His family was in the cinema business, but it was during his National Service that he began performing as a musician. After taking a correspondence course and arranging for some of the bands of the day, he formed The John Barry Seven. Barry then met Adam Faith, and composed songs and film scores on the singer's behalf.
It was this notoriety that caught the attention of the producers of Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with the score given to them by Monty Norman. Barry and the JB7 were hired and their recording of Norman's "James Bond Theme" would go on to be one of the most famous signature tunes in film history.
This would be the turning point for Barry, as he would go on to become one of the most celebrated film composers of modern times, winning five Academy Awards and four Grammys, with such memorable scores as The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves.
Barry is often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However, he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and to make wide use of pop artists and original songs in Midnight Cowboy.
Living in his native England until the mid 1970s, Barry spent some time in Spain (for tax purposes) before spending much of his life in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, outside of New York.
Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011, at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77 years.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
John Barry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And like a shark, he looks for trouble,
That's why the zero's double,
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
He's suave and he's smooth
And he can soothe you like vanilla.
The gentleman's a killer.
Damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like a knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.
He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
Oh, damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like the knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.
He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
No, he's no fool.
He's no fool.
He is no fool.
The song "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is the iconic theme song from the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, however, the original version sung by Shirley Bassey and composed by John Barry was never used in the film. The lyrics describe the character of Bond (referred to as "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") as a dangerous but charming gentleman who has had many romantic conquests and is always ready for action. The first verse describes his appearance and his penchant for trouble, while the second verse highlights his smooth and killer nature. The chorus repeats the connection between Bond and danger, emphasizing his cool and fast lifestyle.
Line by Line Meaning
He's tall and he's dark,
And like a shark, he looks for trouble,
That's why the zero's double,
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
This man is tall, dark and always searching for conflict like a predator in the ocean. Hence this double-zero agent is entitled to be called Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
He's suave and he's smooth
And he can soothe you like vanilla.
The gentleman's a killer.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
He is charming, polished and reassuring when it comes to blending in with society. Nonetheless, he's still a violent killer. That's why we address him by the name Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like a knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.
The man we call Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has a past filled with women and life-threatening circumstances. He lives every day like it's his last and navigates through it with precision like a deadly knife.
He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
He is quick and calm under pressure, and he's part of the group who enjoys brief romances and promptly walks away from them. It's obvious that it hurts them, but Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is no fool.
Oh, damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like the knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.
Once again, the chorus reminds us that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has experienced many encounters with women and dangerous situations, and he approaches life like it's his last using his sharpness just like a knife.
He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
In this repetition, we are assured once more that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is quick and collected, a part of that crowd that enjoys fleeting romances and leaves sorrow in their wake. However, it isn't foolish behavior on his part.
No, he's no fool.
He's no fool.
He is no fool.
The song ends by strongly emphasizing the fact that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is, in fact, not foolish in any way.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN BARRY, LESLIE BRICUSSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tonys9923
The most UNDER USED Bond music.
John Barry was in the top three film composers ever in my opinion.
John Williams of course, then choose from 4 or 5 other greats, Bernard Hermann, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith, Morricone, Maurice Jarre.
My personal favourite is Barry though.
Just made the film scene exciting with the music, you didn't even need to see the screen.
No one of his calibre still left except for John Williams.
Once he's gone who carry's the flame??
@Wowmusicable
A great song! They could have used this as the end credits music and kept the Thunderball as the opening song. This way we could have gotten both! 😊
@deecee784
Your comment shows that sometimes amateurs have more smarts than the professionals.
@al007italia
@@deecee784 Not that simple. Shirley Bassey has originally recorded this for the opening credits. But Bassey's version was too short & she wsn't available to record a longer version. So they got Dionne Warwick to do this version. Then they decided to use Warwick's version for the end titles. Shirley Bassey then sued so neither version was used.
@PJ-dh7gn
What a bitch. So everybody loses especially Dionne.
@MickeyLeeBukowski
End titles in old movies were about 30 seconds long though!
@robrob8258
A few James Bond films have better end credit songs
@johncole2469
I have listened to this (Dionne Warwick) and the Shirley Bassey versions.
Overall this IMHO is the best of the two.
@PJ-dh7gn
I second that opinion. Since Sony owns the rights to all the UA Bond films, they should substitute this song for the opening song on Never Say Never. Worst 007 title EVER!!!!
@jackevans3480
Definitely. Shirl is always hard to beat but, in this case, Dionne wins hands down. Magnificent.
@tonys9923
I think both are great singers and I am a BIGGER fan of Dionne Warwick than Shirley Bassey, however I think Shirley Bassey's voice was more suited to the Bond image.