This Town is the ambitious new drama from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. It features social unrest, gangs, violence, conflict, and a whole lot of music. The BBC One series is set in Coventry and Birmingham in the early 1980s – but it is not hard to see modern-day parallels.
The UK is in the grips of a recession following an energy crisis, and working-class communities are bearing the brunt. Unemployment is rising, tensions are high and the heavy-handed policing of black communities is triggering protest.
The series opens with the 1981 Handsworth riots, which came in the wake of similar protests in Brixton and Toxteth. In the Midlands, the IRA are also readying a new campaign of violence. But in the white heat of this social unrest and disruption, creative genius is forged and lives are changed. Because this was also the era of 2 Tone, The Specials and music bridging communities. Across six episodes, This Town shows a band of young soulful rebels coming together to create the music that just might be their escape ticket.
“I’ve always felt
