It's ten years ago that out of the blue on Christmas Day, Radiohead surprise-released a rejected Bond theme they’d made for the franchise’s 2015 film Spectre. It felt a little odd that one of the world’s best bands had gone to all that effort only for it to be kiboshed, possibly after its been tied to a table and had an industrial laser slice through hit.
But Radiohead are far from alone in that regard. A host of stars have had a crack at a Bond theme over the years only for producers to go looking elsewhere. Here’s a selection that were written, recorded and rejected – some better than the ones that were used. And some not.
Radiohead – Spectre
Well, we might as well start with Radiohead’s 2015 should've-been classic. This moody, soaring ballad would’ve been perfect for the moody, soaring film, but apparently arrived too late in the day for the filmmakers to use. That’s because Radiohead had already put in another entry titled Man Of War that was rejected when producers realised it was written back in the 90s rather than being written specifically for the film – a requirement so that Bond themes are eligible for the Oscars. Shame as both are a gazillion miles better than the effort from Sam “what did Adele do? I’ll just do that” Smith that was used.
Johnny Cash – Thunderball
It’s admirable how country legend Cash, reportedly a big Bond fan, refused to mix up his sound just because he was doing a Bond theme. With its bluegrass skiffle and Cash’s trademark baritone, his take only really would’ve worked if Thunderball was about Bond moving to Tennessee and becoming a cowboy. But Thunderball was not about that and so Cash’s song went unreleased until it appeared on the 2011 compilation Bootleg Vol 2: From Memphis To Hollywood.
Lana Del Rey – 24
It wasn’t just Radiohead who were rebuffed when it came to Spectre theme tunes. Del Rey claimed in the aftermath of Spectre’s release that she’d never been asked and that the gently stirring sway of Honeymoon cut 24 merely had a “Bond feel” to it, despite the fact it even ends with a strum of the famous Bond guitar sound. But the fact Spectre was Bond’s 24th outing had fans sure that she’d written it specifically, something later confirmed by producer Rick Nowels and, eventually, Del Rey too. “I wrote that for them,” she said. “I’m gonna continue to do my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and then and just pretend that it’s the title track.”
Pulp – Tomorrow Never Lies
Pulp were coming off the back of the gargantuan success of Different Class when they penned this effort as a contender for the theme to 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies. It’s a suitably epic and widescreen rocker, but it’s just hard imagining how Jarvis Cocker’s wry vocals could work in a Bond theme. He’s a bit more Austin Powers than Bond, James Bond, isn’t he? This saw the light of the day as a B-side to their 1998 single Help The Aged, retitled so as to avoid copyright issues.
Blondie – For Your Eyes Only
Debbie Harry & co. attempted to give Bond a bit of a new wave swagger with their proposed theme for the 1981 Roger Moore-starring Bond film of the same name. Unfortunately for them, the Bond team preferred another song from songwriting duo Michael Leeson and Bill Conti and asked Blondie to record that instead. They refused and so the task went to Sheena Easton, Blondie’s version appearing on their 1982 record The Hunter instead.
Pet Shop Boys – This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave
Whilst the lyrics to the finished track have no links to Bond, this song from the electro-pop duo’s 1990 album Behaviour has its roots in the 1987 Bond reboot The Living Daylights. There were rumours that the pair would be asked to do the Bond theme for the coming film and they worked this up in preparation, a sullen epic fit to a propulsive beat and wistful melody that features Johnny Marr on guitar. As it turned out, the job went to A-Ha instead. Marr would get a go at Bond eventually, playing on Billie Eilish’s No Time To Die theme.
Alice Cooper –Man With The Golden Gun
The Alice Cooper Band were on the crest of a wave to record what would become Muscle Of Love, to the point that despite the fact he hadn’t been asked, Cooper chose to record a theme tune for the next Bond film, confident that the film would take it. Him and his band emerged with a decent take, too, one born from their love and deep knowledge of John Barry’s Bond scores. The problem was they hadn’t factored filmmakers’ timescales. “It came in a day too late,” Cooper said. “By the time they heard it, they’d already signed for Lulu’s song. I went, ‘You’re gonna take Lulu over this?’.” They did take Lulu over this, and so another would-be Bond classic was resigned to the outtakes pile.
Adam Buxton – Quantum Of Solace
As I was writing this, my 11-year-old son came in and, when I told him what I was working on, said, ‘You’ve got to get Adam Buxton’s in there’. And he’s right. Buxton’s ‘Proposed Theme Song’ for Quantum Of Solace is the lost Bond theme to end all lost Bond themes, an essential listen in the face of the modern habit of Bond themes increasingly taking themselves too seriously. Altogether now, ‘the Something Of Boris…’.
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