But as the bell rings and the crowd goes wild, dangers lurk in the shadows for Thomas Shelby and his family. Meanwhile, the throbbing goth epic during the gallows sequence was specially written by the show’s composers, Antony Genn (ex-Pulp) and Martin Slattery (formerly of Joe Strummer’s backing band The Mescaleros).It is the night of the big fight - Bonnie Gold versus Goliath. There was the glorious Adore by Savages and a thrilling burst of Alas Salvation by local Wolverhampton three-piece Yak. Here we not only got the theme song, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, but a haunting cover version too. Tracks by Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Cash, PJ Harvey, Royal Blood, Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, White Stripes and David Bowie have been used to powerful effect in previous series. One of Peaky Blinders’ major strengths is its coolly curated soundtrack, which pounds with mood-intensifying alt-rock. No wonder Frances the loyal servant (Pauline Turner) accepted the invitation to join him. On the menu at Tommy’s feast for 28 guests: “Ten geese, a buck, curranted steaks and fresh trout from the river”, all washed down with “the best whisky, brandy and wine from the cellar”. With a blow of her whistle, Eden could bring all of Birmingham’s workforce out on strike. With the 1926 General Strike looming, Tommy had a feisty meeting with real-life union leader Jessie Eden (played by Charlie Murphy – best known as Siobhán Delaney in Irish gangster drama Love/Hate and victim-turned-copper Ann Gallagher in Happy Valley). Jessie Eden made flesh for first timeĪrthur Bigge wasn’t the only historical figure to pop up here. Within a four-mile radius of The Garrison, every man is a guard and a soldier for us.”Īnd as Michael added, before he was so rudely interrupted by gunfire: “We’re not the Peaky Blinders unless we’re together.” A thrilling way to reboot the action, reunite the gang and set up the new series. We need to be in a place where even they wouldn’t even dare come. Where better to hole up than where it all started: the Small Heath slums where the Shelbys grew up? After all, as Tommy said, “If we stay out in the open, we’ll get picked off. The gang (and the show) go back to their roots The Mafia might just have helped, albeit at a high price. Besides, we fear for the sanity of Aunt Polly ( Helen McCrory) should she lose another child.Īda (Sophie Rundle), back from taking care of business in Boston, faced one hell of job building bridges between this lot and Tommy. Surely they can’t both be gone? Michael has a crucial role as family go-between, coke-snorting consigliere and semi-legitimate face of the business. He was behind John and also hit, but seemingly not as badly. John was peppered in the chest by a hail of bullets and was surely dead before he hit the ground. As the pair of young Peakys – cousins on-screen, real-life brothers off it – argued on John’s doorstep, there was the 1925 version of a drive-by shooting: a horse-and-cart pulled up, gangsters popped up from behind the hay bales and opened fire.
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After the Shelby crime clan were served with “black hand” death threats, masquerading as friendly Christmas cards, from the New York mafia – I wonder if it was a multipack from the Little Italy branch of Woolworths? – Michael (Finn Cole) went to warn John (Joe Cole) that the attacks were planned for Christmas Day. That’s the huge, cliff-hanging question posed by this incendiary instalment. Here’s what happened in the opening episode, titled “The Noose”… Are John and Michael dead?
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The Brummie gangster saga blazed back onto BBC Two with hangings, hitmen and a deadly new enemy.