A View to a Kill
DDW: the united memory of all the fans
| "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran | ||
|---|---|---|
| | ||
| Song details | ||
| Length: | 3:34 | |
| Writer(s): | Duran Duran and John Barry | |
| Producer(s): | Bernard Edwards | |
| Single details | ||
|---|---|---|
| UK release: | May 1985 | |
| Label: | EMI | |
| Format(s): | 7", 12", CD, download | |
| B-side(s): | "A View To A Kill (That Fatal Kiss)" | |
| Peak chart positions: | ||
| #2 | UK Singles Chart | |
| #1 | US Hot 100 | |
| #6 | Australia
| |
| Duran Duran singles chronology | ||
| "The Wild Boys" (1984) | "A View to a Kill" | "Notorious" (1986) |
"A View to a Kill" is the 13th single recorded 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 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 in Australia.
In 1986 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 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, at Live Aid in Philadelphia.
Contents |
[edit] 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 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?"[1][2] 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.[3]
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."[4]
The song was finally completed in April, and was released worldwide in May.
This song was the subject of criticism from singer Pat Boone when it was performed at Live Aid in 1985. Although Duran Duran donated their time in this historic fundraising effort for African famine relief (like every other artist on the bill), Boone commented that if singing lyrics like "Dance into the fire" were the only way to raise money and awareness of this issue, then maybe it was not worth it.
[edit] Lyrics
Meeting you, with a view to a kill These two faces, secret places, feel the chill. Night fall covers me, but you know the plans I'm making, Still oversea, could it be the whole earth opening wide A sacred wide, A mystery gaping inside The weekends wide! Until we dance into the fire The fatal kiss is all we need Dance into the fire, Two fatal sounds of broken dreams Dance into the fire, That fatal kiss is all we need Dance into the fire..... Just for you, is the view to a kill A stray in the shade, assassination standing still. Earth's crystal tears, falling snowflakes on your body First time in years, to drench your skin in lovers' rosy stain A chance to find your feelings for the flame, A chance to die... Again we dance into the fire That fatal kiss is all we need Dance into the fire Two fatal sounds of broken dreams Dance into the fire That fatal kiss is all we need Dance into the fire When all we see.. is the view to a kill
[edit] Music video
The song was accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek video filmed in June. It was directed by the duo Godley & Creme (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 shoot at, take pictures of, spy upon and direct sonic accordion attacks upon each other as the lead singer 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 scenes from the movie A View To A Kill, including those featuring Roger Moore and Grace Jones on the Eiffel Tower, so that it appears the actors and the band are participating in the same storyline.
Le Bon ends the video with a parody of James Bond, smarmily introducing himself as "Bon. Simon Le Bon."
[edit] 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.
[edit] Covers, samples, & media references
Cover versions have been recorded by popular Welsh band Lostprophets, as well as Icelandic artist Paul Oscar (as a 1997 Eurovision Song Contest entry), Canadian punk band Gob, Australian band Custard, and Chilean band Los MOX!.
[edit] Chart positions
On 13 July, 1985, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2007 remains the only Bond theme to do so. It was preceded at number one "Sussudio" by Phil Collins and followed by "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young.
On 25 May, it made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart, also a record for Bond themes. (It was held out of the top spot by the song "19" by Paul Hardcastle.)
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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)
[edit] Other appearances
Albums:
- Decade: Greatest Hits (1989)
- Greatest (1998)
- Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (1998)
- Strange Behaviour (1999)
- Singles Box Set 1981-1985 (2003)
- Live from London (2005)
[edit] Personnel
[edit] References
- ↑ Malins, Steve. (2005) Notorious: The Unauthorized Biography, André Deutsch/Carlton Publishing, UK (ISBN 0-233-00137-9). pp 161-162
- ↑ Paul Gambaccini, Interview with John Taylor, 1985, Greatest DVD extras.
- ↑ Pattenden, Sian. "Blame It On Rio." Deluxe Magazine, December 1998 (pp 125-129)
- ↑ Leonard, Geoff. Bond By Barry: The Story of James Bond Music.
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at A View to a Kill. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Duran Duran Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
