Conti – who was also responsible for the film's score – had originally written the song thinking about Donna Summer or Dusty Springfield, singers he thought "fit the Bond style". Film studio United Artists suggested Sheena Easton, an up-and-coming singer who had recently scored a No.1 hit in America with "Morning Train". Conti heard Easton's debut album Take My Time and felt unimpressed but decided to work with her in the song after meeting Easton in person.
Leeson's lyrics originally used "for your eyes only" only as the final line, as the lyricist felt he could only use the phrase as a conclusion. After credit sequence artist Maurice Binder complained about having to synchronize the unveiling of the title with it being said in the theme song, Conti decided to work with Leeson to write lyrics that opened with "for your eyes only".[4] The US band Blondie had previously been asked to write the title song but it was rejected in favour of Conti's by the Bond producers. (Blondie's recording of a completely different song, also called "For Your Eyes Only", appeared on their 1982 album The Hunter).
Easton is the only artist (to date) to be seen singing the theme song to a Bond movie during its opening titles, as Maurice Binder liked Easton's appearance and decided to add her to the credits.[5] Her seductive appearance in these clips was, according to Roger Moore, sexier than any of the Bond girls, although Easton herself states that the filming process was very unglamorous.[6][7] In particular, Binder had to attach Easton to a chair so she would be immobile during a take where the camera zooms on the singer's lips.[5]
This was one of the few Bond themes not to have a contribution by John Barry. The song was produced by Christopher Neil, who was Easton's regular producer at the time.
The song was released as a single in June 1981, at the same time as the film's launch. It became a worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in the UK, number 1 in the Netherlands and top five in the US. It remains one of Easton's biggest hits and is included on compilation soundtrack albums.[8]
Record World said that Easton's vocal shows "overwhelming vocal range and power."[9]
Music videoedit
Two different music videos for the song were released. The first was the Maurice Binder title sequence from the film, but with the credits removed (therefore just showing Easton performing the song). The second was more conventional and was directed by Steve Barron.
^Slant Staff (October 4, 2021). "Every James Bond Theme Song Ranked". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2024. Sheena Easton's soft-rock power ballad matches the glossiness of For Your Eyes Only...
^Bill Conti. For Your Eyes Only audio commentary. For Your Eyes Only - Ultimate Edition, Disk 1: MGM Home Entertainment.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ abSilhouettes - the James Bond Titles. You Only Live Twice Ultimate Edition, Disk 2: MGM Home Entertainment.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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This article is about the Sheena Easton song For the Blondie song of this name see The Hunter Blondie album For Your Eyes Only is the theme to the 12th James Bond movie of the same name written by Bill Conti and Mick Leeson and performed by Scottish singer Sheena Easton The song reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the UK Singles Chart 2 3 It was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982 For Your Eyes Only Standard UK European and Brazilian artworkSingle by Sheena Eastonfrom the album For Your Eyes OnlyB side For Your Eyes Only instrumental Released19 June 1981Recorded1981GenreSoft rock 1 Length3 04 2 54 7 LabelLiberty original RT Industries current Songwriter s Bill ContiMick LeesonProducer s Christopher NeilSheena Easton singles chronology When He Shines 1981 For Your Eyes Only 1981 Just Another Broken Heart 1981 James Bond theme singles chronology Moonraker 1979 For Your Eyes Only 1981 All Time High 1983 Audio sample source source track filehelp Contents 1 Background 2 Music video 3 Chart history 3 1 Weekly charts 3 2 Year end charts 4 See also 5 ReferencesBackground editConti who was also responsible for the film s score had originally written the song thinking about Donna Summer or Dusty Springfield singers he thought fit the Bond style Film studio United Artists suggested Sheena Easton an up and coming singer who had recently scored a No 1 hit in America with Morning Train Conti heard Easton s debut album Take My Time and felt unimpressed but decided to work with her in the song after meeting Easton in person Leeson s lyrics originally used for your eyes only only as the final line as the lyricist felt he could only use the phrase as a conclusion After credit sequence artist Maurice Binder complained about having to synchronize the unveiling of the title with it being said in the theme song Conti decided to work with Leeson to write lyrics that opened with for your eyes only 4 The US band Blondie had previously been asked to write the title song but it was rejected in favour of Conti s by the Bond producers Blondie s recording of a completely different song also called For Your Eyes Only appeared on their 1982 album The Hunter Easton is the only artist to date to be seen singing the theme song to a Bond movie during its opening titles as Maurice Binder liked Easton s appearance and decided to add her to the credits 5 Her seductive appearance in these clips was according to Roger Moore sexier than any of the Bond girls although Easton herself states that the filming process was very unglamorous 6 7 In particular Binder had to attach Easton to a chair so she would be immobile during a take where the camera zooms on the singer s lips 5 This was one of the few Bond themes not to have a contribution by John Barry The song was produced by Christopher Neil who was Easton s regular producer at the time The song was released as a single in June 1981 at the same time as the film s launch It became a worldwide hit reaching the top ten in the UK number 1 in the Netherlands and top five in the US It remains one of Easton s biggest hits and is included on compilation soundtrack albums 8 Record World said that Easton s vocal shows overwhelming vocal range and power 9 Music video editTwo different music videos for the song were released The first was the Maurice Binder title sequence from the film but with the credits removed therefore just showing Easton performing the song The second was more conventional and was directed by Steve Barron Chart history editWeekly charts edit Chart 1981 Peakposition Australian Kent Music Report 6 Austrian Top 40 3 Belgium Ultratop 5 Canadian RPM Top Singles 5 Netherlands Dutch Top 40 10 1 Netherlands Single Top 100 11 1 French Singles Chart 4 German Top 100 5 Irish Singles Chart 11 Japan Oricon Singles Chart 22 New Zealand Singles Chart 4 Norwegian Singles Chart 1 Spanish Singles Chart 11 Swedish Singles Chart 3 Swiss Singles Chart 1 UK Singles OCC 12 8 US Billboard Hot 100 13 4 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 6 US Cash Box Top 100 14 3 Year end charts edit Chart 1981 Rank Canada 15 36 Switzerland 16 4 US Top Pop Singles Billboard 17 92 US Adult Contemporary Billboard 18 33 US Cash Box 19 28 Chart 1982 Rank Australia Kent Music Report 20 39See also editJames Bond music Outline of James BondReferences edit Slant Staff October 4 2021 Every James Bond Theme Song Ranked Slant Magazine Retrieved January 27 2024 Sheena Easton s soft rock power ballad matches the glossiness of For Your Eyes Only Whitburn Joel 2006 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits Billboard Books Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums London Guinness World Records Limited Bill Conti For Your Eyes Only audio commentary For Your Eyes Only Ultimate Edition Disk 1 MGM Home Entertainment a href Template Cite AV media html title Template Cite AV media cite AV media a CS1 maint location link a b Silhouettes the James Bond Titles You Only Live Twice Ultimate Edition Disk 2 MGM Home Entertainment a href Template Cite AV media html title Template Cite AV media cite AV media a CS1 maint location link Channel 4 Top Ten Pop Princesses documentary BBC documentary Never Can Say Goodbye November 2000 Allmusic Hits of the Week PDF Record World July 4 1981 p 1 Retrieved 2023 02 28 Nederlandse Top 40 week 37 1981 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 31 December 2017 Sheena Easton For Your Eyes Only in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 31 December 2017 Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 12 December 2018 Sheena Easton Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved 12 December 2018 Cash Box Top 100 Singles October 31 1981 Archived from the original on May 11 2012 Retrieved February 13 2022 The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year End article Top 100 Singles 1981 RPM Retrieved 2018 01 05 Swiss Year End Charts 1981 Number One Awards Billboard s 1981 Year End Charts Pop Singles Billboard Vol 93 no 51 December 26 1981 p YE 9 Retrieved 5 April 2020 Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1981 45cat Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 26 1981 National Top 100 Singles for 1981 Kent Music Report 393 4 January 1982 via Imgur Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title For Your Eyes Only song amp oldid 1216209027, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
