The Living Daylights (soundtrack)

The Living Daylights (soundtrack)

The Living Daylights is the soundtrack title for the film The Living Daylights and the eleventh and final Bond soundtrack to be scored by composer John Barry. The soundtrack is notable for its introduction of sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with the orchestra - at the time, a relatively new innovation.

The title song of the film, "The Living Daylights", was recorded by pop group a-ha. a-ha and Barry did not collaborate well, resulting in two versions of the theme song. Barry's film mix is heard on the soundtrack and all three of a-ha's best-of compilations. The a-ha preferred mix can be heard on their 1988 album Stay on These Roads. However in 2006 a-ha's Paul Waaktaar-Savoy complimented Barry's contributions "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing". The title song is one of very few 007 title songs that is not performed or written by a British or American performer in the history of the series.

Originally, British pop band Pet Shop Boys was asked to compose the soundtrack, but backed down when they learned that they should not provide a complete soundtrack but merely the opening theme song.

In a departure from conventions of previous Bond films, the film uses different songs over the opening and end credits. The song heard over the end credits, "If There Was A Man", was one of two songs performed for the film by Chrissie Hynde, of the Pretenders. The other song, "Where Has Everybody Gone", is heard as source music in the film (from Necros's Walkman). The Pretenders were originally considered to perform the film's title song. However, the producers had been pleased with the commercial success of Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill", and felt that a-ha would be more likely to make an impact in the charts. In the event, "The Living Daylights" was a hit in many countries.

The original soundtrack released by Warner Bros. Records featured only 12 tracks. Later re-releases by Rykodisc and EMI added 9 additional track, including an alternate instrumental end credits.