Words by Bailey Alexander
Following the loss of Tina Turner, one of music’s true legends, we take a look at look at the story behind one of her many iconic career highlights.
Since his debut in Dr. No, Ian Fleming’s James Bond has been a British film institution, Sean Connery’s portrayal set cinema ablaze, spawning what seems like an endless slew of follow-ups and sequels. However, by the end of the 80s, the film series had grown stale. Plagued by stagnating quality, Bond was stuck in the past, a victim of nostalgic 60s campiness and in dire need of a reality check.
1989’s Licence to Kill, the sixteenth Bond film and final 80s instalment, was met with a tepid response, not quite landing its intended harder edge. By the time the following film, GoldenEye, released, there hadn’t been a 007 instalment in six years: the longest time between movies of the franchise, and a record that still holds true to date.
What the James Bond IP needed was a jolt to the system, a soft reboot of sorts. First rule of order in the attempt to revive the series: the current Bond, Timothy Dalton, had to go. The character had been a consistent and notorious womaniser, with very little panache to his relationships. For the new era, production company Eon wanted to take Bond in a sexier direction: a Bond with the charisma of Connery looks of a contemporary film star. Big stars such as Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, and Hugh Grant passed on the role, before Eon settled on Irish star Pierce Brosnan.
The brand was set to relaunch with 1995’s Goldeneye, bolstered by a lightning-in-a-bottle combination of sex, charisma, and high stakes. This Bond incarnation would feel comparable to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt of the then-unreleased Mission: Impossible. Bond was now an action hero as opposed to the campy relic of the Cold-War he had thus far been written as. To match the rebranding of the character, a Bond theme of equal magnitude was needed.
The accompanying theme to a 007 movie is arguably just important a product to the studio as the movie. Prior to Goldeneye, some of the films’ themes had turned into massive mega hits that we still talk about today: see Shirley Bassey’s ‘Goldfinger’, Paul McCartney & Wings’ ‘Live and Let Die’, Nancy Sinatra’s ‘You Only Live Twice’, Carly Simon’s ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. Of course, more recently, other hits have been born out of Bond instalments, specifically Adele’s ‘Skyfall’. So, for Eon Productions, who were determined to drag Bond into the 90s kicking and screaming, they needed a sure-fire hit of a song, and an artist who could deliver it.
By this time, Tina Turner was of course already a legend. With a resumé boasting a slew of R&B hits sowed throughout the 60s and 70s, followed by a meteoric rise and transition to certified rockstar in the 80s, Turner had the chops for any job offered to her. On top of her chart success, she had also already scored a movie theme mega-hit with ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)’ for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, of which she also starred in opposite Mel Gibson.
In the 90s, Turner’s status as permanent A lister was further cemented with 1993’s What’s Love Got To Do With It, a biopic starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner, garnering the actress her first Oscar-nod. So, for the producers of Goldeneye, Tina Turner on a Bond theme was a no-brainer. For Turner, however, it wasn’t so straight-forward, almost turning the track down after being sent a “very rough” demo for the titular ‘GoldenEye’ by track-writer and U2 frontman Bono.
The resolution? A determined Bono calling Turner, imploring her to do the track. ‘GoldenEye’ was different to the themes had preceded it. Other themes, such as Gladys Knight’s ‘Licence to Kill’ and Duran Duran’s ‘A View to a Kill’ had managed to audibly capture the Bond character’s danger element as an international spy, but Turner’s theme does something new: it finally puts to use James Bond’s supposed sexiness.
Up until this point, the brand’s sex appeal was, from admittedly a modern point of view, purely carnal, often verging on the misogynistic. For the women of the film series, they were over-sexualised, and never truly in control of this sexuality. As for James Bond himself, his strong-armed masculinity would bounce around a room, like the ball in a supercharged pinball machine, with very little flair nor charm. Brosnan’s Bond was to be different however, and Tina Turner matched this new energy with a track draped in danger, sure, but equally adorned with a much needed seductive element.
Tina Turner was hot. Point blank, period. Why simply utilise her seductive vocals? A music video was commissioned. Shots switch between Turner, oozing sex appeal as per usual, a prowling cheetah, ‘007’ projected on the wall in a very 90s fashion, and clips from the film. Really pulling it together though, and firmly establishing this video as a product of the James Bond brand, is the gaggle of models strewn throughout the video, most notably towards the end when they begin brandishing AK-47s. It’s the ultimate crossover of sex, Bond, and violence. Oh, and camp. It seems the brand wouldn’t be ready to let go of its campiness until Daniel Craig’s era began in 2006.
‘GoldenEye’ was a hit, described as matching the “sweeping style” of the series’ early music, whilst managing to “retain its own identity”. With another hit under her belt, Tina could now tick ‘Bond theme’ off her bucket list, and enjoy being in a very exclusive club. But what makes ‘GoldenEye’ so important in Bond lore is more than its critical success. Somehow, it’s the perfect amalgamation of the diva track à la Shirley Bassey and the rock star (somewhat) à la Duran Duran. It’s a hard mix to land, but that’s the magic of Tina Turner: she crafted a track able to embrace the danger of Bond’s escapades, and somehow retain a splash of the campness then-synonymous with the series, rather than disregarding it completely. That’s the mark of a true artist: adaptation.
Perhaps Turner was the theme singer most like like James Bond: resilient, defiant, loud in her actions, and ambitious. Restarting her life in her 40s, Turner was a true survivor of the industry, and of life, earning her our endless adoration, respect, and awe. Tina Turner’s legacy simply cannot be limited to a single song, and her impact on a music of will surely never be forgotten.