Succession Season 4 Episode 1 review: Top five talking points
Mar 28 | 6 min readA Town Called Malice soundtrack: All the best 80s songs and musical moments featured in the Sky Max series
Head back to the 1980s with Sky Max and NOW series A Town Called Malice - we round up every song in the show's nostalgia-fuelled soundtrack.
“A big part of our world is music: music shapes the world, the characters and their experiences.”
A Town Called Malice creator Nick Love understands the power of music to take viewers back in time, transport us into the style and attitude of the 80s and get under the skin of the show’s characters.
The eight-part TV series about a gangster family on the run on the Costa Del Sol in the 1980s uses classic pop needle drops, features characters breaking into song and dance routines and sees every episode end with an iconic music video from the glory days of MTV.
You can stream every episode of A Town Called Malice on Sky Max with NOW from Thursday, 16 March and trust us when we say you’re going to be spinning All Out 80s playlists on Spotify after watching this show.
From Bowie and Bananarama to Blondie and Bon Jovi, A Town Called Malice has the greatest electro, punk, pop and new wave tracks from the colourful decade that will generate fuzzy nostalgia in the MTV generation.
Here is everything you need to know about the A Town Called Malice soundtrack, including every track used on the show…
A Town Called Malice soundtrack – Every song in the TV show
Episode 1
- Ma Baker - Boney M
- Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar
- I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
- Living On Video - Trans X
- I Could Be Happy (12” mix) - Altered Images
- Going Underground - The Jam
- I Fought The Law - The Clash
- True - Spandau Ballet
- Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
- Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
- Original Sin - INXS
- White Wedding - Billy Idol
- Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
- D.I.S.C.O - Ottowan
- Hold The Line - Toto
- Sunday Girl - Blondie
- A Town Called Malice - The Jam
Episode 2
- The Great Pretender - Freddie Mercury
- Rio - Duran Duran
- Lil Devil - The Cult
- Mickey - Toni Basil
- Just Can’t Get Enough - Depeche Mode
- Tainted Love - Soft Cell
- Give It Up - KC & The Sunshine Band
- Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
- Back In Black - AC/DC
- Daddy Cool - Boney M
- Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
- Avalon - Roxy Music
- Shout - Tears For Fears
Episode 3
- Kayleigh - Marillion
- Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
- Our House - Madness
- Blue Monday - New Order
- Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat
- Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner
- Mirror Man - The Human League
- Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar
Episode 4
- In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
- Kings Of The Wild Frontier - Adam & The Ants
- Let’s Go All The Way - Sly Fox
- Only You - Flying Pickets
- Fade To Grey - Visage
- Sunny - Boney M
- Everything I Own - Ken Boothe
- Do The Conga - Black Lace
- Alive And Kicking - Simple Minds
- Call Me - Blondie
Episode 5
- Rudy, A Message To You - Dandy Livingstone
- Chase The Devil - Max Romeo
- 54-46 Was My Number - Toots & The Maytals
- The Chase - Giorgio Moroder
- Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
- Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
- Cruel Summer - Bananarama
- Maneater - Hall & Oates
- Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters
Episode 6
- Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol
- I Ran - A Flock Of Seagulls
- Money (12” version) - The Flying Lizards
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
- Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime - The Korgis
- I’m Still Standing – Elton John
Episode 7
- Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
- Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
- Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
- Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar
- (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
- Ghost Town (12”) - The Specials
- Sunglasses At Night - Corey Hart
Episode 8
- The Jean Genie - David Bowie
- London Calling - The Clash
- I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
- Planet Earth - Duran Duran
- I’m Not In Love - 10cc
- Making Plans For Nigel - XTC
- Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
- Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
- Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
- Vienna - Ultravox
- Livin’ On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
- We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart
- The Sun Always Shines On TV - A-ha
A Town Called Malice cast on their favourite 80s musical moments
A member of the cast who is old enough to have lived through the 1980s is Dougray Scott, who plays Uncle Tony.
Scottish actor Scott believes that the soundtrack is a reminder of the optimism of that era.
“When you a hear a song like The Buggles’ Video Killed the Radio Star, or the one I sing, True, you think, ‘It’s great. It’s so positive and so evocative of that era’,” said Scott.
“I remember Spandau Ballet and Haircut 100. They weren’t really my cup of tea, but people loved them.”
Talking about his personal music favourites from the 80s, Scott said: “I grew up on a council estate in Fife, and whenever The Jam song A Town Called Malice came on, everyone would get up on the dance floor.
“It was an expression of who they were. There was a real connection between what our lives were like and what Paul Weller was writing about. His observations were spot on.
“Paul Weller just had his finger on the pulse of everything.”
Eliza Butterworth, who plays Carly Lord, wasn’t born until the 90s, but believes the “electronic chords and the colourful melodies” made it the decade where music became “a hell of a lot of fun”.
Talking about its significance in the series, she added: “It portrays all of the different storylines for each character, whether it’s something that’s heart-breaking accompanied a sad ballad or a funky hardcore moment accompanied by rock song.
“The music just completely brings those emotions and the vision and the cinematic quality of the show to life. Everything is about the aesthetic, and the sound couldn’t be more dripping in the 80s identity.”
Daniel Sharman, who plays the flamboyant Kelly Lord, said the cast were “blasting” 80s tunes in their trailers and makeup trucks on set.
“What I loved was that Nick introduced these montages with music that are ethereal,” said Sharman.
“These montages of synth pop tones really lend themselves to an operatic tone. That’s really smart. When I think 80s, I think big soaring synth sounds, and that really fits with this drama.”
Don’t miss the Paul Weller cameo in A Town Called Malice
Eagle-eyed viewers will be able to spot the Modfather and Jam legend Paul Weller making the briefest cameo in episode 1 of A Town Called Malice.
Weller, whose Jam classic is used as the show’s title, appears buying a pint in the East End pub that the Lord family are frequenting.
Lex Shrapnel, who plays Leonard Lord, said: “It was a real thrill for us all to meet him, but I was the lucky one. The scene he is in is at the end of me buying a round of drinks. So as I take the family their drinks, I give him a nod.
“Film-making takes a long time, so there was a lot of hanging around. Paul and I got chatting. I remember a few of the gang poking their heads round the door, looking at me and going, ‘You lucky so and so’ because we’re all fans of Paul’s.
“I got to spend what would normally be a couple of boring hours waiting for things to happen chatting with this legend, this icon. It was absolutely brilliant.”
Stream every episode of A Town Called Malice on Sky Max with NOW from Thursday, 16 March.
