Aris and British keyboarder Adrian Askew, released a dancefloor-oriented version in Summer 1985, reaching #22 in the German single charts.[11]

Shirley Bassey covered the song for an album of Bond theme songs; however, she wasn't satisfied with the quality, so the album was withdrawn from sale.

Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Diablo has covered the song, so has Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup Northern Kings.[7] In 2008, the song was covered with a bossa feeling by former Morcheeba singer Skye on the cover album Hollywood, Mon Amour.[12]

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.[13]

Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers covered the song in a bossa nova style on the 2017 multi-artist compilation album, Songs, Bond Songs: The Music Of 007. [14]

Charts and certifications

Other appearances

Albums:

Personnel
  • Simon Le Bon: vocals
  • Andy Taylor: guitars
  • John Taylor: bass
  • Roger Taylor: drums
  • Nick Rhodes: keyboards
  • John Barry: orchestra conductor
gollark: There are slight differences in gravitational field strength across fvw world.
gollark: *One* is actually true.
gollark: When you're calculating how fast a ball falls to the ground, remember to consider time dilation!
gollark: Leap years are still dumb.
gollark: It does a decent job, since we've likely measured it more precisely.

See also

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
  3. Malins, Steve. (2005) Notorious: The Unauthorized Biography, André Deutsch/Carlton Publishing, UK (ISBN 0-233-00137-9). pp 161–162
  4. Paul Gambaccini Interview with John Taylor, 1985, Greatest DVD extras.
  5. Pattenden, Sian. "Blame It on Rio." Deluxe Magazine, December 1998 (pp 125–129)
  6. "BOND BY BARRY". Archived from the original on 28 November 1999. Retrieved 26 November 2006.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  7. Jost, PD Dr. Christofer (March 2014). "A View to a Kill". University of Freiburg (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  8. "A View to a Kill-Custard". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  9. "Various - The Songs Of Duran Duran: UnDone". Discogs. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. "Los Mox! - ...Con Cover". Discogs. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. "Official German Charts". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. "Hollywood, Mon Amour". Discogs. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. "Veteranernas kväll i Örebro". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). 6 March 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. "A View To A Kill, by Jay Gonzalez". Curry Cuts. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  15. 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.
  16. "Austriancharts.at – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  18. "Radio 2 Top 30" (in Dutch). Top 30. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  19. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0542." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  20. "Danish Charts Archive?". UKMIX Forums. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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  22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A View to a Kill". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  23. "Hit Parade Italia". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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  25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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  27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  28. "Lista Przebojów Programu 3" (in Polish). LP3. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  29. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts D". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  30. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  31. "Swedishcharts.com – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  32. "Swisscharts.com – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  34. "Duran Duran Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  35. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 13, 1985". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link). Cash Box magazine.
  36. "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  37. "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.
  38. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1985". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  39. "Ultratop Jaaroverzichten 1985". Ultratop 50 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  40. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0619." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  41. "Single-Jahrescharts 1985". GfK Entertainment Charts (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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  43. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  44. "Dutch Charts Jaaroverzichten Single 1985". Single Top 100 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  45. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". Swiss Singles Chart (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  46. 1985 in British music#Best-selling singles
  47. "Top Pop Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 97 no. 52. New York, NY, USA. 28 December 1985. p. T-21. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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  49. "Canadian single certifications – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". Music Canada.
  50. "British single certifications – Duran Duran – A View to a Kill". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type A View to a Kill in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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