A View to a Kill (song)
Encyclopedia
"A View to a Kill" is the thirteenth single
by Duran Duran
, released in May 1985.
It was a stand-alone single, created for the James Bond
movie A View to a Kill
, and it remains the only James Bond theme song
to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
; it also made it to #2 for 3 weeks on the UK Singles Chart
, held off the top spot by "19
" by Paul Hardcastle
. In 1986, John Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
for A View to a Kill. Many fans around the world acclaim it by its famous phrase, "Dance Into The Fire."
The song was the last track that the original five members of Duran Duran recorded together until their reunion sixteen years later, in 2001. It was played at their final 1985 performance together before splitting for the very first time, at Live Aid
in Philadelphia. The single was at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
at the time they performed it on that historic event.
, and recorded at Maison Rouge Studio and CTS Studio in London with a 60-piece orchestra
.
Duran Duran was 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?" 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.
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."
The song was finally completed in April 1985, and was released worldwide in May the same year.
(who had also directed their 1981 video for "Girls on Film
.") The video cast the band members as spies and assassins scampering all over the Eiffel Tower
, in a rather tangled thicket of half-sketched storylines. Band members execute many actions: Roger Taylor sends out his probe-cams from inside his mobile HQ to patrol around the whole Eiffel Tower, Nick Rhodes takes pictures with his spy cam, John Taylor supposedly gives a "helping hand" to Bond (Roger Moore
) by shooting at May Day (Grace Jones
) with his hidden "binnoculars-camouflaged" gun while Andy Taylor directs his sonic accordion
attacks upon Nick as Simon Le Bon
wanders about, using a portable cassette player to set off a series of explosions elsewhere in the world. These shots are intercut with a few scenes taken from the A View to a Kill film, including those featuring Moore and Jones on the Eiffel Tower, so that it appears the actors and the band are participating in the same storyline.
At the end of the video, a woman approaches Le Bon asking him "Excuse me! Aren't you...?", then he finishes with a spoof of Bond's signature introduction, smarmily introducing himself: "Bon. Simon Le Bon." After saying this, he looks at his fake cassette player only to notice that it is programmed to make the Eiffel Tower explode immediately. However, instead of the entire tower collapsing, a postcard with a picture of Eiffel Tower that is being sold at a tourist stand on the ground floor explodes as a gun barrel closes to end the video.
It is thought that there was no 12" remix for the song because the band ran out of time. However, Capitol Records did commission and receive at least one remix of the track.
In addition BBC Radio 1 (in the UK) played one extended version of the track which included the well-known "I expect you to die" quote from 1964's Goldfinger
as a one-off promotion around the time the single was released. An unofficial DJ Service remix called "A View to a kill (Art of Mix)" has appeared on various DJ and bootleg compilations. There is also a fan-made remix which combines the whole Duran Duran's version with some sampled scores from its film and an orchestral score completely based upon that of the band's. It was named as "A View To A Kill (Saint Ken Extended Remix)."
s have been recorded by popular Welsh band Lostprophets
, Canadian punk band Gob
, and Australian band Custard
.
In 2006 the Chilean band Los MOX! recorded a new and heavier version of the song for their album titled "... con cover" Another cover version of the song was created in 1985 by a euro disco group called DJ's Factory. This cover of A View to a Kill has a more disco/house sound as compared to that of Duran Duran's.
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
.
In 2008, the song was covered with a bossa feeling by former Morcheeba singer Skye
on the cover album Hollywood Mon Amour.
Måns Zelmerlöw
performed a live version of the song at the beginning of the Andra Chansen round of Melodifestivalen 2010 in Örebro
, Sweden
.
In 2011, Dutch artist Danny Vera performed a shortened version of the song during the football programme "Voetbal International" on Dutch television.
The Toronto Blue Jays
take the field to "A View to a Kill."
The band performed it as part of American Express's UNSTAGED series on YouTube. Duran Duran's appearance on UNSTAGED was directed by David Lynch
.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, released in May 1985.
It was a stand-alone single, created for the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
, and it remains the only James Bond theme song
James Bond music
The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years, many of which are now considered classic pieces of cinematic music...
to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
; it also made it to #2 for 3 weeks on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, held off the top spot by "19
19 (song)
"19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his self-titled third studio album Paul Hardcastle ....
" by Paul Hardcastle
Paul Hardcastle
Paul Hardcastle is an English composer and musician, specialising in the synthesizer.-Discography:In the early 1980s, Hardcastle played the keyboards on several singles on the Oval record label by the dance music groups Direct Drive and First Light, before going solo.He achieved some acclaim for...
. In 1986, John Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
for A View to a Kill. Many fans around the world acclaim it by its famous phrase, "Dance Into The Fire."
The song was the last track that the original five members of Duran Duran recorded together until their reunion sixteen years later, in 2001. It was played at their final 1985 performance together before splitting for the very first time, at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
in Philadelphia. The single was at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at the time they performed it on that historic event.
About the song
The song was written by Duran Duran and John BarryJohn Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
, and recorded at Maison Rouge Studio and CTS Studio in London with a 60-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
.
Duran Duran was chosen to do the song after bassist John Taylor
Nigel John Taylor
John Taylor is an English musician who is best known as the bass guitarist and co-founder of pop rock band Duran Duran....
(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?" This inauspicious beginning led to some serious talks, and the band was introduced to Bond composer John Barry, and also Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias is a U.S. composer and record producer, known for his movie soundtracks, production for several pop and rock acts, and his award-winning advertising music including the PBS logo instrumental from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989....
(whom Duran Duran members would later work with many times). An early writing meeting at Taylor's flat in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
led to everyone getting drunk instead of composing.
Singer Simon Le Bon
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
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."
The song was finally completed in April 1985, and was released worldwide in May the same year.
Music video
The song was accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek video filmed in June 1985. It was directed by the duo Godley & CremeGodley & Creme
Godley & Creme were an English pop music duo composed of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing albums as a duo after splitting from the pop band 10cc. In 1979 they directed their first music video for their own single "An Englishman in New York"...
(who had also directed their 1981 video for "Girls on Film
Girls on Film
"Girls on Film" is the third single by Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981.The single became Duran Duran's Top 10 breakthrough in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at Number 5 in August 1981...
.") The video cast the band members as spies and assassins scampering all over the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, in a rather tangled thicket of half-sketched storylines. Band members execute many actions: Roger Taylor sends out his probe-cams from inside his mobile HQ to patrol around the whole Eiffel Tower, Nick Rhodes takes pictures with his spy cam, John Taylor supposedly gives a "helping hand" to Bond (Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
) by shooting at May Day (Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
) with his hidden "binnoculars-camouflaged" gun while Andy Taylor directs his sonic accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
attacks upon Nick as Simon Le Bon
Simon Le Bon
Simon John Charles Le Bon is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.-Early life:...
wanders about, using a portable cassette player to set off a series of explosions elsewhere in the world. These shots are intercut with a few scenes taken from the A View to a Kill film, including those featuring Moore and Jones on the Eiffel Tower, so that it appears the actors and the band are participating in the same storyline.
At the end of the video, a woman approaches Le Bon asking him "Excuse me! Aren't you...?", then he finishes with a spoof of Bond's signature introduction, smarmily introducing himself: "Bon. Simon Le Bon." After saying this, he looks at his fake cassette player only to notice that it is programmed to make the Eiffel Tower explode immediately. However, instead of the entire tower collapsing, a postcard with a picture of Eiffel Tower that is being sold at a tourist stand on the ground floor explodes as a gun barrel closes to end the video.
B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The b-side was an instrumental piece orchestrated by John Barry, titled "A View To A Kill (That Fatal Kiss)."It is thought that there was no 12" remix for the song because the band ran out of time. However, Capitol Records did commission and receive at least one remix of the track.
In addition BBC Radio 1 (in the UK) played one extended version of the track which included the well-known "I expect you to die" quote from 1964's Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
as a one-off promotion around the time the single was released. An unofficial DJ Service remix called "A View to a kill (Art of Mix)" has appeared on various DJ and bootleg compilations. There is also a fan-made remix which combines the whole Duran Duran's version with some sampled scores from its film and an orchestral score completely based upon that of the band's. It was named as "A View To A Kill (Saint Ken Extended Remix)."
Covers, samples, and media references
Cover versionCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s have been recorded by popular Welsh band Lostprophets
Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
, Canadian punk band Gob
Gob (band)
Gob is a Canadian punk band from Langley, British Columbia formed in 1993, The Band consists of Tom Thacker, Theo Goutzinakis, Gabe Mantle and Steven Fairweather. Gob's most successful album is World According to Gob and their most successful song to date is I Hear You Calling...
, and Australian band Custard
Custard (band)
-Overview:The band were originally known as Custard Gun and featured David McCormack on vocals and guitar, Paul Medew on bass, James Straker on guitar and Shane Brunn on drums. After a few shows and line up changes Custard Gun morphed into Custard...
.
In 2006 the Chilean band Los MOX! recorded a new and heavier version of the song for their album titled "... con cover" Another cover version of the song was created in 1985 by a euro disco group called DJ's Factory. This cover of A View to a Kill has a more disco/house sound as compared to that of Duran Duran's.
Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
covered the song for an album of Bond theme songs
The Bond Collection
The Bond Collection, aka Bassey Sings Bond, is a 1987 studio album by Shirley Bassey, notable for having been released without the artist's consent, and subsequently withdrawn from sales by court order.-Story:...
, however, she wasn't satisfied with the quality, so the album was withdrawn from sale.
Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Diablo
Diablo (band)
Diablo is a Finnish melodic death metal band, formed in 1995 as Diablo Brothers. The band cite Testament, Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Opeth, Death, and Meshuggah as influences, but influence from several Gothenburg bands, including Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, and In Flames, is also evident in...
has covered the song, so has Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup Northern Kings
Northern Kings
Northern Kings is a Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup, made up of four musicians who have already become well known in their existing bands: Jarkko Ahola from Teräsbetoni, ex-Dreamtale, Marco Hietala from Nightwish and Tarot, Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica and Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto from...
.
In 2008, the song was covered with a bossa feeling by former Morcheeba singer Skye
Skye Edwards
Skye Edwards is a British singer-songwriter, born in East London. Her career began in 1994 when she and the Godfrey brothers formed the band Morcheeba, which released five albums with Skye as lead vocalist...
on the cover album Hollywood Mon Amour.
Måns Zelmerlöw
Måns Zelmerlöw
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw is a Swedish pop singer. He is probably best known for his 2007 song "Cara Mia," which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen...
performed a live version of the song at the beginning of the Andra Chansen round of Melodifestivalen 2010 in Örebro
Örebro
-Sites of interest:Örebro's old town Wadköping is located on the banks of Svartån . It contains many 18th and 19th century wooden houses, along with museums and exhibitions....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
In 2011, Dutch artist Danny Vera performed a shortened version of the song during the football programme "Voetbal International" on Dutch television.
Chart positions
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| Canada Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
1 |
| Sweden | 1 |
| Ireland Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Norway | 2 |
| Australia ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
6 |
| Austria | 6 |
| Switzerland | 7 |
| Germany | 9 |
| France | 11 |
7": EMI DURAN 007 (UK)
- "A View to a Kill" (3:34)
- "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" (2:28)
- Also released in a gatefold sleeve (DURANG007)
CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981-1985" boxset
- "A View to a Kill" (3:34)
- "A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" (2:28)
Other appearances
Albums:- Decade: Greatest HitsDecade: Greatest HitsDecade – Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Duran Duran, released on November 15, 1989 .The remix single "Burning the Ground" was released to radio to promote this album; it was created by producer John Jones mixing snippets of the band's biggest hits from the previous decade into a new...
(1989) - Greatest (1998)
- Singles Box Set 1981-1985Singles Box Set 1981-1985Singles Box Set 1981–1985 is a boxset by Duran Duran. Comprising thirteen CDs, it was released by EMI on and covers the era from Duran Duran to Arena , as well as non-album single "A View to a Kill" ....
(2003) - Encore Series 78-03 Reunion Tour (2003)
- Live from London (2005)
The Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
take the field to "A View to a Kill."
The band performed it as part of American Express's UNSTAGED series on YouTube. Duran Duran's appearance on UNSTAGED was directed by David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
.
Personnel
- Nick Rhodes: Keyboards
- Simon Le Bon: Vocals
- Andy Taylor: Guitars
- John Taylor: Bass
- Roger Taylor: Drums
- John Barry: Orchestra