By Ash Wakeman

November 21, 2002

While an ongoing re-inventing of the James Bond franchise for an evolving audience has proven necessary to maintain box office success, there is also an underlying formula that is immune from tampering. Several elements, in terms of script, concept and visuals remain a tradition in one of the longest running and most successful franchises in western cinema. One of these traditions is the theme song played during the opening credits.

For the most part the Bond films have a memorable score. John Barry is famously responsible for many of them, though recently the chore has fallen to David Arnold, who is proving to be a worthy successor. The centrepiece of this of this score is the theme song. As befits Mr Bond himself, the theme tune is usually an extravagant torch song. Generally, the theme is supplied by a vocalist who is more often than not female, and almost always British.

The first Bond film, Dr. No, didn’t have a separate theme song other than Barry’s iconic Bond theme. The tradition did not start until the second film and Matt Monro’s From Russia with Love. However, it was 1964’s Goldfinger that provided the first truly memorable theme. Shirley Bassey’s distinctive and powerful voice belt out one of the most fondly remembered (and most often lampooned) theme tunes ever. Bassey would go on to do two more Bond themes (no one else has done more than one), but this will always be regarded as her best.

For Thunderball, another memorable theme, the vocals were supplied by Tom Jones, another distinctive Welsh voice who at that time was one of the most famous entertainers in the world. It is one of the few times a man has sung the theme. Nancy Sinatra’s You Only Live Twice was next, and while the song is not as flamboyant as those of Bassey and Jones, it is a memorable and popular tune for a very popular Bond film.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service saw Connery replaced with Lazenby and the formula tampered with somewhat. The traditional theme song was jettisoned for a Barry instrumental that was to become another recurring theme in the movies to follow. The film tends to be one that Bond fans either love or hate, with many (myself included) listing it as their favorite. Connery returned for one last time in Diamonds are Forever (Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball, exists outside of what is considered Bond canon). Shirley Bassey again lends her voice to another classic.

Live and Let Die saw another paradigm shift, as the much-maligned Roger Moore took over the role of Bond. Bond’s first rock theme was provided by Wings (led by Paul McCartney). Despite the change in pace, it remains one of the more popular and successful themes.

Diminutive Scottish lass Lulu, who had previously had success with To Sir with Love, provided theme duties on The Man with the Golden Gun, Moore’s second film. It’s not a standout song, and Lulu really doesn’t have the voice to carry it off, unlike Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me), which remains one of the most popular Bond themes from what was probably the best Moore film. The song and lyrics neatly bookend her Your So Vain, another famous ‘70s hit.

Bassey returned for a third helping on Moonraker, which is probably her weakest effort and not as fondly remembered as her previous two themes. It was back to Scotland for the theme song For Your Eyes Only, with the petite Sheena Easton providing the vocals on an adequate if not outstanding tune. Octopussy followed, a forgettable movie, with a forgettable theme: All Time High, by Rita Coolidge.

For a lot of Bond purists, the next two films where an all-time low in terms of theme tunes. Duran Duran’s A View to a Kill and A-Ha’s The Living Daylights. Divas were dumped for the Euro-pop flavour of the day with mixed results. License to Kill (Dalton’s second and final appearance as Bond) saw a return to tradition with Gladys Knight having the right pedigree for the job, but unfortunately not too much to work with.

1995’s Goldeneye saw a bit of a rebirth of the Bond franchise. A new Bond, a bigger budget and better marketing saw a dying franchise turned into a box office money- maker again. While Tina Turner did her best to capture the essence of older Bond themes, it didn’t quite gel and opinions were very much divided on it. Although the franchise has strengthened in terms of box office since then, neither Tomorrow Never Dies (featuring Sheryl Crow on theme duties) and The World is Not Enough (with Shirley Manson fronting Garbage) quite lived up to past glories.

In the recent films, there has been a concerted effort to stay true to the bond tradition of powerful female vocalists belting out the Bond theme. In a concession to a new generation of Bond fans, there has also been an attempt to bring more modern vocalists into the mix.

Madonna, one of the biggest female singers in history and still very much a force in the music industry today, must have been a natural choice. Her theme for Die Another Day has received a decidedly mixed reaction so far. I’m reserving judgement for now, as I really need to see it in the correct context (ten rows back, centre seat, popcorn in one hand, Walther PPK in the other) before I’ll make up my mind.

Out of interest, I ran a quick poll on favorite and least favorite Bond themes back at BOP headquarters and the results were pretty conclusive. The top three were extremely close and accounted for 90% of the votes between them; nothing else was remotely close to catching them:

1. Live and Let Die - Wings
2. Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey
3. Nobody Does it Better (The Spy Who Loved Me) - Carly Simon

For the worst themes it was a lot closer, with half a dozen bunched around the bottom. But there can only be three losers:

17. A View to A Kill - Duran Duran
18. The Living Daylights - A-Ha
19. All Time High (Octopussy) - Rita (who?) Coolidge