Looks like the tenner we put on Alan Partridge has come to nothing – bookies have suspended bets on Tom Hiddleston becoming the next Bond. But let’s not mourn this missed opportunity for an East Anglian 007 and instead remember those classic tunes that have accompanied the naked silhouette gymnastics of Bond title sequences down the years. Here’s our ten.
10 ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ – Shirley Bassey (1971)
It’s surely time for Dame Shirl to wrap her purring tonsils around another Bond theme, but while she waits for the call, let’s remember her second – and second best – Bond song, the bombastic ballroom blinder that launched a million Jay-Z shopping trips.
9 ‘Skyfall’ – Adele (2012)
Virtually a tribute to the Bassey classics, Adele sang the most recent Bond as if chewing on a particularly tasty basketball. ‘Skyfall’ was the first Bond theme to win awards at the Brits, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
8 ‘The World Is Not Enough’ – Garbage (1999)
Bond songs are generally best when they hark back to the goldfingered Bassey era and Garbage’s impressive recreation gave Brosnan’s stint a real touch of the Conneries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C5NLfYdZaE
7 ‘For Your Eyes Only’ – Sheena Easton (1981)
It’s been ruined by the rise of revenge porn, of course, but back in 1981 the saucy subtext to Sheena’s grandiose pop ballad gave Moore’s underwater romps in ‘For Your Eyes Only’ a coquettish romance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN1WBgS9u_E
6 ‘You Only Live Twice’ – Nancy Sinatra (1967)
You could Blofeld most audiences down with a feather (eyethankyew) at the beauty of Nancy Sinatra’s Oriental-tinged ‘You Only Live Twice’, even though she herself felt she sounded like Minnie Mouse on the song.
5 ‘A View To A Kill’ – Duran Duran (1985)
Bond’s only ever US Number One, the punchy synth stabs and cataclysmic caterwauling of ‘A View To A Kill’ defined Moore’s 80s stint. But please, don’t dance into the fire at home, Duran Duran are trained professionals.
4 ‘Goldfinger’ – Shirley Bassey (1964)
Talk? No, Mr Bond, we expect you to be fabulous! The iconic bond theme set the tone for the entire franchise, dripping glamour, wealth and oodles of filthy, devious sex.
3 ‘We Have All The Time In The World’ – Louis Armstrong (1969)
Probably the best thing about ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, Armstrong’s late-era masterpiece didn’t really come to prominence until it appeared in a 1994 Guinness advert. It’s now a first dance staple.
2 ‘Nobody Does It Better’ – Carly Simon (1977)
Basically an early form of Bond fan fiction, ‘Nobody Does It Better’ found Carly Simon fantasising about romancing 007. A hopeless cause though – her name wasn’t the slightest bit sexually provocative enough to interest him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNA7DcVppEs
1 ‘Live And Let Die’ – Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)
Can rock get more Bond? As thrilling as a speedboat chase, as romantic as a shag in a space station and as melodically deadly as poison dripping down a thread of cotton into a lover’s mouth, Macca’s ballsy voodoo rock classic is the exploding volcano missile base of Bond themes.