AltSounds Top 10: James Bond Theme Songs

Happy 50th birthday Mr Bond! With the release date of the brand new James Bond film fast approaching, and the whole of the UK going mental for snippets of Adele’s new track for Skyfall, there has never been a better time to take a look back at some of the absolute classics that accompanies the Bond girls dancing during the opening credits. There have been some incredible anthems, and some fiascos when it comes to the theme songs for James Bond, clearly some couldn’t handle the pressure of having the privilege of penning and performing one of the ultimate honours in film and music (in my opinion).

Some of the worst has to be the dated tracks that just sound appalling now, for example’s A-Ha’s track for ‘The Living Daylights’ had a bit of drama, but 10 seconds in you’re met with some horrid sounding 80’s keyboard, and the mix of orchestra and cheap 80’s computerised tunes just jars. And what about the most recent ones? Who decided to let Chris Cornell and Jack White anywhere near these tracks? Not saying their not talented musicians, of course they are, but they just don’t suit the class and prestige that James Bond as a concept holds. The thrashing guitar and distortion just ruins the whole soave and sophistication that you got from previous theme songs, such as Tina Turner’s ‘Goldeneye’ and Shirely Bassey’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’.

Quick fact for you here, not a single James Bond theme song has ever reached the coveted number one spot in the UK. Will Adele’s 'Skyfall' be the first one to do this? I’m putting a £5 on yes, without even hearing it, because it’s Adele, and we all know how much the world likes a bit of Adele, and think how popular the cocktail of James Bond with a dash of Adele will go down? Shaken, not stirred, obviously.

Radio 2 listeners voted ‘Live and Let Die’ by Paul McCartney and Wings their favourite James Bond theme song, and of course, it’s an iconic James Bond tune, but I wouldn’t put it on the top of my list.

1. Tina Turner - Goldeneye
Film: Goldeneye
Year: 1995
Highest UK Chart Position: 10

Do you remember the absolutely immense Goldeneye game on the Nintendo64? Well, it was amazing, as well as the film. This was by far my favourite Bond film, and luckily, it had the best Bond theme song too. Written by Bono and The Edge from U2, there isn’t a Bond diva better than Tina Turner who could bellow out such an anthemic tune.

2. Madonna – Die Another Day
Film: Die Another Day
Year: 2002
Highest UK Chart Position: 3

This was an absolute belter of a Bond theme song, and I think one of the only ‘modern’ ones that actually worked. Who better to bring a bit of class to the new millennium Bond than Madonna? This was also marked Madonna’s 20th anniversary since her first album. She sold over 175,000 copies, making it the most successful Bond theme since Duran Duran’s ‘A View to a Kill’. The single spent 11 weeks at number one on the United States Billboard Singles Sales Charts and is her most successful title on the sales chart to date, but only managed to reach number 3 here in the UK. It also became the 5th best selling single of the 00’s in the US. Not bad, eh? I told you it was good.

3. Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger
Film: Goldfinger
Year: 1964
Highest UK Chart Position: 21

Let’s step back to the 60’s and take a look at theme song from the third James Bond film. Shirely Bassey is the only artist to have sung a James Bond theme song, and after listening to this absolute classic you can see why. Her majestic vocals encapsulated with the iconic Bond tune played on stylish brass is a timeless masterpiece. This is what you need from a Bond song, elegance, sophistication and pure class.

4. Paul McCartney and Wings – Live and Let Die
Film: Live and Let Die
Year: 1973
Highest UK Chart Position: 7

This is one of the most notable James Bond songs, a fantastic ballad filled with drama, tension and power. Paul co-wrote the song with his wife Linda, and also was reunited with Beatles producer George Martin. With this mix of impeccable British talent, there’s no wonder that it’s a special theme song.

5. Shirley Bassey – Diamonds Are Forever
Film: Diamonds Are Forever
Year: 1971
Highest UK Chart Position: 7

Shirley Bassey is back (I told you she did 2), and Diamonds Are Forever is a chic ballad that’s haunting yet spellbindingly compelling. A funny little tale about this tune was that the celebrated composer John Barry told Shirley Bassey to imagine she was singing about a penis, he revealed in a television interview. The song’s lyrics is filled with innuendos (apparently) and producer Harry Saltzman hated the song for this reason. Thank goodness Cubby Broccoli insisted on keeping it in! I think it’s a cracker.

6. Sheryl Crow – Tomorrow Never Dies
Film: Tomorrow Never Dies
Year: 1997
Highest UK Chart Position: 11

Although the country princess only managed to peak at number 11 with Tomorrow Never Dies, it was her 5th top 20 single, and it was a smashing one at that. The hormonal vocals wrapped with sinister guitar and a slow introduction is a deadly James Bond theme song. Another song called ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ was written by the film’s composer David Arnold and performed by K D Lang, but it was bumped to the end credits and renamed ‘Surrender’ when Crow’s version was chosen as the official theme.

7. Garbage – The World is not Enough
Film: The World is not Enough
Year: 1999
Highest UK Chart Position: 11

‘The World is not Enough’ is described as orchestral rock, another dramatic ballad, this time performed by 90’s rock group Garbage. The group recorded the tune whilst on tour promoting their platinum selling album Version 2.0. The song was created by keeping the traditional essence of the James Bond music in mind, but used post modern production techniques and Garbage’s genre bending style to make this a truly unique instalment to the James Bond theme song anthology.

8. Rita Coolidge – All Time High
Film: Octopussy
Year: 1983
Highest UK Chart Position: 75

This was the lowest charting James Bond theme song, ever. Not really a brilliant feat, but don’t you worry Rita, you’re number 8 to us. Although Coolidge’s career peaked 6 years previously, she was chosen to sing the song because Barbara Broccoli who was the assistant producer at the time and was a fan of the singer.

9. Sheena Easton – For Your Eyes Only
Film: For Your Eyes Only
Year: 1981
Highest UK Chart Position: 8

Did you know that Blondie wrote a theme song by the same name, but the directors preferred this one, written by Bill Conti and Mike Leeson? Blondie wrote her track in hope to be another notch on James Bond’s music bedpost but when her track was dismissed she refused to sing Conti and Leeson’s song, so missed her chance. They teamed up with Scottish singer Sheena Easton, who produced this little nugget of goodness.

10. Carly Simon – Nobody Does it Better
Film: The Spy Who Loved Me
Year: 1977
Highest UK Chart Position: 7

This was the first James Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film it was the main soundtrack for. It was Carly Simon’s longest running track in the charts, even outdoing her famous ‘Your So Vain’. It also received an Academy Award for Best Song, and was also honoured by the American Film Institute as 67th greatest song as part of their 100 Years Series. So an award winning song to finish off? Perfect!