6 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
F
ROMthemomentCillian
Murphyfirstrodethrough
themistystreetsof1920s
Birminghamona blackhorsetothe
sinisterstrainsofNickCave& Bad
TheSeeds’“RedRightHand”,Peaky
Blindersseta newbarforBritishTV
dramasoundtracks.Overthecourse
offourseries,StevenKnight’shit
retro-gangstersagahasmade
innovativeuseofgothicrocksongs
tocharttheinnerturmoilofits
protagonists,especiallyMurphy’s
antiheroTommyShelby,a
traumatisedformersoldier
turnedviolentunderworldboss.
Pre-existingsongsbyCave,PJ
Harvey,JackWhite,ArcticMonkeys,
JohnnyCash,Radioheadand
IggyPopmingledwithbespoke
instrumentalpiecesbysomeof
thosesameartiststocreatea kind
ofaudio-visualmixtape.Nowthe
producershavecommissionedthe
Mercury-nominatedAnnaCalvito
provideanentirescoreforthe
imminentfifthseries.
“PeakyBlindersmademethink
ofa WesternsetinBirmingham,”
saysCalvi.“Iwasinterestedin
exploringthatmusically.I guessit’s
abouta dysfunctionalfamily,and
everyonecanrelatetobeingpartof
a dysfunctional family in some way.
Evenif theyarenotmurdering
lunatics.Ha!”
“Annagetsthetone, 100 percent,”
saysPeakyBlindersproducerJamie
Glazebrook.“Sheunderstandsthe
painthatis ineveryone’sheartsin
thisshow.That’swhytherock’n’roll
is soprecious,becausethereis a
backdropofpaintoeverything.As
with all her albums, the music is
alreadycinematic;it feelslikeit’sgot
somesortofwidescreenquality.”
It’snosurprisethatPeaky
Blinders, whichscreensglobally
onNetflix,hasamasseda cult
followingamongmusicians.When
DavidBowieexpressedinterest,
MurphysenthimoneofTommy
Shelby’ssignaturecaps.Bowie’s
“Lazarus”laterappeared
posthumouslyontheshowin2016.
Most of the key soundtrack choices
inPeakyBlindersaredecidedbythe
directorofeachseason.Thistime
around,directorAnthonyByrne
approachedCalvidirectlywiththe
scoreoffer.Shecomposedmuch
ofhermusiconguitarinrealtime,
withtheshowplayingonscreen
infrontofher.“It’scollaborative,
definitely,butatthesametimeI
reallyfeelAnthonyis trustingmy
instincts,”shesays.“Ingeneral,
thefirsttimethatyourespondto
somethingis oftenthebest,because
youarejustinthemoment.”
Glazebrookis onlyhalf-joking
whenhesaystheshow’screators
followa “sixdegreesofseparation
fromNickCave”rulewhenadding
newmusic.“Myscorefeelslike
it’sfromthesamemusicalfamily,
definitely,”confirmsCalvi.“ButI
didn’treallywanttohavetheweight
oftryingtofitinwithwhathascome
before.I wasmore:whatis Tommy
feelingrightnow?Whatdoes
hewant?Whatis heafraidof?”
Witha sixthseriesalreadybeing
written,thereshouldbeplentymore
opportunityforadventurousrock
musicianstohelpanswerthese
questions. STEPHENDALTON
SeriesFiveofPeakyBlinders
starts on BBC1 in August
Playing a blinder
AnnaCalvi:
musicmadeto
orderforPeaky
fookin’Blinders
“Annaunderstands
thepainthatis in
everyone’shearts
inthisshow”
JAMIEGLAZEBROOK,
PRODUCER
Ifthecapfits...AnnaCalvijoinstheillustriouslistofrockers
lending their talents to BBC mob dramaPeaky Blinders
JONATHAN BIRCH, ROBERT VIGLASKY, BEN BLACKALL/© CARYN MANDABACH PRODUCTIONS LTD. 2019
Madhatters;Cillian
Murphyand(below)
HelenMcCroryin Series
5 ofPeaky Blinders
