It's recently been announced that Billie Eilish will be singing the theme to No Time to Die and she becomes the latest in a long line of Bond theme performers. The songs are a key part of the films and in many cases more than one artists was asked to pitched a title song. Many of those not selected have not been revealed to the wider world but there are a handful of alternate Bond themes out there that were rejected but released elsewhere.
Thunderball
The original title song for Thunderball was "Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" taken from an Italian journalist who used the phrase to describe James Bond. It was originally recorded by Bond-theme legend Shirley Bassey though is perhaps better known from a later version recorded by Dionne Warwick.
There's not a lot wrong with the song but producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman felt the theme really needed to have the film's title in the lyrics. In the end it was Tom Jones who gave us "Thunderball".
You Only Live Twice
The first demo of "You Only Live Twice" was sung by Julie Rogers but only two lines were used in the final version which was sung by Nancy Sinatra.
In the 1990s a mysterious version of the song by Northern Soul star Lorraine Chandler was discovered. It's not quite clear when this version was rejected but it's a rather different take that Northern Soul fans really like.
The Man with the Golden Gun
Elton John and Cat Stevens were suggested as possible artists for this theme song but in the end it was Lulu who was given the honour. Rock legend Alice Cooper wrote and performed a possible title track but it was rejected in favour of the innuendo-filled theme we're more familiar with.
Moonraker
Shirley Bassey ended up recording "Moonraker" as her third Bond theme but only she only stepped in at the last minute. Frank Sinatra was originally considered but was rejected, Kate Bush was asked but declined and Johnny Mathis, now best known for the Christmas hit "When a Child is Born", even started to record it but was unable to complete it.
For Your Eyes Only
Two possible themes were recorded for this film, one written by Bill Conti and performed by Sheena Easton, the other written and recorded by the band Blondie. When the band heard that producers wanted a recording of Conti's song they decided to decline the offer and later released it on the 1982 album "The Hunter".
Licence to Kill
The original theme for this Timothy Dalton outing was written by Eric Clapton with Vic Flick, the lead guitarist in the original recording of the classic 007 theme. They apparently created a theme to go with Dalton's gritty performance but it was turned down in favour of Gladys Knight's song.
GoldenEye
One possible GoldenEye theme was written by Swedish band Ace of Base but their record label pulled the song for fears of a negative impact if the film flopped. The song was rewritten and released as a single called "The Juvenile". Fortunately for us the demo version of the original song is online:
It was Tina Turner who ended up recording the film's title track with the song written by Bono and The Edge from U2.
Tomorrow Never Dies
There were around twelve submissions for this theme from the likes of Swan Lee, Saint Etienne, Marc Almond and Sheryl Crow, the latter of which's track was eventually chosen. Another rejected theme by Pulp was later released as "Tomorrow Never Lies".
Quantum of Solace
At one point the theme for Daniel Craig's second film was going to be recorded by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse- they recorded a demo version but the film makers decided not to go ahead with it because of Winehouse's legal issues at the time. There was a report that Winehouse said it was finished and wanted to release it to compete with the Jack White and Alesha Keys song "Another Way to Die" which became the theme, but it's unclear at whether this is true and it certainly never happened.
Spectre
Radiohead were commissioned to write the theme to this film and submitted an unreleased track called "Man of War" which they recorded in the 1990s. Because it was not written for the film it would not be eligible for the Oscar for Best Original Song so Radiohead ended up recording a new song entitled "Spectre".
This was rejected as too melancholy and Sam Smith submitted a demo of "Writing's on the Wall". The producers thought the demo was so good they used that exact version as the theme and the song became the first Bond theme to be number one in the UK.
Thunderball
The original title song for Thunderball was "Mr. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" taken from an Italian journalist who used the phrase to describe James Bond. It was originally recorded by Bond-theme legend Shirley Bassey though is perhaps better known from a later version recorded by Dionne Warwick.
There's not a lot wrong with the song but producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman felt the theme really needed to have the film's title in the lyrics. In the end it was Tom Jones who gave us "Thunderball".
You Only Live Twice
The first demo of "You Only Live Twice" was sung by Julie Rogers but only two lines were used in the final version which was sung by Nancy Sinatra.
The Man with the Golden Gun
Elton John and Cat Stevens were suggested as possible artists for this theme song but in the end it was Lulu who was given the honour. Rock legend Alice Cooper wrote and performed a possible title track but it was rejected in favour of the innuendo-filled theme we're more familiar with.
Moonraker
Shirley Bassey ended up recording "Moonraker" as her third Bond theme but only she only stepped in at the last minute. Frank Sinatra was originally considered but was rejected, Kate Bush was asked but declined and Johnny Mathis, now best known for the Christmas hit "When a Child is Born", even started to record it but was unable to complete it.
For Your Eyes Only
Two possible themes were recorded for this film, one written by Bill Conti and performed by Sheena Easton, the other written and recorded by the band Blondie. When the band heard that producers wanted a recording of Conti's song they decided to decline the offer and later released it on the 1982 album "The Hunter".
Licence to Kill
The original theme for this Timothy Dalton outing was written by Eric Clapton with Vic Flick, the lead guitarist in the original recording of the classic 007 theme. They apparently created a theme to go with Dalton's gritty performance but it was turned down in favour of Gladys Knight's song.
GoldenEye
One possible GoldenEye theme was written by Swedish band Ace of Base but their record label pulled the song for fears of a negative impact if the film flopped. The song was rewritten and released as a single called "The Juvenile". Fortunately for us the demo version of the original song is online:
It was Tina Turner who ended up recording the film's title track with the song written by Bono and The Edge from U2.
Tomorrow Never Dies
There were around twelve submissions for this theme from the likes of Swan Lee, Saint Etienne, Marc Almond and Sheryl Crow, the latter of which's track was eventually chosen. Another rejected theme by Pulp was later released as "Tomorrow Never Lies".
Quantum of Solace
At one point the theme for Daniel Craig's second film was going to be recorded by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse- they recorded a demo version but the film makers decided not to go ahead with it because of Winehouse's legal issues at the time. There was a report that Winehouse said it was finished and wanted to release it to compete with the Jack White and Alesha Keys song "Another Way to Die" which became the theme, but it's unclear at whether this is true and it certainly never happened.
Spectre
Radiohead were commissioned to write the theme to this film and submitted an unreleased track called "Man of War" which they recorded in the 1990s. Because it was not written for the film it would not be eligible for the Oscar for Best Original Song so Radiohead ended up recording a new song entitled "Spectre".
This was rejected as too melancholy and Sam Smith submitted a demo of "Writing's on the Wall". The producers thought the demo was so good they used that exact version as the theme and the song became the first Bond theme to be number one in the UK.
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