Ashes to Ashes: the definitive playlist (final)

Here’s the final list of all the songs heard on the BBC series Ashes to Ashes, including season 3, the show’s last.

Season 1

Episode 1

Ultravox – “Vienna”
The Clash – “I Fought the Law”
Tubeway Army – “Are Friends Electric?”
The Stranglers – “No More Heroes”
David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes”
The Passions – “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Duran Duran – “Careless Memories”
Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”

Episode 2

Tenpole Tudor – “Swords of a Thousand Men”
Madness – “The Prince”
Imagination – “Body Talk”
The Flying Lizards – “Money”
Visage – “Fade to Grey”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Souvenir”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Geno”
The Pop Group – “We Are All Prostitutes”
Heaven 17 – “Fascist Groove Thang”
Jon and Vangelis – “I Hear You Now”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Show Me”
Chas and Dave – “Gertcha”

Episode 3

The Ruts – “Staring at the Rudeboys”
Joe Jackson – “It’s Different for Girls”
Bryan Ferry – “Let’s Stick Together”
Roxy Music – “Over You”
Bucks Fizz – “Making Your Mind Up”
Modern Romance – “Aye Aye Aye Moosey”
Duran Duran – “Planet Earth”
Altered Images – “Happy Birthday”
The Buzzcocks – “Autonomy”
The Beat – “The Doors of your Heart”

Episode 4

Spandau Ballet – “To Cut a Long Story Short”
Duran Duran – “Girls on Film”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Enola Gay”
The Clash – “London Calling”
Human League – “Love Action”
The Teardrop Explodes – “Reward”
Shakin’ Stevens – “Green Door”
The Clash – “Police and Thieves”

Episode 5

Madness – “One Step Beyond”
Simple Minds – “I Travel”
XTC – “Sergeant Rock”
Killing Joke – “Turn To Red”
Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”
John Davis – “Love Magic”
Human League – “Don’t You Want Me”
S. Brightman\Hot Gossip – “I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper”
Soft Cell – “Where Did Our Love Go?”

Episode 6

Soft Cell – “Tainted Love”
The Skids – “Into The Valley”
Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”
The Beat – “Mirror In The Bathroom”
Spandau Ballet – “Chant No. 1”
Kim Wilde – “Kids In America”
Ultravox – “Vienna”
The Stranglers – “Golden Brown”
Japan – “Ghosts”

Episode 7

The Clash – “Police on my Back”
Kate Bush – “The Man With the Child in His Eyes”
The Beat – “Whine & Grine”
Michael Jackson – “One Day in Your Life”
David Bowie – “Fame”
The Selecter – “Too Much Pressure”
Peaches and Herb – “Reunited”
Marshall Hain – “Dancing in the City”

Episode 8

Tom Robinson Band – “2,4,6,8 Motorway”
David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes”
Supertramp – “Take the Long Way Home”

Season 2

Episode 1

Funboy Three – “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum)”
Duran Duran – “Rio”
Haircut 100 – “Love Plus One”
ABC – “The Look Of Love”
Adam and The Ants – “Stand And Deliver”
Kraftwerk – “The Model”
The Specials – “Working For The Rat Race”
Hot Chocolate – “You Sexy Thing”
Human League – “Mirror Man”

Episode 2

Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Back Of Love”
Kid Creole & The Coconuts – “Stool Pigeon”
Squeeze – “Tempted”
Japan – “I Second That Emotion”
Phil Collins – “In The Air Tonight”
The Jam – “Town Called Malice”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Messages”
A Flock Of Seagulls – “Wishing”

Episode 3

Hall & Oates – “I Can’t Go For That”
UB40 – “Food For Thought”
Trio – “Da Da Da”
Survivor – “Eye Of The Tiger”
Duran Duran – “Planet Earth”
Duran Duran – “Is There Something I Should Know?”
The Thompson Twins – “Lies”
The Beat – “Can’t Get Used To Losing You”
Tight Fit – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”

Episode 4

Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – “Ebony & Ivory”
Bauhaus – “Harry”
Funboy Three & Bananarama – “It Ain’t What You Do…”
Bauhaus – “The Three Shadows”
Al Jarreau – “We’re In This Love Together”
Broken English – “The Token Man”
Pigbag – “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag”
Bauhaus – “Hair Of The Dog”
The Associates – “Love Hangover”
Bauhaus – “In Fear Of The Dub”
Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
The Korgis – “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime”

Episode 5

The Jam – “Funeral Pyre”
Odyssey – “Going Back To My Roots”
Blondie – “Atomic”
Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
UB40 – “Food For Thought”
New Order – “Temptation”
The Clash – “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”
David Bowie – “Speed Of Life”
Bill Withers – “Just The Two of Us”
Madness – “Embarrassment”
David Bowie – “The Man Who Sold The World”

Episode 6

Captain Sensible – “Happy Talk”
Grace Jones – “Pull Up To The Bumper”
Motorhead – “Ace Of Spades”
Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”
Michael Jackson – “Thriller”
Haircut 100 – “Favourite Shirt (Boy Meets Girl)”
Anti-Nowhere League – “Streets Of London”
Billy Idol – “Hot In The City”

Episode 7

Adam & The Ants – “Goody Two Shoes”
The Cure – “All Cats Are Grey”
Gary Numan – “Music For Chameleons”
Tears For Fears – “Ideas As Opiates”

Episode 8

Simple Minds – “Hunter And The Hunted”
Roxy Music – “While My Heart Is Still Beating”
The Associates – “Club Country”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Maid Of Orleans”

Season 3

Episode 1

Kings of Leon – “Sex on Fire”
Eurythmics – “Sweet Dreams”
Eddy Grant – “Electric Avenue”
Simple Minds – “Promised You a Miracle”
Trio – “Da Da Da”
New Order – “Blue Monday”
David Bowie and Queen – “Under Pressure”
Katrina and The Waves – “Walking On Sunshine”
The Police – “Every Breath You Take”

Episode 2

Billy Joel – “Uptown Girl”
The Human League – “Don’t You Want Me”
David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
Public Image Ltd. – “This is Not a Love Song”
Smokey Robinson – “Being With You”
UB40 – “Red Red Wine”
KC and The Sunshine Band – “Give it Up”
Tom Robinson – “War Baby”
The Buggles – “Video Killed the Radio Star”
Haircut One Hundred – “Love Plus One”
Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

Episode 3

Sex Pistols – “Anarchy in the UK”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Two Tribes”
Dean Martin – “Volare”
Robert Wyatt – “Shipbuilding”

Episode 4

The Teardrop Explodes – “Reward”
The Stranglers – “Golden Brown”
The Stranglers – “No More Heroes”
Dean Martin – “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head”
Frank Sinatra – “My Way”
Elvis Costello – “Watching the Detectives”

Episode 5

Isaac Hayes – “Theme from Shaft”
The Jam – “Town Called Malice”
The Cure – “The Love Cats”
ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man”
Level 42 – “Sun Goes Down”
Spandau Ballet – “To Cut a Long Story Short”
Herbie Hancock – “Rockit”
Freeez – “I.O.U.”
Genesis – “Mama”
Yazoo – “Only You”

Episode 6

U2 – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
David Bowie – “Scary Monsters (Super Creeps)”
Echo and The Bunnymen – “The Cutter”
Cockney Rejects – “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”

Episode 7

“Abide with Me” (hymn at Viv’s funeral)
Eddy Grant – “I Don’t Wanna Dance”
John Martyn – “Couldn’t Love You More”
The Special AKA – “Free Nelson Mandela”
Spandau Ballet – “True”
Culture Club – “Victims”

Episode 8

Soft Cell – “Tainted Love”
Phil Collins – “In the Air Tonight”
Wham! – “Club Tropicana”
Oasis – “Wonderwall”
Madonna – “Holiday”
Michael Jackson – “Beat It”
Vangelis – “Chariots of Fire” main theme
David Bowie – “Life on Mars”
David Bowie – “Heroes”

17 Replies to “Ashes to Ashes: the definitive playlist (final)”

  1. I don’t know about those specific tracks, but many songs were left off the series 1 and series 2 soundtrack CDs as well.

  2. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Two Tribes” is a bit of a cheat as the song wasn’t released until 1984… any others?

  3. I believe there are several. But the only one that immediately leaps to mind is Duran Duran’s “Is There Something I Should Know?” which was released on March 19, 1983. It was used in Season 2, episode 3, which was set in May 1982.

  4. There is a lot of music missing on this soundtrack as it was set in 1981 to 1983 but it should of lasted longer as it was going to but Keeley Harwes wanted out of the programme so you see we on Facebook are trying to get it back on the telly so please help us getting it back on please

  5. I also noticed that in season three epesode seven the very first of the song “Maid Of Orleans” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark was playing during those few seconds of Viv’s cremation. 🙂

  6. First off they are SERIES not SEASONS…we are not septic tanks! Rant over and on to my second point, was “The Token Man” (S2, E4) not by Modern English?

  7. You are missing a song in Season 1 Episode 1- Joe Dolce’s Shut Uppa You Face- the cast sings it in the Italian restaurant the first time they go there- so between Ashes to Ashes and I am in love with a German Film Star

  8. Oh, thank God I found this page! I was starting to think I’d imagined that Jon and Vangelis ‘I Hear You Now’ excerpt they played in one of Alex’s scenes from series 1. Thought maybe the Mandela Effect had caught me up!
    The official soundtrack playlists don’t mention half of these. Well done.

  9. Michael Jackson beat it Season 3 Episode 8 was mislabelled. The actual song was. Adrenaline by Raphael Lake, Daniel Murphy and Mark Greenwood

  10. @Geraint Williams: The original song from the DVD’s was Michael Jackson’s Beat It, and I assume it was there when the show initially aired, but, for streaming on Britbox, it IS Adrenaline. Anyone else notice any other songs that have been changed?

    1. Yep. It’s called “replacement music”, and it most often happens on shows of middling popularity where the rights owners don’t feel like the DVD sales\streaming rights won’t be enough to justify spending the money to secure the (expensive) rights to the pop music that was included when the show aired. I can think of two shows off the top of my head – Fox’s UK cop show “Keen Eddie” and the BBC’s teen dramedy “Sugar Rush” were ruined on DVD because the awesome soundtracks were replaced with generic “library music” the rights holders already owned.

      I hadn’t heard that “Ashes to Ashes” had replacement music. It’s sad if it’s true, but not surprising. The rights to all those songs must have cost a fortune!

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