In 1994, the label of hit Swedish band Ace Of Base with a 50-million copy selling debut album turned down James Bond...

Alternative Music - GoldenEye
14th August 2009

It had been five years since James Bond was last seen in cinemas with "Licence To Kill" in 1989, and the world was anticipating 007's return when Pierce Brosnan was named the new 007 in June 1994. Would the franchise get back to its glory days after its long hiatus? The answer to that question from record label Arista Records was a resounding 'no', which lead to a change for the "GoldenEye" theme song.

Ace Of Base, a pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden, recorded a demo for "GoldenEye" in 1994, a year after their debut album (which went on to sell more than 50 million copies worldwide). The group, comprised Ulf Ekberg and siblings Jonas Berggren and Jenny Berggren, were considered 'too big' for Bond by their American label, Arista Records. The company were reportedly worried about 007's return flopping in the USA: the movie would fail to attract a large audience, in turn damaging the group's standing. The opposite happened: not only was it a critical and commercial success, but it rebooted the career of Tina Turner.

Above: Cover art from the song's eventual release.

For the three-minute demo, Ulf and Jonas penned the lyrics, with Jeanette Söderholm providing the vocals. Söderholm, a Swedish singer of Jamaican origin, was the group's regular backing vocalist. The track was produced by John Ballard, StoneStream and the group members.

The band later re-worked their lost track and renamed it "The Juvenile", using the title as a straight replacement for "The GoldenEye". It was released as a single on December 9th 2002 (reaching #78 in the German singles chart) and as the last track on their 2002 album "Da Capo".

Ultimately, Bono and The Edge would pen the track performed by Tina Turner and became one of the highest-charting hit singles of her career, reaching #10 in the UK.

Above: The original "GoldenEye" demo track by Ace Of Base dubbed over the music video from "The Juvenile". The audio loses sync due to the demo's shorter length.

Lyrics

"GoldenEye" (Demo) Chorus The GoldenEye Is a place where the night is so cold The GoldenEye Has the key to the end (always believe) The GoldenEye Is a place where the night is so cold The road will take us to the end I used to like you as a friend

"The Juvenile" Chorus The juvenile In a time where the night is so cold The juvenile Has the key to the end (always believe in) The juvenile in the end That is why we are here The road will take us to the end Tomorrow's foe is now a friend

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