Bond, James Bond - Bond Themes

As part of our look back at James Bond, ahead of the SPECTRE release, Steve Taylor- Bryant gives us his favourite Bond themes...

The theme tune of a James Bond is vital. No other franchise has anything as synonymous with it as the Bond theme. Composers come and go, even Bond survived the sad passing of John Barry, toys change as technology and tastes adapt to different eras of time, even actors change which leads to great debates amongst fans, but the Bond theme is almost as important as the film itself. Who to choose to sing? Does the song include the film's title? Will it be catchy or moody? All questions we raise every time a Bond film is announced. I asked about the new Bond theme before I even knew the title would be SPECTRE which shows how deeply embedded in my own brand of popular culture they are. There have been some superb songs, songs that went on to be successful in their own right and as covers by the next generation of musicians, Live and Let Die was a superb non-Beatles McCartney song that went on to be covered by Guns 'n' Roses and so was pretty much in my ear holes for most of my nearly forty years, but there have also been some rotten attempts. I don't enjoy Madonna bashing (okay maybe a little) but Die Another Day was just plain awful and the final nail in a woeful film and proof that not even the world's biggest pop star is necessarily the right fit. There's also the ones that got away, Alice Cooper's The Man With The Golden Gun, Johnny Cash singing Thunderball and Blondie doing a version of For Your Eyes Only would have all made my list had they officially been the theme songs used in their respective films.

The Bond songs are also nearly as divisive as the actors amongst fans. So here for one of our Bond-day pieces are my top five bond songs. I look forward to you telling me yours!