Somebody did it better
QUESTION
Has anyone turned down the opportunity to perform a James Bond theme song? YOU would expect most pop stars to be delighted at the chance to sing a Bond theme song, but a surprising number of bands have turned it down.
The Swedish dance act Ace Of Base was the first choice to record the theme tune to Pierce Brosnan’s first Bond outing, Golden Eye, in 1995.
The band were riding high in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, with All That She Wants reaching No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, and The Sign reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the US.
Despite recording a demo for the film, their record company Arista pulled the band from the project because it was worried that 007’s return would be a flop and damage the group’s reputation.
However, not only was the movie a huge commercial hit, but the replacement track, written by U2’s Bono and The Edge, rebooted Tina Turner’s career. Ace Of Base re-recorded their version as The Juvenile and released it as a single in 2002. It reached No.78 in the German charts.
The Pet Shop Boys submitted a demo for The Living Daylights in 1987, Timothy Dalton’s first outing as Bond, and started to work on writing the soundtrack. However, when the film producers didn’t agree to the band taking creative control of the entire film’s music, they pulled out, leaving the way for Norwegian band A-ha to record arguably the worst theme tune of the Bond franchise.
The Pet Shop Boys later reworked their demo and renamed it This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave. Blondie was selected to sing For Your Eyes Only for the 1981 Bond movie.
However, on learning that Bill Conti, the composer of the Rocky soundtrack, had been asked to pen the track instead of the band, they pulled out and Sheena Easton filled in. Blondie included their version of the song on their 1982 album The Hunter. Mike Robson, South Shields, Tyneside.
QUESTION
Was the story of Santiago flight 513 ever proved to be a hoax? THE extraordinary tale of Santiago flight 513 was printed in the Weekly World News (WWN), a tabloid published in the US between 1979 and 2007. Despite the tagline ‘the world’s only reliable news’, it was an entertaining mixture of strange-but-true stories and fiction about alien abductions, lake monsters, Bigfoot, Elvis being alive and time travel.
Stock characters included Bat Boy, a half bat, half boy superhero; Tonya, the world’s fattest cat; and P’lod, an extra-terrestrial who it was claimed had an affair with Hillary Clinton.
According to Brazilian aviation authorities, commercial aircraft Santiago flight 513 took off from Germany on September 4, 1954, and disappeared over the Atlantic. It was assumed it had crashed with all lives lost. However, it was claimed the plane landed at Porto Alegre airport, Brazil, 45 years later – on October 12, 1989.
The control tower had no communication with the plane, which had apparently circled the airport before landing.
On opening the doors, airport security allegedly discovered the bleached skeletons of the passengers and crew in their seats. Captain Miguel Victor Cury was apparently clutching the controls and the engine was still idling.
Dr Celso Atello, a paranormal researcher, said the plane ‘almost certainly entered a time warp: there is no other explanation’.
Santiago Airlines went out of business in 1956. No one from the airline or Brazil’s air authorities has ever commented on the alleged re-appearance. Based on WWN’s taste for the outlandish – and all the rules of physics – this tale can only have been a hoax.
Dan Pullman, Dudley, W Mids.
QUESTION
What is the difference between tea, afternoon tea and high tea? FURTHER to the earlier answer, high tea – toasted tea cakes served with butter and jam, tea and pastries – was once popular in Scotland and is still available in high-end hotels in Edinburgh.
It was served on Anglo-Scottish express trains until the early Eighties, when restaurant cars were withdrawn.
My first trip to Scotland by train in 1962 involved three meals, one of which was high tea.
Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, as the miserly Hamish and Dougal in the BBC Radio 4 radio comedy game show I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, have immortalised the Scottish high tea with the phrase: ‘You’ll have had your tea.’ C E Sayers-Leavy. Broadstairs, Kent.
QUESTION
Was Johnny Mercer the most prolific songwriter of all time? FURTHER to the earlier answer, with 3,000 compositions, Irving Berlin may have written the most songs in popular music, but Methodist Charles Wesley (1707-88) wrote more than 6,000 hymns.
This is exceeded by American Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), who wrote more than 8,000 hymns, including Blessed-Assurance and To God Be The Glory. Neither wrote tunes, just lyrics. Tim Mickleburgh, Grimsby, Lincs.