On 6 May 1985, Duran Duran released “A View to a Kill” - the title song for the 14th James Bond film, starring Roger Moore. Billboard Hot 100 #1 for two weeks (the first and only Bond single to top the US charts), UK #2. Producers - Bernard Edwards (of Chic) and Jason Corsaro. Studio: Maison Rouge Studios, Paris, February-March 1985. Orchestral arrangement - John Barry, the Bond franchise's legendary composer across 11 prior films. The band's fee - £200,000 for the song and accompanying media rights.
The Bond franchise in crisis picks Duran Duran
By 1984 the Bond franchise was in commercial trouble. Octopussy (1983) grossed $187 million - $30 million short of projection. Producers Albert R. Broccoli and his daughter Barbara Broccoli saw the issue: Bond had aged. The MTV audience didn't know Sean Connery; they needed a Bond fluent in the language of the 80s.
The answer was to bring in Britain's biggest pop act for the title song. In August 1984 Broccoli sent the invitation to Duran Duran via their manager Paul Berrow. The band received £200,000 - the largest single-song fee of their career at that point.
Simon Le Bon told Smash Hits in June 1985: “We grew up with Bond. Every British boy dreamed of writing a Bond song. When Broccoli rang - it was like a childhood dream handed over”.
John Barry: 25 years of Bond scoring intersect Duran Duran
Composer John Barry had been writing Bond orchestral scores since Dr. No (1962). By 1985 he'd written 11 of them. His signature move - the “Bond chord” (a 3-note minor progression E-A-F♯) - appeared in every Barry Bond composition.
For “A View to a Kill” Barry and Duran Duran worked separately. First Barry cut the orchestral part - 43 musicians at Abbey Road Studios, London, on 12 February 1985. Then Duran Duran overdubbed synths, guitar and vocals in Paris on top of the orchestral stems.
Drums - LinnDrum, programmed by Nick Rhodes. The lead synth - Roland Jupiter-8, with Rhodes playing the Bond-chord motif lifted directly from Barry's progression.
“Barry was a legend. I'd dreamt of working with him for 12 years. When we first met at Abbey Road, he recognised me - he'd listened to Duran Duran with his daughter. We talked for an hour about symphonic harmony. He showed me how the "Bond chord" was constructed - it's not a secret, he explained it to every composer he met”.
- Nick Rhodes, Classic Rock interview, 2015
Anatomy of the sound
- Key: F♯ minor, central Bond-chord progression
- BPM: 113
- Length: 3:33 (single), 3:35 (album)
- Lead synth: Roland Jupiter-8, Nick Rhodes
- Additional synths: Yamaha DX7 (bells), Oberheim OB-Xa (strings)
- Guitar: Andy Taylor, Fender Stratocaster through a Mesa Boogie Mark III
- Bass: John Taylor, Peavey T-40
- Drums: LinnDrum, programmed by Rhodes + live fills from Roger Taylor
- Orchestra: 43 musicians at Abbey Road Studios under John Barry
- Vocals: Simon Le Bon, Neumann U47, double-tracked on the chorus
- Producers: Bernard Edwards (Chic) + Jason Corsaro
- Studios: Abbey Road (orchestra), Maison Rouge Paris (band), Power Station NY (mix)
- Single release: 6 May 1985
Billboard #1: the only Bond single to top the US chart
“A View to a Kill” reached Billboard Hot 100 #1 on 13 July 1985 and held the top for two weeks. It is the only Bond single in history to hit US #1. The previous Bond peak was Carly Simon's “Nobody Does It Better” (from The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977) at #2. Later Bond singles (Gladys Knight “Licence to Kill”, Sheryl Crow “Tomorrow Never Dies”) didn't make the US top-10.
UK: #2, blocked by Paul Hardcastle's “19”. Brazil: #1 for six weeks. Germany: #1 for three weeks. Single sales worldwide - 3.5 million.
At the top of the US chart “A View to a Kill” knocked off Phil Collins's “Sussudio”, which had held #1 for a week before.
The Eiffel Tower video: a scene cut from the film
The “A View to a Kill” video was directed by Godley & Creme (former 10cc, the directors of Hancock's “Rockit”) in April 1985 in Paris. Budget - $350,000. The central set-piece: Simon Le Bon and the rest of Duran Duran on the Eiffel Tower, in Bond-era tuxedos (Tom Ford).
Interesting: the Eiffel Tower sequence was shot for the film A View to a Kill but cut in final edit. Director John Glen: “The scene wasn't working - Bond parachutes off the tower, but Roger Moore is too old for that move now”. Godley & Creme got access through the Bond crew and repurposed the set for the video.
The last recording of the classic line-up
“A View to a Kill” was the last track recorded by the original Duran Duran line-up (all five members). After the release, the band split into two side projects: Arcadia (Le Bon, Rhodes, Roger Taylor) and The Power Station (John Taylor, Andy Taylor).
Duran Duran reunited in 1986 for the Notorious album. But Andy Taylor left in 1987 and didn't return until 2001. “A View to a Kill” is, strictly, the last recording of the original five-member Duran Duran.
Chart history and legacy
US Billboard Hot 100: #1 for two weeks (July 1985). UK: #2 (May-June 1985). Australia: #2. Germany: #1 for three weeks. Japan: #2. Worldwide single sales: 3.5 million.
The A View to a Kill Original Motion Picture Soundtrack went platinum in the US. John Barry won his seventh Academy Award for the orchestral score (though not for the Duran Duran song, which was nominated for a Golden Globe).
What to listen for next
Duran Duran 1981-1985: “Rio” (1982) → “Hungry Like the Wolf” (1982) → “A View to a Kill” (1985). Three stages - art-pop, MTV-mainstream, blockbuster.
Bond theme songs across eras: “Goldfinger” Shirley Bassey (1964) → “A View to a Kill” (1985) → “Skyfall” Adele (2012). Three pop anthems for James Bond, each a mirror of its decade.