Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: A James Bond Music Podcast

Enter Timothy Dalton. In the season two finale, Morgan and Tom crack open The Living Daylights (1987) — the film that reset 007 for the Cold War and, in our book, gave us the most underrated Bond of them all. On the music side it's the end of an era: John Barry's final Bond score, a sequenced-synth theme co-written with Pål Waaktaar and performed by a-ha at the absolute peak of their fame… and one of the most gloriously fractious artist relationships in Bond history. Hitler Youth jibes, a boycotted London premiere, two rival mixes of the same song, a rejected Pet Shop Boys demo and a pair of Pretenders tracks — plus Morgan's three-day, off-the-grid Bond marathon.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang continues its mission to unpack the James Bond musical canon with 1963's From Russia with Love — the film that gave us the very first Bond theme song. Tom and Morgan dive into Sean Connery's second outing as 007, a Cold War thriller packed with franchise firsts: the pre-title sequence, Blofeld, Desmond Llewelyn's Q, and the promise that "James Bond will return". But famously, this is a music podcast — so we're here for John Barry's first full Bond score, the debut of the percussive '007' theme, and Lionel Bart's title song, sung magnificently by "the Man with the Golden Voice" himself, Matt Monro. Along the way: why Frank Sinatra (allegedly) turned the song down, the mystery of the lost soundtrack recordings, the astonishing link between John Barry and Linkin Park's 'Faint', and whether a beautiful love song that predates the Goldfinger template can truly rank among the great Bond themes.

Shoot 'em up, bang bang! Tom and Morgan unlock 'Another Way to Die', Jack White and Alicia Keys' theme for Quantum of Solace (2008) – and the only duet in James Bond theme history. We dig into the film's troubled production during the Writers Guild strike, Daniel Craig's second outing as 007, and why this direct sequel to Casino Royale left so many fans underwhelmed. Then it's on to the song: David Arnold's fifth Bond score, the Nashville sessions with the Memphis Horns, the Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson theme that never was, Duffy and Leona Lewis rumours, Adam and Joe's parody songs, and the big question – should Alicia Keys have sung it alone?

Morgan and Tom load the golden bullet and take on 'The Man with the Golden Gun', Lulu's much-maligned theme to the 1974 film — and end up mounting a spirited defence of it. We set the scene on Roger Moore's second outing as 007, Christopher Lee's superb Scaramanga and a film often pegged as bottom-tier Bond, before turning to the music: John Barry's return after a film away, lyricist Don Black, and Barry's own brutal verdict on a song he hated. We dig into the unique end-credits version that actually names James Bond, the theme's unwanted record as the only Bond title track never to chart, Alice Cooper's rejected version that arrived "a day too late", and a slice of exclusive content as Morgan plays a clip of Lulu herself looking back on the song. So is it really the worst Bond theme, or a short, sharp, underrated bit of fun? You decide.

The one we'd been putting off. In 1983, Octopussy gave Roger Moore his sixth outing as 007 — and handed John Barry and Tim Rice the job of writing the theme. The result was 'All Time High', sung by Rita Coolidge: a dreamy ballad that arguably has less "Bondness" than any theme before or since. This week, Morgan and Tom set the scene on a film made under the shadow of a rival Bond (Sean Connery's Never Say Never Again), revisit a Roger Moore many had written off, and then get stuck into the song itself — the least-known singer in Bond theme history, the title that doesn't mention the film, the chart flop, and why this one keeps landing at the very bottom of the rankings. Sorry, Rita.

In 1995, GoldenEye relaunched a franchise many had written off, handed the Walther PPK to Pierce Brosnan, and gave us one of the most iconic Bond themes of the lot. But the road to that theme was anything but smooth. This week, Morgan and Tom unpack how GoldenEye came together: Éric Serra's famously divisive score, John Barry turning the film down, and the strange chain of events that led to Bono and The Edge writing a song for Tina Turner — who reportedly thought the demo was so bad she nearly refused to sing it. Plus the Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me theory, the legendary GoldenEye 007 on the N64, and where the song lands in the Bond canon.

Tom and Morgan take us back to Pierce Brosnan's third outing as James Bond from 1999. The film's title theme was performed by indie-rock band Garbage, with Shirley Manson revealing just how much of a fan she was of the series. We find out who else was apparently in the running, the different version of the song and much more.

Technically, not the main theme of the film, but Morgan and Tom discuss the beautiful Louis Armstrong ballad from the iconic George Lazenby James Bond movie. We look at how Louis got involved in the project, how it was brought back many years later and the song's ongoing legacy.

Morgan and Tom dissect Tom Jones's barnstorming 60s Bond theme 'Thunderball', and its movie of the same name starring Sean Connery. From the original plans featuring a different song title, to Tom Jones almost passing out while recording the final line, to Johnny Cash's excellent attempt, there's a lot to unpack.

Morgan and Tom look back at the theme song of Timothy Dalton's second and final outing as James Bond: Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight. We discuss how the song fits into arguably the best Bond film of the 80s, and the story behind the track which was written by the people behind the biggest Christmas song of the last 35 years.

We discuss the first theme song in Daniel Craig's era as James Bond: Chris Cornell's 'You Know My Name' from Casino Royale. The rock anthem by the Soundgarden frontman was perhaps a surprising choice for the franchise at the time, but how did it work as part of the film's mood and where does it rank in our list of favourite Bond themes?

In the first episode of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tom and Morgan discuss the history of the song that helped kick of Roger Moore's first James Bond film. Paul McCartney and Wings teamed up with Beatles producer George Martin for this iconic title theme song, even though he wasn't necessarily one film producer's first choice. We look back at the story of the song, its success and legacy, and how it sits within the film itself.

Stay tuned to this frequency... Welcome to a brand new podcast from the guys behind Two Geeks Two Beers. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a podcast where we’ll be discussing and dissecting some of our favourite theme songs from across six decades of James Bond movies. From the brassy brilliance of Thunderball to the rock reinvention of Casino Royale’s You Know My Name, we’ll be unpacking each song’s origins and analyzing its chart performance, from the disappointing lows to the all time highs… Plus, we’ll explore each song’s place in the history of the franchise, how it reflects the themes and mood of the film it was made for, and the era it was made in.