Michael Gillette’s art is nothing short of beloved by Bond fans. In 2008, he created a set of 15 instantly iconic covers for the Fleming centenary editions of the novels. Since then, he has also produced covers for continuation books. In October 2024, he releases his highly conceptual and utterly gorgeous covers for the new hardback editions of the…

The episode’s title is a quote from Quantum of Solace, specifically the scene where Mathis attempts to get to the bottom of Bond’s sleep problems.In the Bond films we don’t see our hero getting healthy, natural sleep all that often. Perhaps because, as Hitchcock famously asserted, ‘drama is life with the dull bits cut out’, we’re supposed to assume…

“When you focus your time and energy into the things you can change and influence, opportunities come to you and doors open that wouldn’t have been there before.” - John Able John is a father and a writer of stories aimed at bringing children and their caregivers closer together. Earlier this year, he wrote an article about martial arts in Fleming …

“Just because someone seems happy, doesn’t mean it’s the reality of the situation. It’s good to check in and see how people are doing.” - Vinnie Harris Vinnie Harris is an unfalteringly positive voice in the Bond community - his voice is also very deep and many of you will recognise it from his appearances on various podcasts! As Anya Amasova tells…

“It shook my foundations. I flipped from being someone that was 'Just get on with it' to a person who felt far more empathy, understanding not everyone has the tools to be able to 'Just get on with it'.” - Natasha StoneArm yourself because no one else here will save you? It’s a brilliant song lyric, but how far does being self-reliant really help u…

John is one of the fantastic lads who make up the Really, 007! podcast. While David has been honoured to be their guest multiple times and they've got to know each other well in real life, this is the first time John and David have publicly talked just the two of them.Both men help people with problems as part of their professional lives having bee…

The author of A Different Kind of Brave describes his novel as a “gay teen love letter to James Bond movies”, which is a pretty accurate description! Lee Wind’s book is a ludicrously exciting and romantic action adventure story with all of the Bond ingredients - but with two gay protagonists, one of who filters his whole life through his beloved Bo…

David chats with Thomas Gilbert, the illustrator of the new edition of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released to celebrate the book's 60th anniversary. Although this is the first book Thomas has illustrated, you will likely be familiar with his work in other fields. He is not only a highly accomplished artist who turned to making Bond post…

“At the core of a lot of depression is feeling like you don't have any meaning.” - David Zaritsky David Zaritsky and David Lowbridge-Ellis candidly explore the dark side and light side of relevancy within the Bond community. (Yes, there are also Star Wars references.) When we feel relevant, we get a natural hit of dopamine. But this can become dang…

Anyone who has seen Alex’s amazing YouTube knows that he always says yes to adventures! If something scares him, he follows Bond’s example and overcomes his fear by going and doing it. But as a child, he was not so confident. Alex has battled anxiety his whole life. He recognises that this is, in part, rooted in something James Bond is certainly no…

Mental health is not discussed enough, despite it being an important element of the 007 stories. In this series, David talks very openly about mental health with members of the Bond community. He has a theory: these are the sorts of things on many of our minds but we often struggle to put them into words. Maybe we can change that?Here, David talks …

Kim Sherwood's A Spy Like Me had its official launch on Saturday 27th April at Dukes Hotel in London. The event was a collaboration between 007GB - The British James Bond Fan Club, Ian Fleming Publications Limited and Harper Collins. It was my pleasure to be not only an organiser but also the emcee for the evening. The centrepiece of the event was …

On their most recent trip to Tokyo, David and Antony really didn’t expect to find themselves in a lesbian bar themed around James Bond. Nor could they quite believe it when the owner herself was up for being interviewed about her Bond fandom and how ‘women only’ carries a different meaning in Japanese culture. This interview was originally included…

Well, they can't all be winners, eh? Antony and David dive into the second Warren Ellis/Jason Masters' "caper" Eidolon, which deals with dirty money and even dirtier duties as James and Tanner, er, torture a suspect by removing his skin (?!) to prevent the rise of a neo-SPECTRE. Listen to what the couple thought, along with thoughts from LTQ listen…

This episode is also available as a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T0oz1O9yjU Award-winning Bond author Kim Sherwood and Licence to Queer's David Lowbridge-Ellis sit down to watch together the Bond film appearances of Kim's grandfather, George Baker - the man who Fleming wanted to play Bond. More than a decade after his passing, George rem…

Utilising the Licence to Queer queer view system (Bond, Allies, Girls, Villains, Camp), Antony and David tackle the first in Dynamite Entertainment's long line of James Bond comic books: Vargr by Warren Ellis and Jason Masters from late 2015.

We're launching a new mini-series on the Licence to Queer podcast feed and one which is going to be led by Antony Lowbridge-Ellis, David's (better) half. In this introductory episode, Antony, a life-long fan of the medium of comic books (see his X-Men podcast X-Nation) gives a bit of background on this new Licence to Queer project where Antony and …

Antony and David debate the merits of the various Bond comic books published by Dynamite Entertainment, including the new run by Garth Ennis. As usual for the 'Our Month' series, they look back on the many ways Bond has intersected with their daily lives and the special events they've been involved with, including Jim Fanning Friday: Live and Let's…

Is this the most niche Bond podcast of all time? We hope so! And we guarantee you'll find it interesting!Artist Rosie Sherwood and me tackle the topic of tweed in Bond and find there's much more to it than just snazzy looking garments.Rosie is the grandaughter of Bond actor George Baker and costume designer Julia Squire, who worked with John Huston…

Antony and David take on the treasure-hunt experience across London with their friend Natasha Stone (aka The Red Vesper). What did they make of it? Join them before, during and after the adventure. (No spoilers)

With a drought on the Bond film front, why is everyone not quenching their thirst with the Bond books? Perhaps it's because, with more than 50 continuation stories published in the sixty years since Fleming's death, it can be hard knowing where to start. Setting each other the mission of proving the case that there's a Bond book for every mood and …

Stephen Bourne saw Goldfinger in the cinema in 1964 as an ‘impressionable little gay boy’. Author of one of the first (if not the first) books to see Bond films queerly, Stephen reveals how his thinking about the ‘offensive’ characters in Bond has become more nuanced since he wrote the book - and urges everyone to keep a more open mind. Stephen is …

In the last two years, the Licence to Queer community raised almost £4,000 for charity. This year we’re raising money to support the vital work of a charity whose mission is close to our hearts: PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide. Very few people will not have been affected by suicide. One of my motivations for starting Licence to Queer was to do …

Antony and David review a fully stocked 2023. Rather than retread things they've already talked about in detail on episodes of Our Month in Bond they instead choose one highlight from each month to elaborate on, sharing hitherto unheard stories. Their selections include book launches, film screenings, events, trips to Bond locations at home and abr…

In the latest instalment of their popular series uncovering how Bond films developed through the scripting process, Tom Mason and David Lowbridge-Ellis set their gunbarrel sights on The World Is Not Enough. Early versions of the script reveal significantly different locations, different action sequences, different characters and different versions …

Your hosts recount their trip to Buckingham Palace to pick up David's MBE, the climactic 007GB event of 2023 and their experience of David Arnold's intimate live gig. After making a Doctor Who-themed Martini, they run through Christmas gift ideas for Bond fans, the release of Mark Edlitz's new book and finish with a discussion of Bond-tangential me…

While Antony and David really enjoyed 007: Road to a Million and are looking forward to the next series, they both choose three things which they think could make the show even better for all audiences, including the hardcore James Bond fans. Contains spoilers for the whole series.

What did David and Antony think of the new game show on Amazon Prime? *Contains spoilers for the first two episodes* #007RoadtoaMillion

Antony and David reflect on another busy month which included David introducing a special screening of Casino Royale and interviewing six Bond authors at Pinewood Studios for Bondstars. They also discuss the Doctor Who connections with Bond (Doctor Who is celebrating its 60th anniversary), Halloween-related articles on the LTQ website, the Roger Mo…

A bumper double episode, bringing you two months in one. We've both been so busy being 'problem eliminators' with our day jobs we didn't have chance to record at the end of August, so we saved it for now. We look back at the brilliant 007GB Club Belfry event in Birmingham, new editions of Bond novels for Global James Bond day, the excellent new Bon…

Benson’s Bond books updated 007's world for their period and were even ahead of their time in key ways. On the eve of the re-release of Zero Minus Ten, Raymond and I chat in detail about not just Bond but also other mutual passions, including Hitchcock, Hong Kong cinema and listening to The Beatles without earmuffs.As well as being a novelist, Raym…

What's up with Largo ordering champagne as his plot crashes and burns?! What's 'camp' about camp collars? A Dr Who reference?! Red rubber, really James? And are those mermaids in love???

With more girls than ever before, none of whom are in the mood for 'settling down' with anyone, Thunderball takes aim at heteronormativity.

Beginning with a full-on fight with a man in drag, Thunderball has some curiously queer villains, including asexual Vargas, piratical Largo and the fabulous femme fatale Fiona Volpe.

Thunderball features an early example of the ‘found family’ or ‘chosen family’ we typically associate with some of the Pierce Brosnan films and definitely the latter half of the Daniel Craig era. Those in the field include regulars Felix Leiter and Q, plus local contacts Paula and Pinder.

Don't frighten the fish! Of all the fantastical things that happen in Thunderball (and there are a lot of them), the one that strains credulity the most is Bond and Domino having sex under water. Is James Bond - at least metaphorically - a fish? And what might make his feel like a fish OUT of water?

Paul Baker is the author of the bestselling 'CAMP! The Story of the Attitude that Conquered the World'. Not only is the book fabulously funny but it also successfully captures what camp is all about (not a mean feat!) using a plethora of brilliant examples. There's only one problem: there's no way Paul could include everyone's favourite examples an…

The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the most balanced Bond films, with a finely calibrated blend of all we love about Bond. But the film we ended up with went through dozens of iterations, many containing thoroughly unhinged ideas. Tom Mason and David Lowbridge-Ellis have read every screen treatment and script they can get their hands on - two years' wo…

A gala fundraiser aboard HMS Belfast; an online event with Kim Sherwood exploring Bond and travel; the new Double-O novel gets its title and a sneak preview; Bond girls and singers sparkle in the V&A's stunning Divas exhibition; a memorable portrayal of Ian Fleming In the wonderful musical Operation Mincemeat and Antony gives his verdict on Fleming…

Kim Sherwood and David Lowbridge-Ellis talk with a live audience about all things travel and 007. How much is travel is responsible for the success of the books and films? Why do we have the urge to make pilgrimages to Bond locations? What can we learn from Bond about how to travel (and how not to)? This is a recording of an event held on Zoom on 2…

On the drive back from seeing the latest Mission: Impossible in the cinema (not handcuffed together), Antony and David try to not fall out with each other while discussing whether it's helpful (or not) to make comparisons with James Bond. They also talk about the queer elements, the Hitchcock influences and the really really cool bit where *spoiler…

Coming in slightly late - a few days into July - because we've had such a busy month... June was Pride Month so we talk about all of the Prides we've been to, including Pride in London where we represented the queer Bond fan community. David talks about the On The Tracks Nene Valley Railway event where he spent lots of time with John Glen, Kristina…

Kim Sherwood's 'A Wild & True Relation' is an amazingly queer book. For Pride Month 2023, David Lowbridge-Ellis gets truthful with the Bond author about her 18th Century-set swashbuckler, examining how and why she created such a moving and rollicking tale of self-determination, freedom of sexual orientation, chosen family and defied gender expectat…

What a busy month in Bond! As well as May Day (honouring Grace Jones of course) there were two other bank holidays, one of which was for the King's coronation, which inspired the plot of the newest Bond book, On His Majesty's Secret Service. David chatted with Charlie Higson himself about it, both at the official London launch and on the LTQ podcas…

In this spoiler-filled chat, David Lowbridge-Ellis delves deeply into all aspects of On His Majesty’s Secret Service with its author, Charlie Higson. No topic is off limits. David and Charlie get stuck into the core of the thrilling story, exploring the real life inspirations for the villain and his dastardly plot. They also tackle the really impor…

The Fast and Furious films scratch many of the same itches as the Bond series. Is that why they're so successful? Antony and David give their thoughts about the latest installment in this superbly camp franchise, including its queer representation. Mild spoilers.

Kim Sherwood and David Lowbridge-Ellis celebrate 70 Years of Bond by getting together with an audience to talk all things Fleming. They start off by sharing their funny first encounters with the Bond books (both involved naked men as it happens!) before discussing the best order in which to read them. Kim and David get stuck into the subtle - and l…

Half of April was taken up with our trip to Japan and we won't repeat anything about that here (see our three previous episodes for that). But even in the latter two weeks of the month, there has been a lot of Bond action, including our preparations for joining His Majesty's Secret Service (the Coronation and the new novel by Charlie Higson) and ou…

The Japanese assignment continues with a mission report from the world’s busiest train station. Antony and David relate their remaining Tokyo adventures, including cherry blossom viewings and visiting a location from The Wolverine (2013). Their next report comes from aboard a ‘Romance Express’ (like the one referred to by Tanaka in the novel of You…

Recorded live in the reception area of my hotel in Osaka, Japan this is a conversation with Eisuke Ochiai (@inspiredbybond on Instagram). We talk about Bond's place in Japanese culture before launching into our experiences with 'Casino Royale - My Name is Bond', a unique theatrical experience: not only is it the first stage musical of a James Bond …