For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton song)
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| "For Your Eyes Only" | |||||||
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| Single by Sheena Easton | |||||||
| from the album For Your Eyes Only O.S.T. |
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| B-side | "For Your Eyes Only" (instrumental) | ||||||
| Released | 1981 | ||||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | ||||||
| Genre | Bond theme / Ballad | ||||||
| Length | 3:04 | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Bill Conti and Mick Leeson | ||||||
| Producer | Christopher Neil | ||||||
| Sheena Easton singles chronology | |||||||
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"For Your Eyes Only" is the theme tune to the 12th James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only, performed by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was nominated for Best Song at the Academy Awards in 1982.
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[edit] Background
The American new wave band Blondie wrote a song entitled "For Your Eyes Only" in the hopes of making it the upcoming James Bond film's opening-title theme. The producers preferred another song with the same title, written by Bill Conti and Mike Leeson. Blondie turned down an offer to record Conti and Leeson's song. (The band later included their "For Your Eyes Only" song on the 1982 album The Hunter.)
Sheena Easton was keen to accept the offer to perform Conti and Leeson's song for the film. She had recently scored a No.1 hit in America with "Morning Train" and was becoming a big name throughout the world.
Easton was the only artist to be seen singing the theme song to a Bond movie during its opening titles. Her seductive appearance in these clips was, according to Roger Moore, more sexy than any of the Bond girls, although Easton herself states that the filming process was very unglamorous.[1][2] Easton is one of three Scots to have sung a Bond theme, the others being Lulu's singing The Man with the Golden Gun and Shirley Manson (as part of the band Garbage) for The World is Not Enough.[citation needed]
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 her 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 and top five in the US. It remains one of Easton's biggest hits and is still included on numerous compilation soundtrack albums.[3]
[edit] Cover versions
- Bradley Joseph, who toured with Easton for a number of years as her musical director, arranged an instrumental version for his 2006 album, Piano Love Songs.
- Also in 2006 the song was covered by Thomas Anders for his swing album Songs Forever.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Media Control Charts | 5 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
