Chris Martin's rejected James Bond theme song heads to auction

A 27-year-old demo recording of Chris Martin attempting to write a James Bond theme song is going up for auction. 

According to lot details from Wax Poetics, the track, a version of The World Is Not Enough, reportedly written for but never submitted to the 1999 Pierce Brosnan Bond film of the same name, features Martin singing over acoustic backing and is being sold as an unreleased, unheard cassette recording. 

Martin has spoken before about Coldplay's repeated, unsuccessful attempts to land a Bond theme. 

"We kept trying to write one for 20 years, but never submitted them," he told NME in 2021. 

"We have Bond themes for about five movies, but they're not very good, to be honest." 

He also joked that the band's sound might not suit 007: "I don't know if we're spiritually on the same trip as James... He'd be like, 'That's not what I'm into at all, fellas. I like guns and sh*t.'" 

The cassette is part of a wider archive of early Coldplay recordings from British producer Chris Allison, who worked on the band's pre-fame EP The Blue Room. 

The collection also includes original DAT mixes, alternate takes, and a previously unheard version of We Never Change. 

As of publication, the top bid for the Bond demo stood at $1,000.