John Barry: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

It's not the best-loved Bond movie, but Barry's soundtrack for On Her Majesty's Secret Service is up there with the very best of them.

John Barry's grip on the music for the James Bond series reached optimum tightness with this rip-roaring soundtrack, his fifth Bond score on the trot. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is notable for a number of reasons - firstly, it has a synthesiser part in its title theme (at the time unheard of), and secondly it spawned a massive pop hit in the shape of 'We Have All The Time In The World', magically brought to life by lyricist Hal David and the inimitable Louis Armstrong.

In that more melancholic vein, many of the instrumental passages Barry composed fit perfectly with the slightly more serious James Bond-ing of George Lazenby. But sentiment aside, it's the action stuff that lasts longest here. The driving main theme has become so synonymous with espionage and Bond himself that purists may argue it's only a close second to Monty Norman's iconic original theme.