History
Once again, the soundtrack to this James Bond adventure was composed, arranged, and conducted by John Barry; it was his fifth successive Bond film as composer.

The opening theme proved a challenge; the convention was to have a song and include the film's title in the lyrics, and the film became the first in the series to deviate from this rule, which has become less important in modern times. John Barry felt it would be difficult to compose a theme song containing the title "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" unless it was written operatically, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan; director Peter R. Hunt allowed an instrumental title theme. The track is notable for its incorporation of the Moog synthesizer in its recurring bassline - the first time this instrument had been heard in a film soundtrack. Its distinctive sound would become a mainstay of soundtracks in the 1970s.

The theme, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", is used in the film as an action theme alternate to Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", as is the case with Barry's previous "007" theme.

Above: Original artwork from the French (left) and German (right) 45rpm single releases.

The 1962 "James Bond Theme" by Monty Norman, first played in Dr. No, was heard for the last time in its original composition in a Bond film to date. The 1962 version was used throughout Sean Connery's tenure from 1962 to 1967. Since then, the Bond theme has been rearranged in many ways after O.H.M.S.S.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was remixed by the Propellerheads for David Arnold's Shaken and Stirred album, and reached #7 in the UK singles charts on 18th November 1997. The success of the collaboration lead Arnold to include riffs from the piece in the soundtrack of "Tomorrow Never Dies" during the Hamburg car chase. Barry-orchestrator Nic Raine recorded an arrangement of the escape from Piz Gloria sequence and it was featured as a theme in the trailers for the 2004 Pixar animated film The Incredibles.

Above: Sleeve artwork from the 1994 re-release which reached #3 (left) and artwork from the 1997 O.H.M.S.S. remix by the Propellerheads and David Arnold which reached #7 (right).

Barry also composed the love song, "We Have All the Time in the World", sung by Louis Armstrong. With lyrics by Burt Bacharach's regular lyricist Hal David, it is heard during the Bond–Tracy courtship montage, bridging Draco's birthday party in Portugal and Bond's burglary of the Gebrüder Gumbold law office in Bern, Switzerland. The song title is taken from James Bond's final words in both the novel and the film, spoken after his wife's death.

"We Have All the Time in the World" is often mistakenly referred to as the opening credits theme. It was Louis Armstrong's last recorded song (he died of a heart attack two years later.) At the time, the song barely made an impact on the charts. 25 years later though, it became very well known, thanks largely to its use in a Guinness advertising campaign after My Bloody Valentine chose to cover it for charity. It was then re-released by EMI and reached #3 in the UK singles chart on 3rd December 1994, with Barry's orchestral O.H.M.S.S. on the 'B' side. In 2005, a BBC survey showed it is the third-most-popular love song played at weddings. It is now widely considered among the finest of Barry's songs for the franchise.

In addition to My Bloody Valentine, "We Have All the Time in the World" has been covered by Iggy Pop with soon-to-be Bond composer David Arnold, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Vic Damone, Michael Ball, Amalia Grè, The Puppini Sisters, The Fairly Handsome Band, and Tindersticks. Iggy Pop's version of it plays during the end credits of the film The Jacket.

Above: Louis Armstrong (left) and cover artwork from a 1997 promotion CD of Iggy Pop and David Arnold's cover version (right)

† Previously unreleased
* Contains previously unreleased music

Total Time (Original Release): 37:14
Total Time (2003 Remastered): 1:19:36