Live and let fly: the tall tale of Paul McCartney’s 007 theme song is revealed

Newly discovered archive material shows former Beatle was always producers’ choice to sing during credits for Live and Let Die

It had always seemed inconceivable that the James Bond producers wanted to replace Paul McCartney with another singer for Live and Let Die, particularly as his title song for the 1973 Roger Moore classic became a massive hit.

But the story told by Beatles record producer George Martin, and repeated by McCartney, was that the 007 producers thought McCartney’s recording with his band Wings was just a demo and they wanted a female voice.