A sunken British ship and missing nuclear missile command system. An ally who turns out to be the bad guy. And of course plenty of stunning, leggy women and drinks consumed with class. For Your Eyes Only, the 12th movie in the Bond series, was one of the late Roger Moore’s best appearances as the secret agent James Bond, and the film’s memorable theme song is also one of the stand-outs.
“For Your Eyes Only” was written by Bill Conti (an American composer known for his film scores for Rocky, Dynasty and The Right Stuff), with lyrics by Mick Leeson, and released by upcoming Scottish singer Sheena Easton in 1981. When Conti wrote the song, he’d envisaged it being sung by a star like Dusty Springfield or Donna Summer, and was apparently not convinced that Easton had the chops. However, he changed his tune after meeting her in person.
Easton, who had just had a #1 hit with “Morning Train”, is one of the only artists to appear singing (seductively) in a Bond film’s opening credits, as the title designer liked her look. Roger Moore even said that Easton was more sexy than any of the Bond girls. “For Your Eyes Only” became a worldwide hit, reaching #6 on the Australian charts, and remains one of Easton’s biggest hits.
One last fun fact: Like several other artists (including Alice Cooper and Johnny Cash) that missed out on becoming 007 theme writers, Blondie also recorded a song for the For Your Eyes Only film that was rejected by the studio. Blondie’s submission was included on their 1982 concept album The Hunter.
- RB
