Live and Let Die (with Neil Alcock)

To celebrate 50 years since the film's release we've got together with our friend and James Bond authority Neil Alcock for an episode on Live and Let Die. As we'll hear, the theme song by Wings represented a gear shift and a new direction for Bond themes, away from big band singers and towards rock. Was Paul McCartney instructed to write elements into the song to fit the film's theme?

We also talk about Bond and the Beatles as British cultural exports of the 1960s, and the connections between them, and we discuss George Martin's score, how that came about, and the elements of it that made a break with the Bond scores of the past.

Buy Neil's excellent book, HITCHOLOGY: A Film-by-Film Guide to the Style and Themes of Alfred Hitchcock: https://neilalcock.com/hitchology

• Neil's Blogalongabond entry on Live and Let Die from 2011: http://theincrediblesuit.blogspot.com/2011/08/blogalongabond-live-and-let-die.html
• BJ Arnau's version of the song, performed in the Harlem club in the film: https://youtu.be/LWKGfbs8dzo
• Guns n Roses cover version: https://youtu.be/RywqQ_AKB9M
• Byron Lee and the Dragonaires version: https://youtu.be/JSRRU_aLB_I
• Chrissie Hynde version (in which she removes the hanging preposition): https://youtu.be/534YARaE6h4
• Article on the debunking of the "they didn't want Paul to sing it" story: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/18/live-and-let-die-james-bond-theme-paul-mccartney
• Wings performance from the 1973 James Paul McCartney TV special, with Paul's exploding piano: https://youtu.be/ZwnX0iqKDdQ
• Picture of George Harrison wearing a 007 T-shirt: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdf

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

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