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Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of James Bond with The Sound of 007 in Concert at The Royal Albert Hall

Monday, September 26, 2022 Craig Grobler 0 Comments

The Sound of 007 in Concert at The Royal Albert Hall
The Sound of 007 in Concert at The Royal Albert Hall

Continuing the 60 Anniversary celebration of James Bond’s breakout onto the silver screen EON is putting on some fantastic events to mark the year. Along with: the re-release of all the Bond films back onto the big screen, the 60 Years of Bond Live Score series at The Royal Albert Hall, the BFI's James Bond at 60 Weekend - the 60th Anniversary of James Bond is being celebrated with a distinct focus on the music of Bond and why not? The sound of 007 is as an important part of the heritage of Bond as any of the other principal elements.

Upcoming events include:

- The Royal Albert Hall to host The Sound of 007 in Concert, an official charity event to celebrate 007’s 60th anniversary to benefit music charities Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT Trust

- Following the concert, Prime Video will globally stream an exclusive recording - The Sound of 007: LIVE from the Royal Albert Hall - as part of the streamer’s 60th celebration of James Bond

- The Sound of 007 - the documentary directed by Mat Whitecross and produced by John Battsek for Ventureland - will be available exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide from 5 October, following a preview at the ‘James Bond at 60’ weekend at the BFI Southbank on 1 October

- The Christie’s Sixty Years of James Bond two-part official charity sale will include multiple music lots including a No Time To Die song sheet with lyrics signed by Billie Eilish

- ‘Bond 25’, an album performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will also be released by DECCA on 23 September


The first and possibly the crown jewel in the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Bond events coming up that I am highlighting is the Sound of 007 in Concert which will take place on the 4th of October to mark the day Dr No premiered at the London Pavilion on October 5th, 1962.

THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT might well be my most anticipated event of the year and I rank it up there along with the awe-inspiring Bond premieres held at the Royal Albert Hall. It is certainly a must-do for any Bond aficionado. Who knows when we will get the opportunity to experience a compliment of talent all together in one place like the evening of THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT?

However, if you can’t attend the event you may be happy to know that The Sound of 007: LIVE from the Royal Albert Hall will be available to stream on Prime Video afterwards.

The THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT is master-minded by one of my favourite Bond composers David Arnold and he is bringing a lineup that includes legends like a national treasure & the voice of Bond Dame Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker).

The legendary Chrissie Hynde (The Living Daylights). This is a great turn of events as the last (and only) time I have heard Mz. Hynde perform was bittersweet - as I was listening to author Anthony Horowitz read from his 2015 Bond novel Trigger Mortis whilst Mz. Hynde was one floor down performing a set. My attempt to get both hemispheres of my brain to work independently so as to enjoy both sadly failed and Mr Horowitz won the night.

The always energetic Lulu will hopefully bring the smelting fire that makes her Bond theme The Man With The Golden Gun the most kinetic of them all.

American indie-rockers Garbage will also be making an appearance (The World is not Enough).

Arnold will also be bringing a compliment of young talent to give their interpretations of the Sound of 007 including; the uber talented Becky Hill who already has an epic version of Billie Eilish’s No Time To Die in the bag. I am looking forward to hearing her performance with the full force of the Royal Albert Hall's acoustic technology behind her and I am hoping that she blends more Bond Melody  in as alluded to in her No Time To Die.

    Video: Becky Hill - No Time To Die in the Live Lounge                


Celeste Man! What a voice, Celeste has an incredibley powerful vocal range and I suspect there is nothing she can’t do vocally.

Same for Ella Eyre whose sublime voice has been rattling around my head since her fantastic collaboration with Rudimental on Waiting All Night.

Jamie Cullum needs no introduction and he has expressed his interest in writing a Bond Theme and not necessarily performing it. So I'm interested to hear what is borne out of that.

I am not familiar with John Grant so I am looking forward to the promise his performance holds. Hopefully, he doesn't drink red wine with fish like the other Grant.

The sometimes quirky, always original Paloma Faith brings the fun whether it's in an interview or one of her turns on the screen. But Paloma Faith’s music is always a level up and it is no secret that she has always wanted to do a Bond theme. It could just be me but some of her music already has a hint of Bond about it, most noteably her single Let Me Down Easy.

    Video: Paloma Faith - Let Me Down Easy (Official Audio)                


The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will be providing the music conducted by Nicholas Dodd.

Nicholas Dodd has a portfolio of New Age music & film soundtracks as well as has extensively conducted music for film since his first feature film Danny Cannon's 1993 The Young Americans. Not only was The Young Americans Nicholas Dodd's first feature film score, but it was also composer David Arnold’s first film score. Since then the two have collaborated a further 24 times, including on the scores for; Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace.

Dodd's huge catalogue of work includes Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, 8MM, Girl, Interrupted, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Vanity Fair, Lethal Weapon 4, Tideland, Capote, The Mummy, Shaft, Hot Fuzz, Avatar, Wrath Of The Titans, Stillwater and many, many more.

Incidentally, if you are unaware of Björk's Play Dead the theme from the aforementioned The Young Americans give it a whirl to hear the direction a young David Arnold was leaning into.

Who knows if Arnold will play it straight and classic or go off-piste and re-imagine some of the Bond music, ticking stuff off his wish list as he did with his fantastic 1997 Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project and there is always a chance that the SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT may be introducing us to some of the future stars of Bond.

It is always a real pleasure visiting the historic Royal Albert Hall. A couple of years ago I was very fortunate to attend the premiere of James Cameron's remastered 3D version of Titanic where James Horner conducted a selection of suites from his Titanic score and that was certainly a night I will never forget.

Subsequently the Royal Albert Hall has completed the largest overhaul of its sound system since the installation of its acoustic diffusers (the mushrooms or umbrellas) in 1969. The Royal Albert Hall now has the "largest single-room speaker system in the world" with 465 loudspeakers ensuring that every seat in the cavernous auditorium receives the same highest quality sound.
THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT sounds like it's going to be a night to remember and it's all for a good cause as proceeds will benefit worthy charities as will the other upcoming 60th Anniversary of James Bond events.

THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT

The Sound of 007 in Concert, the official charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall will take place on 4 October. Original Bond recording artists Dame Shirley Bassey, Lulu, Chrissie Hynde and Garbage will perform iconic 007 songs alongside guest vocalists Becky Hill, Celeste, Ella Eyre, Jamie Cullum, John Grant and Paloma Faith accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Dodd.

The concert, created by EON Productions and sponsored by Bowers & Wilkins and Omega, will be produced by five-time Bond composer David Arnold. The event marks 60 years since the world premiere of Dr. No, the first 007 film, on 5 October 1962 and will benefit Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy and The BRIT Trust (with 100% of their allocation of the funds raised being donated to The BRIT School).

We are truly honoured and grateful to have been selected as one of the chosen charities for the upcoming Sound of 007 concert at the iconic Royal Albert Hall, alongside The BRIT Trust. All funds raised for us from this spectacular event will go directly towards helping thousands of people across the UK to connect and communicate through the power of music.”
               - Sandra Schembri, CEO, Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy

It is an honour for The BRIT School to be part of this momentous occasion marking 60 years of a Great British icon, and we are proud to be celebrating the power of music and film coming together.”
               - Josh Berger CBE, Chair of The BRIT School

The Sound of 007: LIVE from the Royal Albert Hall, an exclusive recording of the live 4 October charity concert, will be available to stream globally on Prime Video following the event as part of the streamer’s60th celebration of James Bond.

The Hall’s celebration of James Bond will continue with Films in Concert screenings of Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015) from 17-20 November. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase via the Royal Albert Hall’s website / box office 020 7589 8212.


THE SOUND OF 007 AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL POSTER
THE SOUND OF 007 AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL POSTER


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THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT #60yearsofBond

Royal Albert Hall’s website: 60 years of James Bond at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall’s Box Office: 020 7589 8212

007 Official Website: https://www.007.com
007 Twitter: @007
007 Facebook: @JamesBond007
007 Instagram: @007
007 YouTube: James Bond 007


THE ESTABLISHING SHOT: CELEBRATE THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF JAMES BOND WITH THE SOUND OF 007 IN CONCERT AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1/4

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