Kyle James Frazer

When I was at school, Pierce Brosnan became James Bond. This was a time when the producers were really pushing the brand, and we saw Bond playing with gadgets much cooler than ours. Mobile phones at the time were only just taking off – I remember when the arial on mine dug into my leg when I fell over playing football – and the country was braced for a whole new era with the Millenium Dome being constructed and the London Eye becoming reality. The late 90′s were a great time to be a youngster; the England team had reached the semi finals of Italia 90 and a spirited run in Euro 96; the Tory government that had decimated Britain were finally voted out and the wave of New Labour that would eventually lead to our current times of austerity came striding in; the internet was slowly taking off and schools were only just rolling out computer classes – the world was your oyster.

My favourite Bond film is Tomorrow Never Dies. The title music, composed by Sheryl Crow, was an instant classic, and Brosnan ran and rolled about without a hair slipping loose. His company car was German and could be driven by his mobile phone – it would open up like a Nintendo DS, with a screen on the top and touchpad on the bottom – which we were all absolutely enthralled by. Ten years later, I would get myself an iPhone, which can already be used to unlock cars as well as using GPS to mark where you parked.

The mastermind villain controlled the media and could influence nations to favour certain corporations through harassment and black mail – the summer’s fallout of the Murdoch dynasty bears stark resemblance.

So Pierce Brosnan excelled as James Bond and became the coolest guy on the planet for yours truly as I grew up – only later would I find more of his films, such as the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair and Taffin. Today I found that he also plays the instrument that gave me a bit of direction after hitting crossroads in my life – the ukulele.

Pierce Brosnan, you never cease to amaze me. Live long and prosper.