meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Composer David Arnold & Lyricist Don Black On The Music Of James Bond

Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Edith Bowman

Music, Arts, Tv & Film

4.6786 Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2018

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Our latest episode of Soundtracking is a celebration of all things 007, following an event recorded at the London Film Museum with David Arnold and Don Black.

 The pair have Bond in their blood. Don has provided lyrics for some of the most memorable title tunes, while David has scored 5 of the movies - including The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale. You'll hear plenty of examples of their work, alongside that of the great John Barry, whose themes and score is so inextricably linked to the success of the franchise.  

We should say that due to circumstances beyond our control, the sound is pretty poor in places, so many apologies for that. But the music, of course, is of the very highest quality ... 

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This week's soundtracking is a celebration of all things, 007, following an event recorded at the London Film Museum with David Arnold and Don Black.

0:12.0

Now, the pair have bond in their blood. Don has provided lyrics for some of the most memorable title tunes, whilst David has scored five of the movies, including The World is Not Enough,

0:22.2

Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale. You'll hear plenty examples of their work alongside that of

0:28.1

the great John Barney, whose work is so inextricably linked to the success of the franchise.

0:34.5

I should say that due to circumstances beyond our control, the sound is pretty

0:39.4

poor in places. So huge apologies for that. But the music, of course, is of the very

0:46.2

highest standard. Thank you so much for being here tonight.

1:09.0

Bond's just always been there.

1:28.7

You hear a bar from one of those iconic pieces of music and you're instantly transported back to a car chase, a love scene, a silly line, a wonderful moment throughout its history. And it's my absolute pleasure to welcome tonight to people who have been such a huge part of Bond over the years,

1:32.8

and in particular the music. And when you think of Bond, I think one of the things that you first think about is the music, because it is such an important part of the success and the brilliant

1:38.8

creativity behind the films, both in terms of its score and those original songs that we've

1:43.4

seen some of the biggest

1:44.3

and most successful artists in the world perform win Oscars all sorts so please put your hands

1:49.7

together and welcome tonight's guest mr david arnold and mr don black thank you for being here.

2:03.6

Delighted.

2:05.6

Yeah.

2:06.6

I mean, I can't go wrong.

2:07.6

Well, I was just saying to everybody here tonight that, you know,

2:10.6

Bonn's been part of all of our lives for so long.

2:13.6

You guys are slightly differently from us, but it's been such a big part. Don, where did your relationship with Bond start?

2:20.3

Well, funnily enough, it started before I started writing.

2:24.3

It was even before there. I have a tenuous link with James Bond.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Edith Bowman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Edith Bowman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.