It is a matter of fact that the Peaky Blinders series owes its success also to its catching soundtrack, that is a sophisticated selection of songs belonging to many genres, with a prevalence of rock and alternative rock.

This post talks about the Peaky Blinders soundtrack collecting some of the most suggestive tracks used in the series, and of the artists and bands behind them.

You can find titles and information about the songs, links to their authors websites and wikipedia pages, but also embedded YouTube videos where you can listen to them directly from this page.

Reserve time for yourself and a good audio system to enjoy this post, and dive into Peaky Blinders outstanding soundtrack.

The opening theme – Red Right Hand

The iconic opening theme of each episode, the real Peaky Blinders theme song, is Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Nick Cave is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and actor, while the band The Bad Seeds formed in 1983 is one of the most original and celebrated post-punk and alternative rock bands.

They have released seventeen studio albums, and Red Right Hand was the third single from the band’s 8th album Let Love In originally released in 1994.

If the song sounds familiar to you, probably is because it has been used also in other TV series and movies like The X Files, Hellboy, Scream and Dumb and Dumber.

You can find more information regarding Red Right Hand here and listen to it and watch its official video here:

The Peaky Blinders series also plays another version of Red Right Hand performed by PJ Harvey.
Polly Jean Harvey, usually known as PJ Harvey, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Her version of the song is very intense and sensual, and proposes a different atmosphere.
You can listen to it into this video that collects some iconic scenes from the Peaky Blinders episodes:

The energetic tracks

Into the Peaky Blinders series there are plenty of scenes where there are no dialogues, just the scene itself, often in slow motion. To characterize such scenes, there is a sapient use of music.

The most iconic scenes without dialogues are of two types: the action ones, where Thomas Shelby and the other characters are engaged in violent, dramatic events; and the emotional ones, where there are love and touching parts.

Many action scenes are reinforced and made iconic by energetic tracks, powerful rock and alternative rock songs that boost the audience emotions.

The following is a selection of the best ones used into the Peaky Blinders music.

Come On Over – Royal Blood

The Royal Blood are an English rock duo formed by Mike Kerr (vocals and bass) and Ben Thatcher (drums).
Their particular and recognizable sound comes from Mike’s bass original playing style, based on the usage of amplifiers and effect pedals that make his bass sound like an electric and bass guitar at the same time.
You can read further details regarding this duo here.
Their track part of the Peaky Blinders music is Come on Over, and this is the official video:

Do I Wanna Know – Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band, formed back in 2002 and famous worldwide.
They are recognized as being one of the first band that was promoted and marketed through the internet, and you can read more about their artistic long history here.
Their track used into the Peaky Blinders soundtrack is their greatest hit Do I Wanna Know, and this is the official video:

This Is Love – P.J. Harvey

We meet again P.J. Harvey, present into Peaky Blinders music also with her wide known hit This is Love.
This is one of the many videos that she released of this song (cool shoes 🙂 ):

Burn The Witch – Queens Of The Stone Age

Another iconic track comes from the Queens Of The Stone Age, a.k.a. “qotsa“, an American rock band from California.
But rock band is reductive for them, since their musical style has been defined in many ways, like alternative rock and stoner rock among the others.
You can read about their almost three decades long career here.

Their song played into the series is Burn the Witch, here is the official video:

Bad Habits – The Last Shadow Puppets

Now it’s time for the supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets, again from England. Supergroup because formed by Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane, a solo artist that was part of The Rascals, the music producer James Ford and Zach Dawes from Mini Mansions, here you can find their story and musical journey.
Into the Peaky Blinders music is present the song Bad Habits from their second album released in 2016, and this is its official video:

Snake Oil – Foals

The Foals are a British rock band from Oxford that released seven studio albums to date, you can find more details here.
Their contribution to the soundtrack is the track Snake Oil that can be listened here:

The ballads

The emotional Peaky Blinders scenes, where the characters are making love, releasing pain, suffering, are made iconic and sensational by ballads, chosen between folk, pop and rock genres.

The following is a selection of the best ones used into the Peaky Blinders soundtrack.

To Bring You My Love – PJ Harvey

Also here we meet again P.J. Harvey, no doubt that Peaky Blinders entourage loves her. But probably is because she is such a versatile artist capable of performing good so many genres, and in this post there are just a few examples.
Her contribution into the ballads of Peaky Blinders soundtrack is the sensual To Bring You My Love, a track released in 1995, that you can listen here:

What He Wrote – Laura Marling

Laura Beatrice Marling is a British folk singer and songwriter.
She is a sophisticated artist winner of many awards, and you can discover more about her artistic journey here.

I personally love one of her attributed sentence “I like the idea of speaking only when it’s strictly necessary”.
Into the Peaky Blinders music is present her touching ballad titled What He Wrote, and this is its official video:

Lazarus – David Bowie

The Peaky Blinders soundtrack contains also a track from The White Duke David Bowie.
The song is the emotional Lazarus, released in 2015 and part of his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar.
You can read more about this song and its touching meaning here, and this is its official video:

Ballad Of A Thin Man – Richard Hawley

There is another iconic ballad from Richard Hawley, an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer.
The ballad is titled Ballad Of a Thin Man, is a cover of a Bob Dylan’s song and is characterized by a retro piano line.
You can listen to it here: