Taylor Hawkins + Struts Singer Lost Out on ‘James Bond’ Song

The late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins reportedly worked on a song that was under consideration for the James Bond movie No Time to Die before his death, but it was passed over in favor of Billie Eilish‘s title track.

The big reveal comes courtesy of The Struts vocalist Luke Spiller, a longtime friend of Hawkins who had also appeared at the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in 2022. The singer had reportedly come up with an idea for the song and tracked it out with Hawkins on drums.

The film franchise about the super spy has been in existence since the 1960s and has been known for cranking out iconic theme songs that often go on to become big hits. Paul McCartney, Shirley Bassey, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton, Duran Duran, Tom Jones, Rita Coolidge, Tina Turner, Garbage, Madonna, Chris Cornell, Adele and more have all taken a crack at a James Bond film theme song.

What Luke Spiller Said About His James Bond Song

The Struts vocalist told The Sun, “I’ve always been ob­sessed with a lot of the Bond songs. I had a crack at it, but got beaten by Billie.”

“It’s a fantastic song. I called Taylor and we cut the drums in his home studio.”

Spiller did not reveal if his proposed Bond theme will ever be released, but he does hope that his submission at least puts him on the radar for a future contribution to the 007 spy thriller franchise.

“Hopefully the people making the next Bond film can listen to my record and appreciate the potential I have to create an incredible Bond song,” he stated. “I’ve got another up my sleeve. I’m waiting for the call cause I know it’s going to happen.”

Spiller also dropped another bit of news, confirming his work on a new solo album.

“I’ve finished, mixed and mastered my first solo record, which I’m really looking forward to people hearing because it’s something which is very different from The Struts. It’s all piano based love songs, loads of big strings. I recorded like a 20 piece string section with it,” said the singer. “It’s very Bondy. It’s really, really, really over the top. It’s great.”

Luke Spiller Reflects on Taylor Hawkins

As stated, Spiller and Hawkins had become friends. Foo Fighters were one of the first bands to ask The Struts to open for them and the relationship continued to evolve over the years.

“I owe so much of where I am right now to him, from getting the opportunity to open up for the Foos … even coming to L.A., and sort of laying roots down here, which, again, was life-changing, and probably something that I wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t encouraged it,” said Spiller of Hawkins to Spin in 2022 after the drummer had passed earlier in the year.

Just prior to Hawkins’ death, Spiller had been in rehearsals with Hawkins as the pair had planned to do a joint tour in which they revisited material from the Queen catalog. Hawkins had been a longtime fan of Queen and Spiller and The Struts had often drawn comparisons to the legendary band. But sadly, Spiller and Hawkins never got to do that tour. However, the Struts vocalist did front Queen during performances at the two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in 2022.

READ MORE: Dave Navarro Has Unreleased Material Recorded With Taylor Hawkins

“It was one of the most bittersweet experiences I’ve had in my life where you’re all there on this incredible day with this incredible audience to remember and send off this incredible person who equally an amazing musician as well. You’re really sad, but it’s amazing and inspiring to see so many people gather for one person for one specific cause,” recalled Spiller of the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows on the Talk Is Jericho podcast.