I know the Prince/Bond theme topic has been discussed a few times over the years on the Org. I've always thought this song would have been well served as a Bond theme, and someone on YouTube synced it up with Bond opening visuals. It's pretty cool and works so well that it's hard to imagine it wasn't intended as such.

https://youtu.be/mMSzpTa80f0

[Edited 9/3/16 5:38am]

That was actually pretty terrible. There's nothing synced about it, except they'd start a new shot at the beginning of a verse or something.

It's actually easy to imagine it wasn't intended for that. "Diamonds and Pearls", while a nice song, is not Bond worthy. It's kitschy in the verses and is mostly a love song. It has theatrics in it, but that still doesn't make it Bond worthy. It'd have to be something more in the vein of "3 Chains O' Gold", or even "Old Friends 4 Sale", at best.

Actually, I can see something like MJ's "Give In To Me", or a remix of "Stranger In Moscow"; the latter of which really begs to be a Bond theme actually. I'm sort of surprised no one's used "Stranger In Moscow" in a spy movie or something. It's dramatic, and would probably make for a great montage (as"When Doves Cry" served in Purple Rain).

I'm not sure where these lofty Bond worthy standards come from. Most Bond themes are kitschy as hell and love songs. And often terrible. "Diamonds and Pearls" has that sort of winking 70's-era Roger Moore opener feel. Perhaps, it does lack the tension or drama of some of the better ones. I'm not saying that this needs to be nominated for an Oscar for editing skills. Just thought it was a cool idea and that the song worked well in that context. And once I saw the juxtaposition, I couldn't unsee it.

[Edited 9/4/16 12:29pm]

Bond themes are typically British. The rest of the world just doesn't seem to get it. As referrenced by that Jack White/Alicia Keys affair.

I'm not sure Prince has a bond theme song... Maybe "Thieves in the Temple".