The story of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery, when a group of unsuspecting robbers stumbled upon £26 million of gold in a Heathrow warehouse, The Gold is back for a second season covering the ‘what happened’ next part of the extraordinary true-life tale.
Season 1 covers the aftermath of the crime during the 1980s, as the gang try to figure out how to turn several tonnes of bullion into untraceable lucre. Season 2 spans the late ’80s and into the early ’90s and it’s got a crate load of period–specific bangers to help set the mood.
The soundtrack spilled out of the writing process, showrunner Neil Forsyth tells Time Out. ‘I'm always putting together a song list to get into the period of the show as I’m writing, and sometimes it's good for characterisation. When we get in the edit, it's a group conversation with the director. Music adds so much, we put a huge amount of thought into it – and [Simon Goff’s] score as well.’
The first season boasted New Order, The Smiths and The Fall, and the new six-episode run has a Manchester feel too.
Here’s the season 2 soundtrack in full:
Disorder – Joy Division
Loaded – Primal Scream
Ride On Time – Blackbox
She Bangs The Drums – The Stone Roses
Somewhere In My Heart – Aztec Camera
Pure – The Lightning Seeds
Ceremony (Substance 1987 version) – New Order
There She Goes – The La’s
Zombie – The Cranberries
Mr Bojangles – Jerry Jeff Walker
Roads – Portishead
Insomnia – Faithless
The Masterplan – Oasis
So are Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and their New Order band mates fans of the show? ‘I'm sure we did have positive feedback,’ says Forsyth. ‘I've got a feeling the music supervisor told me that Hooky had enjoyed the first series. I think I’ll go with that. He’s a legend.’
The Gold season 2: the filming locations behind the BBC heist drama.