Jack White has described his 2008 Bond theme song as “one of the most divisive things” he’s been part of.
During an appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, White reflected on reactions to “Another Way to Die,” which he recorded with Alicia Keys for Quantum of Solace.
“That song is… there are people who hate it so much, and people who love it so much. Nowhere in the middle; it’s so strange,” he said. “Bond themes in Britain, for example… that’s consistent coffee/breakfast conversation. You know, like, ‘What’s your favourite bond theme?’ It’s almost who you are as a person.”
White told O’Brien that he was asked to craft the title song because Amy Winehouse "wasn’t showing up to the sessions or wasn’t delivering the song that they were asking her to do.”
He recalled: “It was, ‘We were running out of time, we need somebody else.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, this is great, because now I’m gonna get away with murder. I’m gonna put things in this song they would never approve of…
“And that happened. The music director was not down with anything. He was trying to convince me to turn it into a ballad or something like that.”
White said his favourite Bond theme is Tom Jones’ “Thunderball” from the 1965 movie of the same name.