A View to a Kill

A View to a Kill
Soundtrack album by John Barry
Released	1985
James Bond soundtrack chronology
Octopussy (1983) A View to a Kill (1985) The Living Daylights (1987)

A View to a Kill is the soundtrack for the film of the same name, the 14th installment in the James Bond film series.

Theme song

The theme song "A View to a Kill", was written by John Barry and Duran Duran, and was recorded in London with a 60-piece orchestra. "A View to a Kill" is the most successful Bond theme to date. In 1986 Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

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]

The single was released in May 1985, and on July 13 it hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and as of 2007^[update] remains the only Bond theme to do so. On May 25, it made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart, also a record for Bond themes. The b-side was an instrumental piece orchestrated by John Barry, titled "A View To A Kill (That Fatal Kiss)". The song was the last track that the original five members of Duran Duran recorded together until 2001.

The video for the single was directed by the duo Godley & Creme, with shots of the band at the Eiffel Tower intercut with scenes from the movie, so that it appears that Roger Moore and Grace Jones are participating in the same storyline. The singer ends the video with a parody of James Bond, introducing himself as "Bon. Simon Le Bon."

Other music

During the opening teaser, a cover version of the 1965 Beach Boys song "California Girls", performed by Gidea Park (a tribute band), is used during a chase in which Bond snowboards; it has been suggested that this teaser sequence helped initiate interest in snowboarding.^[3]

The film features Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, which is performed during the reception that 007 attends undercover at Zorin's stud in France.

In the remastered CD edition, the 3rd track is incorrectly labeled "May Day Jumpers" on the back of the case.

Track listing

1. "A View to a Kill (Main Title)" – Duran Duran
2. "Snow Job"
3. "May Day Jumpers"^[A]
4. "Bond Meets Stacey (A View to a Kill)"
5. "Pegasus' Stable"
6. "Tibbett Gets Washed Out"
7. "Airship to Silicon Valley"
8. "He's Dangerous"
9. "Bond Underwater"
10. "Wine with Stacey (A View to a Kill)"
11. "Bond Escapes Roller"
12. "Destroy Silicon Valley"
13. "May Day Bombs Out"
14. "Golden Gate Fight"
15. "A View to a Kill (End Title)" – Duran Duran

References

1. ^ Malins, Steve. (2005) Notorious: The Unauthorized Biography, André Deutsch/Carlton Publishing, UK (ISBN 0-233-00137-9). pp 161-162
2. ^ Paul Gambaccini Interview with John Taylor, 1985, Greatest DVD extras.
3. ^ Snowboard Club UK FAQs