Betting on the identity of the artist who has recorded the theme tune for new James Bond film Spectre has been suspended after bookmakers received a bet of £15,000 on Radiohead.

The band are now instilled as favourites with bookmakers William Hill, who cite an anonymous customer in Middlesex as being behind the five figure gamble.

Radiohead overtake Ellie Goulding as the favourite. Earlier today Goulding posted a picture of herself leaving Abbey Road studios, where the theme is traditionally recorded, but a spokesperson has since confirmed that she was working on her new studio album at the London studio.


A spokesperson for Radiohead did not immediately reply to NME’s request for comment on this story.

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“The first gamble of the day was Ellie Goulding and punters were backing her as if she already had the gig but just as we were thinking of pulling the plug we had a load of bets for Radiohead including one customer who asked to place a £15,000 bet on the band at 10/1,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.

“There seem to be all kinds of rumours and the plot has had more twists and turns than a classic Bond tale, but surely nobody risks £15,000 on a hunch.”

James Bond director Sam Mendes recently revealed that the theme for new film Spectre has been written and recorded with the artist’s identity to be revealed soon. Speaking in an interview with BBC News, Mendes confirmed that the song is ready to go ahead of the film’s October release date.

“I can say that the song’s been recorded and it’s fantastic and I’m very excited about it,” he said. “You won’t have to wait long.”

William Hill’s odds prior to suspending bets were as follows:


Radiohead (6/4)

Sam Smith (2/1)

Ellie Goulding (4/1)

Adele (5/1)

Lana Del Rey (14/1)

Lorde (14/1)

Coldplay (33/1)

Adele sang the theme for the last Bond movie Skyfall.

The new Bond film will star Daniel Craig in his fourth outing as 007. The other confirmed cast are Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny and Rory Kinnear as MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner.

The 24th Bond film will be released in British and Irish cinemas on the evening of Monday, October 26 at the same time as its world premiere takes place in central London. It will then open in cinemas internationally on various later dates, with its US release scheduled for November 6.