How Does a Moment Last Forever marks the first collaboration between Menken and Rice in over two decades; the last time they worked together had been in the "Beauty and the Beast" musical. Menken believes that the songs he and Rice had written for the musical would not have translated well to the screen due to the structural differences between the two formats. One of at least nine significant changes made to the film specifically for the remake, "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was conceived to explain Belle's backstory. Her quest to find out her mother's fate serves, in the plot, as a foundation for
How Does It Feel (Slade song) following month. It reached No. 15, which was the band's first single not to reach the UK Top 5 since their 1971 breakthrough with "Get Down and Get with It". The melody of "How Does It Feel" was the first Lea had ever written, while he was still in school. He came up with the idea on an old piano which he later described as having half the keys missing. Although the tune never developed any further at that time, Lea later revisited it for use as the theme tune for "Flame". Holder wrote the song's lyrics and it became