"GoldenEye" - Turner, Tina

Single

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Background Information

The 1995 movie “GoldenEye” was a high profile relaunch of the James Bond franchise, and the first film with Irishman Pierce Brosnan in the title role as James Bond. It was the seventeenth film in the James Bond series. The movie was a huge success for the Bond-series. The title track of the film, “GoldenEye” was performed by Tina Turner. The movie was named for Bond creator, Ian Fleming’s estate “Goldeneye” located in Jamaica. The estate was sold in 1977 to Island Records executive Chris Blackwell, and U2 has been known to have stayed at the estate in the past.

Bono and The Edge were approached to write the title track for the new Bond movie, “Goldeneye” and while they agreed to write the song, they declined to perform the song. Bono worked with The Edge to compose “GoldenEye”. It was suggested that Tina Turner would be the perfect vocalist for the song but she initially declined enjoying a short period of retirement after a grueling tour. Demo versions of the song were sent to Turner with Bono performing the vocal role she would eventually fill. Tina Turner relates the experience of being chased to perform the song: “I just couldn’t really feel it at the time. Then I got a hand-written letter from Bono saying, `Tina, trust me, it’s rough at the moment, but it’s going to be great.’ I had to believe him. We live very near each other in the south of France, so he and Edge came up and finished it with me. Nellie Hooper came in with the arrangement. All of a sudden the song became. It was a matter of communicating and believing in each other. I’m looking forward to working with them again.”

Both Bono and The Edge are listed as executive producers on the song on the credits for the single. The Edge also performs on the song, and although present, Bono does not. The single features an edit of the version which appears on the soundtrack album as the main track. The remainder of the songs on the single are all remixes of the title track, including tracks remixed by Dave “Jam” Hall and Kevin Deane (“Urban Mix”, “A/C Mix” and “Urban A/C Mix”) and by David Morales (“Club Edit”, “Morales Club Mix”, “007 Dub” and “Morales Dub of Bond”). The single was released on 5”-CD, cassette, and 12”-vinyl each containing different tracks and track listings.

On December 9, 2021, a new release of the “GoldenEye” single was done via streaming services and digital storefronts. This release included six versions of the title song, including the “Single Edit”, “Dave Morales Remix”, “Morales Club Mix”, “007 Dub”, “Morales Dub of Bond”, and the “Dave Hall Remix”. These are all mixes released initially in 1995. The “Club Edit” is called the “Dave Morales Remix” here, and the “Urban A/C Mix” is called the “Dave Hall Remix” on this release. The 2021 release was done with a new cover for the single.

A musical sequence opens the film, over which the song by Turner is played. A separate video was also filmed for GoldenEye which features Turner performing the song in a white dress in a passage way that is built to look like a golden eye, mixed with images of an eye, leopards, and images from the film. “GoldenEye” would also be released on Turner’s album “Wildest Dreams” in 1996, and her collection “All the Best” in 2004. In 2010, with the release of the Nintendo 64 game, “GoldenEye 007” the song was re-recorded by Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. The song has not been released in any format outside of the game.

Liner Notes

Goldeneye (Single Edit):
Written by Bono / The Edge. Executive Producers: Bono and the Edge. Produced and Mixed by Nellee Hooper. Recording and Mix Engineer: Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, assisted by Paul ‘PW’ Walton. Programming by Marius De Vries. Orchestral arrangement by Craig Armstrong. Recorded at Olympic Sound Studios, London.

Goldeneye (Urban Mix):
Remixed by Dave ‘Jam’ Hall and Kevin Deane for Stone Jam Music at DMH Studios. Mixed by Paul Logus at QUAD Recording Studios. Contains a sample from “Outstanding” by the Gap Band.

Goldeneye (Urban A/C Mix):
Remixed by Dave ‘Jam’ Hall and Kevin Deane for Stone Jam Music at DMH Studios. Mixed by Paul Logus at QUAD Recording Studios.

Goldeneye (Club Edit):
Remix and additional production by David Morales for Def Mix Productions. Engineered by David Sussman. Keyboards by Satoshi Tomie.

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