I pressed play expecting background nostalgia. Instead, Series 2’s album grabbed the wheel. It’s not just New Romantic polish for montage candy; it’s the show’s heartbeat. Those big singles—synths strutting, basslines grinning—keep the swagger intact, while Edmund Butt’s taut title cue snaps everything to attention. The curation is shameless in the best way: chart giants shoulder-to-shoulder with ska elbows and post-punk stare-downs. It sounds like 1982, except cleaner and meaner, because the present knows how to master the past.

Background & Context

This is the second official compilation for the BBC drama’s middle run, released in spring 2009 to coincide with Alex Drake and Gene Hunt barreling into 1982. The brief? Bottle what the show does in rooms: tilt a scene with a chorus, let a bass drop double as a plot point, and make the needle-drops feel like dialogue. You’ll hear era royalty—Duran Duran, Phil Collins, The Human League, ABC—rubbing up against ska bristlers and yé-yé-adjacent curios. And tucked between, short spoken snippets and the refreshed opening titles remind you this was built for story, not just playlists. It’s pop memory with detective instincts.

Musical Styles & Themes

New Romantic gleam: Satin-smooth synth hooks and crisp drum machines; choruses that step onto the dance floor like they own the place.
Post-punk & ska grit: Choppy guitars, jumpy organs, and that brisk, elbows-out tempo that makes a stakeout feel like a street party.
Blue-eyed night music: Drum machines go cavernous, toms echo; melancholy walks in like it knows the bartender.
Anchoring score: Butt’s “Opening Titles” is efficient and sly—theme as fingerprint—resetting your ears between era bangers.

Track Highlights (scenes in your head, no full tracklist here)

Queen & David Bowie — “Under Pressure”

The show’s thesis in one bassline: two forces pushing, somehow making space for grace. It tends to underscore the series’ bigger reckoning beats—choices you can’t duck, consequences catching up.

Duran Duran — “Planet Earth”

Shiny, hungry, and forward-leaning. Perfect for the sleeker Series 2 vibe, where the team strides more than stumbles.

Phil Collins — “In the Air Tonight”

That drum fill is practically character development—storm-warning tension that lands exactly when certain truths can’t stay quiet.

The Human League — “Mirror Man”

Sugar with a side-eye. Works like a mirror held to half-truths; the melody smiles while the plot doesn’t.

ABC — “The Look of Love”

When the show flirts with glamour, this is the cologne. Brass flourishes, wry vowels, a wink in every bar.

The Specials — “Rat Race”

Ska as a moral stance. You can almost see Gene’s jaw set to the off-beats; the song makes tutting sound kinetic.

New Order — “Temptation”

Synths stretch like neon—yearning without melodrama. It suits Alex’s quieter choices, the ones she doesn’t narrate.

Blondie — “Atomic”

A strut with teeth. When the episode needs a gear shift into swagger, this is the lever.

Odyssey — “Going Back to My Roots”

Joy as investigation tool. A groove that tells you the team’s together even when the evidence isn’t.

Edmund Butt — “Opening Titles (Series 2)”

Fifty-odd seconds that tidy the desk: motif, pulse, cut to the Quattro. It’s the sound of the show clearing its throat.

Show Plot & Characters

Series 2 pushes DI Alex Drake deeper into the decade: 1982 London, Thatcher’s shadow long, the Quattro louder, Gene Hunt somehow both problem and solution. Cases stack—Soho clubs, bent coppers, docklands ghosts—while a bigger mystery keeps humming under the floorboards. The soundtrack sells both layers: the case-of-the-week bounce and the time-bent ache of not quite belonging.

Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes): Rational mind in irrational time. The shinier synth-pop frames her steely stubbornness; the ballads sneak in when the mask slips.
Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister): Force of nature with a smirk. Post-punk stomp and pub-anthem energy orbit him like satellites.
Ray, Chris, Shaz: The team’s rhythm section. Ska cuts and early-80s dance-pop track their growth spurts and stumbles.

Production & Behind the Scenes

Release & label: The Series 2 album landed in April 2009 under Sony Music Entertainment UK with EMI TV/Virgin partners credited—big-catalog muscle meeting BBC drama curation.
What’s on it: Era hits chosen for story beats, short dialogue stingers, and the refreshed title music. It plays like an episode flow, not a radio countdown.
How the music was used: Writers seeded specific songs into scripts; directors built transitions around them. You can feel the edit points breathe with the choruses.
Interactive flourish: On original UK broadcasts, viewers could hit the red button after episodes for period performance clips—TOTP and friends—hosted in-character. It turned the soundtrack into a mini living museum.
Score thread: Edmund Butt’s compact cues don’t fight the songs; they reset the palette so each drop lands fresh.

Critic & Fan Reactions

“A fantastic soundtrack that is chock full of the music of the time.” US broadcast preview

“They have largely exhausted any hint of originality.” Trade review, wry eyebrow duly raised

Fans didn’t care about originality quibbles; they were too busy enjoying how brazenly the show married plot turns to jukebox choices. The album hit at the right cultural temperature—retro had cycled back into cool—and it still works as its own night out: lift, glare, glitter, regret, repeat.

FAQ

Ashes To Ashes Series 2 Soundtrack Trailer, Songs Lyrics — Ashes To Ashes Series 2 TV Soundtrack Trailer, 2009

Is this a score album or a songs album?: Primarily songs from the show’s 1982 setting, plus short dialogue bits and the refreshed opening titles theme.
What’s the official release date?: Late April 2009 in the UK, aligned with the on-air run of Series 2.
Did it chart?: The franchise’s first soundtrack smashed UK charts in 2008; Series 2 kept the momentum in the soundtrack/compilations lanes during spring 2009.
Runtime and format?: About 79 minutes on the core CD; released on CD and digital.
Who’s behind the theme?: Edmund Butt—concise, percussive, instantly recognisable.
Are all the show’s songs on the album?: No—clearances vary. The set focuses on the big beats and a few deep cuts that best serve the arc.