A central component to This Town is the show's carefully curated music, which both soundtracks the Birmingham drama and is crafted by its fledgling band.
The new BBC drama from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight sees a group of young Brummies turn to the 1980s music scene to try and escape the tumultuous political situation swirling around them.
Ben Rose, who plays Bardon, and Freya Parks, who plays Fiona, are musicians as well as actors. Levi Brown, Eve Austin and Shyvonne Ahmmad, who play Dante, Jeannie and Matty, all learnt their instruments for the show.
The songs the band performs in the series were written specifically for the show by producer Dan Carey, Brit- and Mercury-nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest, and singer-songwriter ESKA.
In addition to that, This Town has put its money where the speaker set is, because the soundtrack is brimming with instantly recognisable classics from The Animals, Ray Charles and Bob Marley, to name but a few.
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The list of the tracks played during the show includes the covers and original songs recorded specifically for the BBC show from the likes of Celeste, Gregory Porter, Sekou and Self Esteem.
Episode 1
- 'Jamaica Ska' – Byron Lee and The Dragonaires
- 'Broadway Jungle' – Toots and The Maytals
- 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' – Desmond Dekker
- 'Fly Me to the Moon' – Tom Jones
- 'Don't Stay Away' – Phyllis Dillon
- 'Take This Longing' – Leonard Cohen
- 'I Think It's Going to Rain Today' – UB40
Episode 2
- 'Freak Out' – Supadelics
- 'Pressure Drop' – Toots and The Maytals
- 'Chase the Devil' – Max Romeo and The Upsetters
- 'Many Rivers to Cross' – Jimmy Cliff
- 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' – Michelle Dockery
- 'Enjoy Yourself' – Prince Buster
- 'Son of a Preacher Man' – The Gaylettes
- 'I Can See Clearly Now' – Ray Charles
Episode 3
- 'Are "Friends" Electric' – Tubeway Army and Gary Numan
- 'Fu Man Chu' – Desmond Dekker and The Aces
- 'The House of the Rising Sun' – The Animals
- 'A Message to You Rudy' – The Specials feat. Rico Rodriguez
- 'Clampdown' – The Clash
- 'Love of the Common People' – Nicky Thomas
- 'Cissy Strut' – The Meters
Episode 4
- 'The Foggy Dew' – Odetta
- 'On My Radio' – The Selecter
- 'Israelites' – Desmond Dekker
- 'Sun Is Shining' – Bob Marley
- 'Hong Kong Garden' – Siouxsie and The Banshees
- 'Danny Boy' – Jackie Wilson
- 'Since You Been Gone' – Rainbow
Episode 5
- 'Heart of Glass' – Blondie
- 'Dream Baby Dream' – Suicide
- '007 (Shanty Town)' – Desmond Dekker
- 'Take Me to the River' – Talking Heads
Episode 6
- 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' – Jackie Robinson, George Agard and Sydney Crooks
- 'Jezahel' – Shirley Bassey
- 'Rock & Roll' – The Velvet Underground
This Town original songs
- 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' – Self Esteem
- 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' – Ray Laurél
- 'Estella' – Fuck The Factory
- 'The Harder They Come' – Olivia Dean
- 'Birdsong' – Fuck The Factory
- 'Pelicans' – Fuck The Factory
- 'Blue Moon' – Celeste
- 'Farewell To Matty And Her Flowers' – Fuck The Factory
- 'The World’s Going Up In Flames' – Gregory Porter
- 'This Town' – Fuck The Factory
- 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' – Sekou
This Town is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
