Radiohead Spectre theme: This is how the Bond titles would have looked

'I'm lost, I'm a ghost / Dispossessed, taken host'

A few days after Thom Yorke stunned everyone by revealing that Radiohead had made an unused Bond theme for Spectre, a fan has set the band’s track to the film’s opening titles in place of Sam Smith’s ‘Writing’s on the Wall’.

Radiohead’s take on the strings-laden Bond theme has already earned a heap of praise, but it’s amazing just how well it goes with the visuals, the song’s inky quality marrying up nicely with the octopus imagery.

It would certainly have made for a more moody opening to the film, and would have been a lot less sentimental than Smith’s weepy ballad.

"Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre, yes we were," Thom Yorke tweeted on Christmas Day.

"It didn't work out, but became something of our own, which we love very much. As the year closes we thought you might like to hear it. Merry Christmas. May the force be with you."

Radiohead are no stranger to film scores, something guitarist Jonny Greenwood has carved out a niche in.

He’s become a frequent collaborator with Paul Thomas Anderson, providing the soundtracks for There Will Be Blood, The Master and Inherent Vice, and has also worked on the movies Norwegian Wood and We Need To Talk About Kevin.

We’ve reached out to both Radiohead and Spectre’s camps to find out why the song didn’t end up being used.