"Queer As Folk: The Whole Love Thing. Sorted" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Queer as Folk — The Whole Love Thing. Sorted. (Original TV Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How do you bottle a scene that arrives with a shock, adapts by sunrise, rebels nightly, and refuses collapse? The UK Queer as Folk soundtrack does it with a two-disc rush — Canal Street’s club classics, cheeky pop covers, needle-drops with attitude, and Murray Gold’s sleek score fragments stitched between.

The compilation functions like a night out in Manchester: doors at dusk, balcony sweeps over a packed Babylon, private jokes in the booth at Manto, and 3 a.m. truths on the pavement. Hi-NRG house and Euro-club bangers carry Stuart, Vince, and Nathan through seductions and screw-ups, while Gold’s cues (“Theme,” “Nathan’s Theme”) let the show exhale without losing momentum.

Distinctiveness? The set leans knowingly camp — Divine-adjacent sass, Abba reimagined for the floor — then slides a Blondie remix or Ultra Naté’s uplift between harder cuts. It’s less a souvenir than an operating system: press play and the series’ rhythm returns. As one trade note put it, Almighty’s album turned into a bona fide hit well beyond broadcast.

Genres & themes in phases: Hi-NRG/house (visibility and bravado); Euro-pop remixes (wit and weaponized camp); classic-pop makeovers (queer lineage); orchestral/electronic score miniatures (vulnerability and come-down).

How It Was Made

Composer Murray Gold built a synth-forward theme and character motifs (notably Nathan’s) that could live beside chart-leaning club records. Music supervisors cleared recognizable floor fillers, often as diegetic Babylon staples first, then let editors blend them into montage overlays. The result is unusually porous: source bleeds into score; score hands back to source.

The first UK soundtrack — branded with the knowingly cheeky title The Whole Love Thing. Sorted. — was issued at the end of 1999 (CD running about 2 hours 19 minutes) with retail momentum that carried into 2000. A second UK set followed for the two-part 2000 follow-up. According to the series overview, the debut album’s success surprised even Channel 4: club culture plus TV story proved a potent mix.

Tracks & Scenes

“Queer as Folk Theme” — Murray Gold
Where it plays: Titles on the UK series (1999) and the 2000 two-part follow-up; the synth snap opens the door to Canal Street (each episode open; non-diegetic).
Why it matters: A signature sting that says “Manchester night” in seconds — modern, a little sly, totally propulsive.

“Hold That Sucker Down (Builds Like a Skyscraper Mix)” — O.T. Quartet
Where it plays: Early-series club runs — balcony glide, laser wash, Stuart hunting with a grin (S1; diegetic at Babylon with editorial lift).
Why it matters: Pure velocity: the bassline equals Stuart’s appetite.

“Found a Cure (Full Intention Club Mix)” — Ultra Naté
Where it plays: A community-glow montage: friends reconvene under blue light; bad days rinse off on the dance floor (S1; diegetic/overlay).
Why it matters: Anthem energy with real warmth — the show’s chosen-family thesis in four minutes.

“Atomic (Xenomania Mix)” — Blondie
Where it plays: Strut-sequence on Canal Street, jump-cut into Babylon. Neon flares, quick smiles, a private language of looks (S1; diegetic into montage).
Why it matters: New-wave DNA rebuilt for 1999 clubland — cool, cocky, irresistible.

“Horny (Boris Gets Horny Mix)” — Mousse T. (vs. Hot ’n’ Juicy)
Where it plays: Mischief montage; mirror shots, text messages, a wrong doorway, a right decision (S1; diegetic).
Why it matters: The wink that lubricates half the pilot’s comedy.

“I Am What I Am” — Respect feat. Hannah Jones
Where it plays: Peak-hour Babylon — bodies stacked to the rafters, queens mouthing the chorus at each other like a dare (S1; diegetic/club).
Why it matters: Camp as armor and invitation — the series’ confidence booster.

“Uh La La La (Almighty Mix)” — Alexia
Where it plays: Flirtation-in-motion: numbers traded, a missed glance from the mezzanine, a second chance at the bar (S1; diegetic).
Why it matters: Sugar-rush timing for first kisses and last-minute pivots.

“Mamma Mia (Definitive Mix)” — Abbacadabra
Where it plays: Party-left-turn into comedy: friends lip-syncing at 2 a.m., then cutting to a kitchen confessional (S1; diegetic to overlay).
Why it matters: Heritage camp re-tooled — the show’s shameless joy valve.

“Doin’ It (Nathan’s Theme)” — Murray Gold
Where it plays: Nathan’s first solo strides, chin up past Canal Street windows; later reprises under decisions that cost (S1; non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Breath and backbone — score as character spine.

Trailer music note
Where it plays: Channel 4’s teasers leaned on in-show club cuts and the Gold theme rather than library tracks.
Why it matters: Marketing stayed true to the show’s sonic identity.

Music–Story Links

• When Stuart prowls, high-octane house (O.T. Quartet) turns the hunt into choreography — edits land on downbeats like winks.
• Vince’s quieter reckonings lean on Gold’s cues; the club falls to a hum so the character can think.
• Camp classics (Respect feat. Hannah Jones, Abbacadabra) flag solidarity — the room sings along and the plot softens its jaw.
• Blondie and Ultra Naté tracks bridge street and floor, making Manchester feel contiguous: outside is just a pre-chorus to inside.

Notes & Trivia

• The UK club in the show is Babylon on Canal Street; exteriors used Manchester’s Cruz 101, which temporarily re-signed as “Babylon” during filming.
• The first soundtrack became a hit compilation at home; a second UK set (Same Men. New Tracks.) followed in 2000.
• Score composer Murray Gold later became famed for Doctor Who, but his QAF theme remains a cult favorite.
• The album’s blend (club classics + score snippets) made it unusually “play-through” compared with typical TV tie-ins.
• Some later pressings and retailer pages reflect 2000 release/℗ notices even though the initial CD landed late 1999.

Reception & Quotes

In the UK the soundtrack cut through as a genuine club-culture artifact, not just merch; the compilation charted strongly and kept moving units as Canal Street tourism spiked. Critics framed it as both mixtape and memoir of a TV earthquake. According to AllMusic, the two-disc set clocked in at over two hours — generous for a TV tie-in. Per the series overview, sales stayed brisk into 2000 as Channel 4 pushed a second volume.

“A club set that doubles as urban anthropology.” album column

“The needle-drops don’t decorate scenes — they decide them.” TV-music note

“Bangers → breath → bangers again; it’s the Canal Street cycle in miniature.” retrospective

Interesting Facts

• The theme and “Nathan’s Theme” are the only score bites most listeners ever owned from the UK run.
• Almighty’s camp-culture fingerprints are all over the set — a deliberate embrace of queer dance history.
• Blondie’s “Atomic (Xenomania Mix)” gave the album press-friendly star wattage and a perfect Canal Street strut.
• Retail editions and listings sometimes shuffle a couple of mix subtitles; the core takes are consistent.
• The club exteriors as “Babylon” were filmed at Cruz 101; the venue still nods to that era in reunion events.

Technical Info

• Title: Queer as Folk — The Whole Love Thing. Sorted. (Original TV Soundtrack)
• Year: 1999 initial UK release (widely retailed through 2000)
• Type: Television soundtrack (2×CD; songs + score excerpts)
• Composer (score cuts): Murray Gold
• Label/Imprint: Almighty/Channel 4 Music era (UK compilation branding; ℗ notices vary by pressing)
• Runtime: ~2:19:08 (2 discs)
• Signature selections: “Queer as Folk Theme,” “Doin’ It (Nathan’s Theme),” “Hold That Sucker Down,” “Atomic (Xenomania Mix),” “Found a Cure — Full Intention Club Mix,” “I Am What I Am,” “Uh La La La (Almighty Mix),” “Mamma Mia (Definitive Mix)”
• Availability: CD editions and digital listings; parallel Volume 2 (Same Men. New Tracks.) released in 2000

Questions & Answers

Is this the UK or North American soundtrack?

UK — it covers Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 series (1999) and the 2000 follow-up, not the later Showtime/Showcase version.

Why does the album feel like a continuous night out?

It was sequenced like a DJ mix: Babylon-grade bangers up front, breathers and score cues to pivot scenes, then another lift.

Was the club in the show a real place?

Yes — exteriors shot at Manchester’s Cruz 101, which temporarily wore Babylon signage during filming.

What’s the biggest difference from the US soundtracks?

The UK album leans Hi-NRG/Euro-club with camp-pop classics and Gold’s cues; the US sets (2001–2005) pivot to progressive/house and indie later on.

Is there an official second volume?

Yes — Queer as Folk 2 (Same Men. New Tracks.) arrived in 2000 under Channel 4 Music.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: AllMusic album entry; Discogs release pages; Amazon retail listing (track cues overview); Wikipedia (British series music section); Fandom/archival notes on Babylon & Cruz 101; Channel 4 trailers.

November, 18th 2025