Musical Director: Warren Ringham
In the 62 years since Dr No. first hit cinema screens, the music has been the one consistent factor in a franchise that has otherwise reinvented itself many times over.
That also means that any evening celebrating the music has over six decades’ worth of material to choose from. One could go the easy route and fill a whole performance with simply the various theme songs – so it’s pleasant to hear Warren Ringham’s orchestra, Q the Music, open with a suite of incidental music from Goldfinger instead of just launching into the iconic title number.
It’s a subtle way of introducing the motifs that John Barry brought into his musical palette, from the swooping strings and wah-wah brass to the frequent, ever-present staccato notes from the same. The suite also demonstrates how each film’s main theme is threaded throughout each movie, as we hear those three notes of Goldfinger long before Kerry Schultz enters the stage to perform the song itself.
After that introduction, much of Act I reverts to the title themes. Throughout, there are reminders that the classical orchestral sounds have always been supplemented by influences from rock and pop, not least in the electric bass twang of the iconic Bond motif. As we consider more “modern” themes – although it’s somewhat disconcerting to realise that David Arnold and Don Black’s theme for The World is Not Enough, originally performed by Garbage, is 25 years old – it’s clear that the Barry template has stood the franchise in good stead.
As the full orchestra lets rips on Adele’s theme for Skyfall and Sam Smith’s The Writing’s on the Wall (the theme for Spectre), the DNA from the 1960s to the present is in full display here. And even though Matt Walker, joining Schultz on singing duties, struggles at times with the extremities of Smith’s vocal range, both he and Schultz bring plenty of verve to every number.
2024 sees not only the 60th anniversary of Goldfinger but the 50th of The Man with the Golden Gun. To celebrate, compere David Zaritsky brings on stage two of the latter film’s costars, Maud Adams and Britt Ekland. Given the decades since filming, their memories of events are starting to cloud, and Zaritsky’s interviewing style feels unlikely to elicit anything new. However, the star quality both actors provide makes the evening feel like a great way to celebrate their contribution to the franchise.
Act II brings another mix of incidental tracks, the insanely fun Backseat Driver from Tomorrow Never Dies among them, alongside renditions of more theme tunes. The build-up to the finale brings three examples from the rockier end of the canon together, with Live and Let Die, You Know My Name from Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace’s Another Way to Die. The Q the Music orchestra balances Dan Booth’s electric guitar with the orchestral excellence that Barry brought to the table, which has characterised the films’ popularity ever since.
The evening proper ends with the theme from Licence to Kill, and while it showcases Kerry Schultz’s powerful vocal, there’s no denying that its 1990s MOR soul stylings and repetitive lyrics show it up compared to some of the other standards on display.
But it’s still an evocative reminder that so much of the power this unique film franchise has on our collective psyche comes from its music. As the future of James Bond on film remains in flux in a post-Daniel Craig world, we have over 60 years’ worth of musical memories to relive.
Reviewed on 13 October 20204 and continues to tour
