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"The Living Daylights" is the theme song from the 1987
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film of the same name, performed by Norwegian band
A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
. It was written by guitarist
Pål Waaktaar Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...
. A revised version of the song was included on the band's third studio album, ''
Stay on These Roads ''Stay on These Roads'' is the third studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album. Recording A Synclavier, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50, a ...
'' (1988).


Origin and recording

John Barry is credited as co-writer and producer, and the initial release of the song was his version. A second version of the song, re-worked by A-ha in 1988, later appeared on their third studio album, ''
Stay on These Roads ''Stay on These Roads'' is the third studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album. Recording A Synclavier, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50, a ...
''. When interviewed on a late-night show in 1987, Barry said that he found working with the band exhausting secondary to the band's insistence on using their own version of the song for release. In an interview with ''
Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
'' magazine, keyboardist
Magne Furuholmen Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success. Furuholmen, better kno ...
said that "
he band's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
fight with Barry left a rather unpleasant aftertaste. Apparently, he compared us to
Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926 ...
in a newspaper interview." Harket stated in an interview with
Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', ''20/20'', ''Sky Magazine ...
of the
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in 2016, that Barry was honestly not an easy guy to like. He was very strange in that he started to befriend us by talking bad about Duran Duran. He made some degrading comments about them and what they’d been doing and that didn’t sit well with any of us. Harket stated further that; he then made some derogatory comments about women and it was all uncalled for. There will be people who knew him who will have a very different view of him. But he didn’t go down well with us. In an interview with
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
in 2022, Harket commented further that; “It was down to a clash in mentalities. His mentality was the way it was and it surfaced in various ways. None of us agreed with his worldview and the way he spoke about other human beings. We couldn’t speak a common language between each other. But his input in the song was essentially just making a few changes to the verse melody: the rest was already there.” Waaktaar stated that although Barry produced the track, he never contributed to the songwriting process and should not have been credited as such. (The band
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
made similar claims after they worked briefly with Barry on the theme to the previous Bond film, "
A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...
", in 1985.) The situation grew even more tense when Harket and company informed the producers they’d be skipping the London premiere. “We fell out with ond composerJohn Barry, and also the whole Bond Broccoli people
he producers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
because we didn’t come to the premiere in London. We informed them that, on the date that they had set, we were booked fully in Japan for a big tour. We couldn’t make it.” The Bond camp assumed A-ha would give in. “They didn’t think we were serious. And we didn’t show up. They went ballistic. They pulled the song from the American version. However, Waaktaar has also said: "I loved the stuff he ohn Barryadded to the track. I mean, it gave it this sort of really cool string arrangement. That's when it, for me, started to sound like a Bond thing."


Release and reception

"The Living Daylights" was released in the summer of 1987. The song peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number one in Norway. The song remains one of
A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
's most played songs in live concerts and has often been extended into a "sing-along" with the audience, as featured on the live album ''
How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head ''How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head'' is a live album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 25 March 2003 by WEA Records. Track listing #" Forever Not Yours" (Morten Harket, Ole Sverre-Olsen, Magne Furuholmen) – 4:33 #"Minor Earth Major ...
''. In live performances, Paul Waaktaar often included the main
James Bond Theme The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions#James Bond series, Eon Productions Bond film since ''Dr. No (film), Dr. No'', released in 1962. Composed by Monty Norman ...
in his
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...
. Evan Cater of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said the song was "a strong sample of ''
Seven and the Ragged Tiger ''Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' is the third studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 21 November 1983 through EMI and Capitol Records. It was co-produced by Alex Sadkin, Ian Little and the band. Following their deci ...
''-influenced
Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
, enhanced by
Morten Harket Morten Harket () (born September 14, 1959) is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter, who is the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha. A-ha has released 10 studio albums to date, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough ...
's powerhouse
falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
vocals." South African heavy metal band
The Narrow The Narrow is an alternative rock band from Pretoria, South Africa. Biography The band was formed in 2002 by guitarists Emile and Sid, bassist Jow Feldtmann and drummer Nelius de Lange. Shortly thereafter Emile brought in his former Not My Dog ...
released a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
in 2005.


Music video

The music video, which was directed by
Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...
, was shot at the 007 Stage in London, which was built specifically for the ''
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'' franchise. It features various scenes from the
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
projected on to the band as they perform in the empty 007 Stage. Separate footage from the movie itself is shown, along with footage from the film traced out and inserted to the footage of the band performing, which was a groundbreaking, yet expensive innovation at that time.


Track listings

7-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 8305 United Kingdom # "The Living Daylights" - 4:04 # "The Living Daylights" (Instrumental) - 4:36 12-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 8305T United Kingdom # "The Living Daylights" (Extended Mix) - 6:48 # "The Living Daylights" (7 Inch Version) - 4:04 # "The Living Daylights" (Instrumental) - 4:36 * Track 1 is also known as "Extended Version". * Also released as a 12" picture disc (W 8305TP)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Alternative rejected theme song

Like other Bond themes before it, A-ha's release was not the only recorded song for the film.
Synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
band
Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...
also recorded a song for the film that was optioned to the studio. The duo later reworked the song they submitted into "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave", which was released on their ''
Behaviour Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
'' album in 1990.


See also

*
James Bond music The James Bond film series from Eon Productions has featured numerous musical compositions since its inception 1962, many of which are now considered classic pieces of British film music. The best known of these pieces is the "James Bond Theme" ...
* Outline of James Bond


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Living Daylights, The 1987 singles 1987 songs A-ha songs
Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Spain Songs from James Bond films Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Songs with music by John Barry (composer) Music videos directed by Steve Barron Warner Records singles