Sir Paul McCartney’s rendition of the title song for 1973’s Live And Let Die — with Roger Moore as the super spy — was the first James Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

007 (sometimes referred to as the 007 Theme and not to be confused with the James Bond Theme) is an adventure theme composed by John Barry in 1963 for From Russia with Love. The John Barry Seven had a pop chart hit with a cover version of Elmer Bernstein’s theme to The Magnificent Seven that featured seven beats repeated throughout the theme. Barry used seven beats throughout the 007 theme as well.

The theme for The Living Daylights (1987) was originally assigned to Brit electro kings Pet Shop Boys, who began work on the project but halted recording when they learned that they would not be allowed to score the entire film. The project was turned over to A-Ha. The Norwegian electro-rock pioneers did a splendid job.

While Bond themes have always been rather classy, trust Lady Madge to take it to the dancefloor. The title song for Die Another Day is the funkiest Bond song by a long shot. Madonna also went on to sing Beautiful Stranger in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

The James Bond Theme is a jazz instrumental tune. It is the main signature theme of the Bond films and has featured in every “official” 007 film since Dr. No in one form or another. The piece was used as a sort of introductory fanfare in conjunction with the gun barrel sequence in every Bond film (except the 2006 version of Casino Royale and Dr. No). The James Bond Theme was written by Monty Norman. For Dr. No, the tune was orchestrated by John Barry, who composed the soundtracks for 11 Bond films.

The theme song for the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye was written by Bono and The Edge of U2. Soul sister Tina Turner did yet another raunchy turn with the tune; unfortunately, critics and fans alike panned the GoldenEye soundtrack, feeling that the film’s music was the furthest from a traditional Bond score in the history of the series.

While many Bond themes have been sung by jazz/pop artistes, the 2006 Casino Royale marked a departure, bringing in former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell to sing You Know My Name.

Duran Duran’s theme song for A View To A Kill (1985) is the most successful Bond theme to date. Written by John Barry and Duran Duran, the song was recorded in London with a 60-piece orchestra. Duran Duran was chosen for the song after bassist John Taylor (a lifelong Bond fan) approached producer Cubby Broccoli at a party, and drunkenly asked, “When are you going to get someone decent to do one of your theme songs?” A View To A Kill topped the singles charts in America: the only Bond theme song to do so.