The A View To A Kill Theme

After Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, somewhat drunkenly, asked 007 producer Cubby Broccoli at a party when he was going to hire someone decent to do a James Bond theme song, the English rock band was hired to work with composer John Barry.  The group went on to write one of the most successful theme songs in the series.

"A View to a Kill," recorded with a 60-piece orchestra, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the UK music charts, both record highs for a James Bond theme song.  Other chart topping locations included Canada, Italy, and Sweden.  The single was nominated for a Golden Globe and was the last song recorded by the group prior to their reunion in 2001.

Like normal in this blog series, with any Bond theme song that John Barry is associated with you can read his full biography here.

Forming in 1978, Duran Duran is one of the most popular rock groups of the 1980s, with 14 singles to reach the top 10 on UK charts and 21 songs in the Billboard Hot 100.  The group was one of the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States that took place from the summer of 1982 to the autumn of 1986.  The group faced controversy with its music videos that included partial nudity and suggestive sexuality, but they were also the first to hire professional directors and use 35mm cameras, which gave their music videos a more polished look than their contemporaries.

Duran Duran's first self-titled record was released through EMI in 1981 and the very first single, "Planet Earth," was a hit, reaching number 12 on the UK charts.  However, it was the album's third single, "Girls on Film," that made the most commotion.  The video (pictured) featured topless women mudwrestling, pillow fighting, and other sytlised depictions of sexual fetishes.  It was originally made to play in nightclubs that featured video monitors and for pay TV stations such as the Playboy channel, but as it was released two weeks after the launch of MTV it made its way to cable, although heavily edited.  The song eventually peaked at number three on the UK charts.

The band's second album saw four singles make their way into the UK's Top 20, including the massively popular "Hungry Like the Wolf."  Following the release of a third studio album and world tour, drummer Roger Taylor retired from the band due to exhaustion and guitarist Andy Taylor also left.

The roster changed between 1986 and 2001, but eventually the original five reunited for a brief time.  In 2006, Andy Taylor again left, with the band claiming an "unworkable gulf" developing between its members and Andy Taylor.

Since its formation, Duran Duran has released 12 studio albums.  Working with fashion designers to build a sharp and elegant style, the band went on to great success that included two Grammy Awards, two Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.