The Bond Collection


The Bond Collection, a.k.a. Bassey Sings Bond, is a 1987 studio album by Shirley Bassey, notable for having been released without the artist's consent and subsequently withdrawn from sales by court order.

History

In early 1987, Bassey announced that she was planning to record an album of James Bond themes. The album was due for release 1987 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first James Bond feature film Dr. No. She promoted the album on the television show Live At The Palladium on May 3, 1987, where she lip-synched "A View to a Kill" and also performed a James Bond medley.
Bassey decided not to release the album, for reasons that remain unclear. However, five years later, the album was released, against Bassey's wishes, by the ICON Records label on September 20, 1992 as The Bond Collection, and again by TRING Records on January 10, 1994 as Bassey Sings Bond. Bassey sued in court, and on May 5, 1995 a permanent injunction was obtained against Icon Entertainment to prevent further manufacture or sales of the album. All existing unsold copies were withdrawn from sale, and the CDs are considered scarce. No singles were issued from this album.
Another album, Bassey Sings Bond, was recorded for EMI, featuring new recordings of Bond songs. It was to be released at the end of 2002. However, this project incurred problems shortly after recording, and it has not been released. However, the vocal performance of "You Only Live Twice" recorded for this album was remixed in 2007 for the album Get the Party Started.

Track listing

  1. "A View to a Kill"
  2. "Nobody Does it Better"
  3. "From Russia with Love"
  4. "We Have All the Time in the World"
  5. "You Only Live Twice"
  6. "Diamonds Are Forever"
  7. "Live and Let Die"
  8. "Moonraker"
  9. "For Your Eyes Only"
  10. "All Time High"
  11. "Thunderball"
  12. "Goldfinger"