This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series) Announced for April 26th Release on Polydor Records

Listen to ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ by Self Esteem & Ray Laurél’s ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ now

This Town is available in full on BBC iPlayer and continues weekly on BBC One

Steven Knight drama This Town has announced details of a unique accompanying soundtrack release, which is out digitally and physically on April 26th via Polydor Records. The first two episodes of This Town aired over Easter Weekend, with Self Esteem’s vivid reimagining of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and Ray Laurél’s beautiful new version of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ available now, having closed out the credits of the double-premiere.

This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series) celebrates a thrilling evolution of sound, spirit and UK culture. Set against the melting-pot scene of the Midlands in the 1980s, Knight’s epic drama evokes a community navigating personal upheaval and a pivotal moment of social unrest through the transformative possibilities of music. And as this extraordinary group of young people form a band and fight for their own paths in life, the universal concerns of This Town appear more important than ever.

This Town is fittingly accompanied by a brand new album release, bringing together the show’s genre-wide mix of timeless classics, brand new music, and iconic hits of the era. It features an eclectic, world-class mix of artists at the top of their respective fields, paying tribute to this hugely formative period: from Self Esteem and Ray Laurél in the series premiere, upcoming episodes will include original covers from Mercury-nominated breakthrough Olivia Dean, GRAMMY-winning powerhouse Gregory Porter, BRITs Rising Star nominee Sekou and Academy Award nominee Celeste. The songs played by Fuck The Factory – the band at the heart of This Town – have been created by trailblazing producer Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C, Wet Leg, and founder of the seminal Speedy Wunderground label), who has collaborated with singer-songwriter ESKA and musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest in work that adds another chapter to this vital story.

On This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series), co-president of Mercury Studios Marc Robinson comments: “it has been a privilege to be working with Paul Whittington, Steven Knight and the entire Kudos team in bringing the musical narrative of This Town to life. Music is at the heart of the series and it has been a thrill to work with such excellent musical talent on this project. Excited to share and celebrate the music that compliments this exceptional series.” 

Kudos’ Executive Producer Karen Wilson also adds: “we always knew that getting the music right was going to be key to the success of This Town. Mercury Studios have been the perfect partners in this. With Dan Carey, Kae Tempest and Eska creating the thrilling original songs performed by the band, and a roster of amazing contemporary artists covering iconic tracks, we couldn’t be more excited to share this music with the world.” 

Full track-listing for This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series) is detailed below. All episodes of This Town are available on BBC iPlayer now, with the six-part series continuing weekly at 9PM on Sunday nights on BBC1 until April 28th.

This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series)

01. Self Esteem: ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’

02. Ray Laurél: ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’
03. Fuck The Factory: ‘Estella’

04. Olivia Dean: ‘The Harder They Come’
05. Fuck The Factory: ‘Birdsong’
06. Fuck The Factory: ‘Pelicans’
07. Celeste: ‘Blue Moon’

08. Fuck The Factory: ‘Farewell To Matty And Her Flowers’
09. Gregory Porter: ‘The World’s Going Up In Flames’

10. Fuck The Factory: ‘This Town’
11. Sekou: ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’

ABOUT THIS TOWN

This Town was produced by Kudos (a Banijay UK company) and Nebulastar for the BBC, co-produced with Mercury Studios, in association with Kudos North and Stigma Films. It was filmed on location in the Birmingham area, and at Steven Knight’s new Digbeth Loc. Film and TV Studios. The show stars an exciting cast including Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, Anatomy of a Scandal), Nicholas Pinnock (For Life, Marcella), David Dawson (My Policeman, The Last Kingdom) alongside rising talent including Levi Brown (Loss and Return), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King, The Book of Boba Fett), Ben Rose (Line of Duty, The Innocents), Eve Austin (You, Our Ladies) Freya Parks (The School of Good and Evil, Here We Go) and Shyvonne Ahmmad (Annika, Karen Pirie). Geraldine James (Back To Life, Anne with an E), Peter McDonald (The Batman, Dublin Murders), John Heffernan (Dracula, The Pursuit of Love), Stefan Asante-Boateng (Coronation Street, Suffering), Séainín Brennan (The Fall, Hidden), George Somner (This Is Going To Hurt, Sex Education) and Brendan Gibson (Peaky Blinders, Mr Selfridge) will also feature in the series. This Town is created, written and executive produced by Steven Knight. It is directed by Paul Whittington and produced by Tim Whitby and Charlotte Surtees. Executive Producers are Karen Wilson, Katie McAleese and Martin Haines for Kudos, and Jo McClellan for the BBC. Matthew James Wilkinson (Stigma Films), Nick Angel and Laura Conway (Kudos North) serve as Co-Executive Producers, Alice Webb, Marc Robinson and Lucie Avery (Mercury Studios) as Co-Producers.

ABOUT MERCURY STUDIOS

Mercury Studios is a full-service production studio. Current and recent projects include Oscar and BAFTA award nominated AMERICAN SYMPHONY, a feature documentary by award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman, that follows Jon Batiste for the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions and Netflix and Telluride Film Festival selection IF THESE WALLS COULD SING, the untold story of the world-famous Abbey Road Studios directed by celebrated British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney for Disney+; MY LIFE AS A ROLLING STONE, a four-part docuseries of intimate portraits of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts for the BBC and MGM+; SHANIA TWAIN: NOT JUST A GIRL, a career documentary about the superstar currently available on Netflix; MIXTAPE, the critically acclaimed  feature documentary from Omar Acosta focused on the DJs and artists who shaped the sound and culture of Hip-Hop through mixtapes for Paramount+;  and the forthcoming THIS TOWN, a six-part series for the BBC from writer, creator, and executive producer Steven Knight.

Mercury Studios also produced SAM SMITH: LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL (BBC/Tik Tok) and Billie Eilish’s livestream event, OVERHEATED, at The O2 London and LANG LANG PLAYS DISNEY for Disney+.

Editorially independent, Mercury Studios is powered by Universal Music Group and represents the world’s leading catalogue of music-related content, consisting of thousands of hours of premium music-driven film and television programming.

For more information please contact rob@toastpress.com