A lost 27-year-old demo recording by Chris Martin and Coldplay that was reportedly intended as a James Bond theme, but later admitted was not good enough, will be put up for auction.
According to Wax Poetics’ lot details, the recording of “The World Is Not Enough” was “understood to have been written but never submitted” for the 1999 Bond film of the same name, starring Pierce Brosnan, and features Martin singing with acoustic backing. The “unheard and unreleased” song is sold as a single recording on cassette tape.
Martin had previously claimed that Coldplay (a self-proclaimed 007 fan) had repeatedly tried and failed to write a theme for the spy series.
Martin told NME in 2021: “I’ve been trying to write something for 20 years and never submitted it. There’s been about five Bond themes, but to be honest, they’re not very good.”
Martin added, “And I don’t know if we’re on the same journey mentally as James. He likes movies, but I don’t know if us singing will help him. He’ll say, ‘That’s not what I’m interested in, guys. I like guns and shit. All that hippie stuff just doesn’t work.'”
The cassette containing ‘The World Is Not Enough’ is part of British producer Chris Allison’s archive of Coldplay recordings under the hammer, all predating the band’s second EP ‘The Blue Room’, produced by Allison and released just before their international breakthrough with ‘Parachute’ the following year.
“This collection includes original DAT mixes, alternate versions, and demos from The Blue Room sessions, including several unreleased versions and an unreleased take of ‘We Never Change,’” Wax Poetics said.
At the time of publication, the highest bid for “The World Is Not Enough” cassette was $1,000.
