The original unused 'Never Say Never Again' theme by Phyllis Hyman

Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
edited August 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 13,355
Some may know of this, some may not, so here it is:

Prior to the release of <i>Never Say Never Again</i> in 1983, Stephen Forsyth and Jim Ryan wrote what was intended to be the film's theme song, but their tune was axed when Michel Legrand, who created the film's score, threatened to sue.

As Forsyth explains:

"During the filming of the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again, I co-wrote the title song for the movie with Jim Ryan. Warner Brothers informed our attorney that the song was to be used as the title song in the picture. However, shortly before its release, Warner Bros informed us that the song could not be used because Michel Legrand, who wrote the score, threatened to sue them, claiming that contractually he had the right to the title song. So my song was never released. The legendary Phyllis Hyman was my first choice to sing the song and working with her is one of the highlights of my musical career. I personally auditioned and sang the song to her while she was having breakfast in her manager’s office. After agreeing to sing the song, she arrived at the studio and, without any rehearsal and only having heard the song sung once at the breakfast audition, sang the song in one perfect take. Phyllis sadly took her own life in the early nineties. The year before she died, she called me late one night and told me she felt that "Never Say Never Again" was her best and favorite recording."

It's worthwhile noting the song also used some notes and motifs from The James Bond Theme, maybe another reason for it not being used in the final film. I also can't see this song, as good as it is, playing over the opening - though any song playing over <i>that</i> opening would've been bad.

The original idea was to have a ticking bomb sound which increases and gets louder as the "test mission" draws to a close, adding tension. This would have been great in my opinion, but no they had to use a song.

Anyway, this song was only first released in 2008. Here it is:

Comments

  • Posts: 5,767
    I think the song was posted on the old lost forums.
    Not a bad song.
    Nice 80s production sound ;-) .
  • Posts: 5,634
    NSNA is not an official bond movie

    Came out the same year as Octopussy but don't recall I even went to see it

    I listened to a bit of it and first off I favored the proper one that came out at the time



  • Much better than what they ended up with. "Who's strangling the cat?"
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    Here's the song to a fan made video/opening sequence version-

  • Interesting...I don't think I've ever heard this before. I like it better than the official NSNA song although it does sound tremendously like "easy listening FM radio" to me...although so did All Time High to a degree (but not as much as this).

    This takes me back to an argument I had with a fellow student when NSNA came out...he just couldn't understand why NSNA didn't have the gunbarrel, the James Bond Theme, or the same actors playing M, Q, Moneypenny, etc. After explaining that it wasn't an official Bond film he said that the makers of NSNA should have just used the music, gunbarrel, and same actors anyway. When I explained - over and over again - that EON wouldn't let them he kept saying but they should have just asked and then they could have. I was getting increasingly frustrated because he wouldn't understand; HE was getting angry with me because I wouldn't understand how simple it would have been for NSNA to get to use those things! And he would have been 14 years old - it's not like he was 5!
  • Posts: 5,767
    @thelordflasheart Looks like he had still kept some idealism in his old days, and not given in yet to world-weariness ;-) .
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,341
    NSNA is not an official bond movie

    Came out the same year as Octopussy but don't recall I even went to see it

    I listened to a bit of it and first off I favored the proper one that came out at the time

    Then you better go see it as fast as possible!
  • There was a special on ITV (I think) in 2006 that discussed all the Bond themes, including Herb's "Casino Royale" and Lani's "NSNA." Lani and her husband Herb Alpert (ain't that ironic?) BOTH discuss their hatred for her song, and she apparently wishes she never had to sing it. Bonnie Tyler was the first choice, but she disliked it as well.
  • Posts: 1,971
    Much better.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,244
    Not a good song, but loads better than what the film ended up with. oh well. Film ain't good either.
  • The amount of work getting anything like this produced and then approved by a bunch of gray suited accountants or studio executives as they are commonly known, is immense. So I always believe whatever we see or hear is always a compromise. The true greats, film or songs or soundtracks have never been touched by anyone other than the creative source.

    So fair play to these people I know how tough it is to get anything through.

    By the way the song is rubbish.

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited September 2011 Posts: 13,355
    By the way the song is rubbish.
    Really? I find it OK but it's at least much better than the song we got. Though no song at all would have been even better.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,244
    The amount of work getting anything like this produced and then approved by a bunch of gray suited accountants or studio executives as they are commonly known, is immense. So I always believe whatever we see or hear is always a compromise. The true greats, film or songs or soundtracks have never been touched by anyone other than the creative source.

    So fair play to these people I know how tough it is to get anything through.

    By the way the song is rubbish.

    Then next time I hope they put their hearing aids to ' on' instead of ' off' as they did with QoS
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