Blondie's For Your Eyes Only - The Bond Theme That Wasn't (Music Monday)
This might have been a Top 5 Bond theme if only they'd used it
Blondie's "For Your Eyes Only" - one of the great musical what-ifs of cinema history! This track has that unmistakable early 80s Blondie sound while simultaneously capturing the essence of a classic Bond theme.
What makes this song particularly interesting is that Blondie was actually in the running to perform the official theme for the 1981 Bond film "For Your Eyes Only," but the producers ultimately went with Sheena Easton's version instead. Undeterred, Debbie Harry and the band released their own composition on their 1982 album "The Hunter."
The song opens with those dramatic, suspenseful chords that immediately transport you to the world of 007. You can almost visualize those iconic Bond opening credits - silhouettes of hot babes, stylized figures of James Bond with his gun out, and abstract imagery flowing across the screen. Debbie Harry's distinctive vocals float above the instrumentation with that perfect blend of sultry confidence and slight detachment that fits the Bond aesthetic so well.
The song even has that “second half of the credits” shift at the 1:39 mark where the song goes back to verses and the text would let us know Derek Meddings was the Visual Effects Editor.
Next time you're having a Bond theme marathon, this one definitely deserves inclusion, even if it never made it to the official franchise. I’ve been playing this a lot lately, and it will be the leadoff track on the “Summer 2025 Playlist” which we’ll get to when we get a little closer to Memorial Day.
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