As the month of #Johnuary continues to look into the work of John Barry, we now move on to the more modern Bond theme songs, as they started to collaborate with more pop bands rather than just solo singers. The first of these is A View to a Kill where John Barry collaborated with Duran Duran.
Apparently Duran Duran bassist John Taylor was a big Bond fan and met Cubby Broccoli at a party and convinced him to choose Duran Duran for a theme song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzdsGk5ZKtQ
The score for the film was quite traditional but the theme song was a big departure for Barry, collaborating musically with a contemporary pop band. It blends the pop feel of Duran Duran’s music with Barry’s orchestration.
This theme song is the most successful Bond theme of all time (unless my research doesn’t include modern ones like Adele or Sam Smith) and in 1986 Barry and Duran Duran were nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
The video for the song was directed by Godley and Creme, a name I hugely associate with the 80s.
It’s actually a pretty great song. I was never a huge fan of Duran Duran but this was one of their songs I liked. It’s got a nice use of John Barry brass in there to good effect, which also helps it to feel fairly Bond-esque.