Peaky Blinders creator on why music is central to new drama This Town
Peaky Blinders may be known for Nick Cave, but This Town is set to include many more nods to music.
With the likes of Peaky Blinders and SAS Rogue Heroes under his belt, it's safe to say that viewers are expectantly waiting to see what Steven Knight's latest show, This Town, is all about.
Well, the acclaimed screenwriter is taking a step in a bit more of a musical direction with this latest BBC series, which centres on Dante Williams (Levi Brown) and the formation of his band against a backdrop of violence, "capturing how creative genius can come from a time of madness", according to the synopsis.
Speaking in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine, Knight revealed why music is central to the new drama, saying: "If you’re doing period television, then ask what was actually happening then.
"I remember, in Birmingham, you’d go into a pub and be looking around for a plastic bag that might have been left; it was all a bit edgy.
"My sister was there on the night of the Birmingham pub bombings [in 1974]. There were no mobile phones then, and we were all sitting at home wondering if she was caught up in it. It was just part of life.
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"Equally, you’d go into a pub and the collecting tin [for the IRA] would go round and the Irish music was there. That’s the other thing - the music is so central to that struggle."
The music in the series includes influences from Ireland, Jamaica and Britain, boasting tunes from a range of genres like reggae and ska.
As well as focusing on Dante's desire to start a band in the show, the music of the series is also a major draw - with Mercury-nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest and producer Dan Carey having written the songs performed by the band in the show.
This Town is co-produced with Mercury Studios, part of the Universal Music Group, which has brought in high-profile musicians to "help lay the backdrop for Knight’s incredible story".
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Dante's also a character with a lot of unashamed confidence, perhaps spurred on by the post-punk creativity of the time period.
Speaking about that, Knight said: "I saw a great quote from Leonard Cohen, that all you need to be a poet is arrogance and inexperience.
"There was a huge amount of arrogance and inexperience amongst working-class people at that time; an idea that there was no pre-existing definition of what you are and what you could achieve – you could just do what you want. That seems to have disappeared now."
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The new six-parter has been described as "both a high octane thriller and a family saga", and is set in a "world of family ties, teenage kicks and the exhilarating music of a generation", according to the synopsis.
As well as Brown (Loss and Return), the rest of the leading cast of rising talent includes Jordan Bolger (The Woman King), Ben Rose (Line of Duty) and Eve Austin (You), while other more familiar faces set to star in the series include Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Nicholas Pinnock (Marcella) and David Dawson (My Policeman).
This Town will air on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday 31st March, with all episodes on BBC iPlayer from 6am that day.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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