Song · Duran Duran
“A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran
Released 1985
“A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran appears on 9 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1985 and 2026. It was first released in 1985. Its best result is #38 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #89 alternative song of 1985 and #3,591 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (DuranDuranVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Duran Duran got the Bond gig in 1985, and "A View to a Kill", written with John Barry for the film of the same name, is the sound of the band at full gloss: stabbing synths, a brassy orchestral swagger and Simon Le Bon hollering the title like a man with a license to overact. It became the only Bond theme ever to top the Billboard Hot 100, while at home it sat at number two for three weeks behind Paul Hardcastle's "19".
It was also a last hurrah. Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, John Taylor and Roger Taylor didn't record together again until 2001, and they played it at Live Aid in Philadelphia before splitting. Barry and the band shared a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, and after Barry died in 2011 they saluted him with it at Coachella.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 38 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 433 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 85 | Channel 104.9 | Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) | 104 |
| 1999 | 945 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 319 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 1958 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 966 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 535 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2026 | 346 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
Also listed as: A View To A Kill.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.