6 May: Duran Duran’s James Bond Banger
A View To A Kill by Duran Duran was released on 6th May, 1985. It remains the only James Bond theme to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100.
To get the gig, bassist John Taylor reportedly approached Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli at a party and bluntly asked him why the series had not enlisted a “decent band” for a theme. At the time, Duran Duran were at the height of their fame, and Simon Le Bon’s ‘Dance! Into the Fire’ vocal performance certainly embraced the assignment with appropriate theatrical commitment.
The film it accompanied, however – Roger Moore’s last expedition as Bond, A View to a Kill – received a more mixed reception, critics frequently remarking on Moore’s age: at 57, he was the oldest actor to portray Bond in an official movie. But the song endured beyond the film’s reputation. Its accompanying music video, featuring the band members separately filmed atop the Eiffel Tower (as the band had just split!), became emblematic of the MTV era.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the song’s place in the James Bond canon; reveal which Bond film was the first to avoid its title song lyrically echoing the actual title of the film; and marvel at the delights of Duran Duran’s detonating Walkman…
Further Reading:
• ‘The ten best Bond songs: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/the-ten-best-bond-songs-gz9x56wxdzx
• ‘Why ‘A View to a Kill’ Remains a Perfect James Bond Song’ (Men’s Journal, 2025): https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/a-view-to-a-kill-james-bond-song-movie
• ‘Duran Duran – A View To A Kill’ (Capitol Records, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4CR2HcHLQ
#Music #80s #Film #UK