1992 was not only a banner year for movies, it was also a banner year for movie music – more than the Academy Award category for Best Song could adequately capture with only five nominations. They were:

“Beautiful Maria of My Soul” from The Mambo Kings – Music by Robert Kraft; Lyrics by Arne Glimcher

“Friend Like Me” from Aladdin – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (posthumous nomination)

“I Have Nothing” from The Bodyguard – Music by David Foster; Lyrics by Linda Thompson

“Run to You” from The Bodyguard – Music by Jud Friedman; Lyrics by Allan Rich

“A Whole New World” from Aladdin – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Tim Rice)

That’s all – five songs covering three movies from the year. What else could have been nominated? Below is one idea:

Hot off their one legitimate chart hit, “Kiss The For Me,” the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees was approached to record the theme song for the highly anticipated Batman Returns. With Danny Elfman, the film’s composer and scorer extraordinaire, they composed “Face to Face,” which plays at the most perfect part of one of the most perfect movies.

I’ll refrain from embarrassing myself too much here at one point, (with the strings going strong, Siouxsie can be heard purring like a cat!), but suffice it to say, this song should not only have been nominated – it should have been a much bigger hit.

This is part of an ongoing series in which I look back at some of the forgotten movie music of 1992.