The intro tracks for the James Bond films have become an iconic part of the franchise, with the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey, Madonna and Adele contributing in the past.
Everyone has an opinion on what the best theme is – but what is the most popular?
While we know that Sam Smith’s The Writing’s On The Wall is the only one to reach Number 1 in the UK, it’s interesting to see how they all compare by their Spotify streaming numbers.
Spotify, of course, has only become a huge way of consuming music relatively recently, so these numbers alone don’t tell us the most popular 007 songs ever.
But they do give us an indication of what Bond themes have still had people listening over the last few years.
While it won’t be a surprise to see the two newest entries at the top – Adele and Smith – given that their songs actually came out during the streaming era, further down the list we can get a good indication of which older themes are standing the test of time – and which aren’t.
So here are all Bond themes ranked by their Spotify streaming totals, including both for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
1. The Writing’s On The Wall – Sam Smith (Spectre) – 151.3 million
2. Skyfall – Adele (Skyfall) – 104.4 million
3. Live and Let Die – Paul McCartney and Wings (Live and Let Die) – 46.8 million
4. You Know My Name – Chris Cornell (Casino Royale) – 34.1 million
5. A View To A Kill – Duran Duran (A View to A Kill) – 26.8 million
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6. Another Way To Die – Jack White and Alicia Keys (Quantum of Solace) – 23.1 million
7. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon (The Spy Who Loved Me) – 19.1 million
8. Die Another Day – Madonna (Die Another Day) – 18.2 million
9. Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger) – 11.7 million
10. The World Is Not Enough – Garbage (The World Is Not Enough) – 11.3 million
11. Diamonds are Forever – Shirley Bassey (Diamonds Are Forever) – 10.7 million
12. Goldeneye – Tina Turner (GoldenEye) – 10.3 million
13. James Bond Theme from Dr No – John Barry Orchestra (Dr No) – 9.8 million
14. For Your Eyes Only – Sheena Easton (For Your Eyes Only) – 8.5 million
15. The Living Daylights – A-Ha (The Living Daylights) – 8.1 million
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16. You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra (You Only Live Twice) – 7.4 million
17. From Russia With Love – Matt Monro (From Russia With Love) – 6.0 million
18. Tomorrow Never Dies – Sheryl Crow (Tomorrow Never Dies) – 5.2 million
19. Thunderball – Tom Jones (Thunderball) – 5.0 million
20. We Have All The Time In The World – Louis Armstrong (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) – 4.6 million
21. Moonraker – Shirley Bassey (Moonraker) – 3.8 million
22. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – John Barry Orchestra (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) – 3.5 million
23. Licence To Kill – Gladys Knight (Licence To Kill) – 3.2 million
24. All Time High – Rita Coolidge (Octopussy) – 1.9 million
25. The Man With The Golden Gun – Lulu (The Man With The Golden Gun) – 1.4 million
James Bond 25 is out in April 2020.