Moonraker

Words by Hal David and Music by John Barry

Arranged for Brass Band by Christopher Wormald

 

Ever since the first Iames Bond films were released all over the world in the early 1960s, the theme songs which featured in the

opening title sequence of each film quickly became ever more iconic in terms of global recognition for the exclusive collection of

artists fortunate enough to have be chosen. The arrival of every new Iames Bond film has always generated huge media

speculation as to which solo vocalist or band would be selected by the film's producers to compose, sing or perform the latest

theme song. In recent years, such interest has only served to increase with every new Iames Bond film which has been released,

such is the popularity and fan base of the world's longest running film franchise which has continued to grow ever larger well into

the twenty first century. '

 

In 1977, the unexpected, global box office phenomenon of ”Star Wars" took the producers of the Iames Bond films, as with the makers of "Star Wars” themselves, completely by surprise. Such was the staggering financial success and the unexpected, rekindled global interest in everything to do with outer space that the Iames Bond producers immediately switched their planned and intended next film of "For Your Eyes Only” over to ”Moonraker” instead and, in so doing, also chose to return for a third and final time to engage the iconic Welsh singing star Shirley Bassey to record the film's theme song, following on from her massive hit

with ”Goldfinger” in 1964 and the subsequent "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971.

 

Initially, the film ”Moonraker" divided opinion both critically and in terms of global, Iames Bond fan base reaction, but from a then, record production cost of $34 million to make, the box office returns in excess of $210 million established ”Moonraker" as the most lucrative and commercially successful of all the Iames Bond films ever made at that time, right through until "Goldeneye” in 1995. Legendary American lyricist Hal David was hired to collaborate with firmly established English James Bond composer John Barry to produce the title song of ”Moonraker” for Shirley Bassey to sing.