Sam Smith Writing’s On The Wall single (Spectre)

Every Bond film opens by telling you how it intends to feel. For Spectre (2015), that task fell to Sam Smith. Sam Smith Writing’s On The Wall plays over the title sequence and sets the scene for Daniel Craig’s Bond with a song that asks for some vulnerability. Smith has said as much, describing the aim as letting you see a little way into Bond’s heart.

The song was written with Jimmy Napes in under half an hour, and the demo vocal made it onto the finished record, with a larger arrangement built around it. Simon Hale arranged the strings. It reached number one in the UK, a first for a Bond theme, and won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards.

Listening to Writing’s On The Wall now

This is an evening record rather than a party one. We would play it on proper speakers, low lights, nothing else competing: the build from piano and voice to full orchestra is its best argument. The single was also pressed on CD and 7-inch vinyl in the UK in late 2015, though the download is the simplest way to own it. More Bond music and reading sits in our books and media section.

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