Sam Smith has recorded the new Bond theme

It's been months of teasing - and even last week Smith categorically denied being involved to BBC Radio 2 - which at one point meant trying to pin the act on Ellie Goulding, but now the cat's well and truly outta the bag. Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw, Smith says of the opportunity: "I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations... I'm so relieved to actually talk about this, this has been a top secret mission of my own."

Yesterday (7 September), Smith basically confirmed his involvement, snapping a pic of a new ring that features a symbol bearing a striking resemblance to the logo of the villainous organisation S.P.E.C.T.R.E., which the film is named after.

Smith says that the song has been done and dusted for months, after being recorded back in January: "I got called into the office with Barbara Broccoli and Sam Mendes and they gave me the script, I read the script... they said 'have a go at the song'. It's the quickest I've ever written a song - it took 20 minutes... and they loved it! I love the song so much."

The song is called "Writing's On The Wall" and it will be released on 25 September. Spectre, starring Daniel Craig and Christoph Waltz, will be in cinemas on 26 October.

The track has been written with Smith's longtime collaborator Jimmy Napes ("Stay With Me"), and marks the first time since 1965 that a British male solo artist has recorded the theme - since Tom Jones' Thunderball theme.

Adele recorded the previous Bond theme - "Skyfall" - to huge commercial and critical acclaim - she won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2013.

I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations.

— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 8, 2015

This is one of the highlights of my career. I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song.

— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 8, 2015

pic.twitter.com/0anlLMQSWZ

— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 7, 2015

You can pre-order 'Writing’s On The Wall' on CD or vinyl here http://t.co/7RpiBDtuUH, or on iTunes from midnight. pic.twitter.com/c9vphqANqW

— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 8, 2015