Audio CD review
By various artists
Sony Release date: Out now

Hits from the 1980s - previously accompanied on screen by Ray ‘firing up the Quattro’…

Much like Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes made full use of an evocative pop soundtrack in order to create an authentic atmosphere. This collection of tunes is just as fun, although it doesn't strictly adhere to the time period. Bryan Ferry’s Let’s Stick Together earns a place despite being a 1976 vintage, while Roxy Music’s Same Old Scene, a contemporary track from 1981 and much used in the show, is nowhere to be found.

The rest of the compilation ranges from the obvious (David Bowie contributes the title song) to the more leftfield (The Teardrop Explodes and Tenpole Tudor maybe unfamiliar to some listeners). If you don’t already own The Clash’s purposeful I Fought the Law or Ultravox’s melodramatic Vienna, then this soundtrack provides an excellent opportunity to fill in some considerable blanks in your music collection. It’s the opening salvo of Visage, The Human League and those masters of 1980s Thatcherite excess Duran Duran that best capture the sense of the period.

With Edmund Butt’s theme (as well as snippets of dialogue) rounding off the collection, this souvenir of Gene Hunt’s adventures down south is exactly what you would expect. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 7/10
If you don’t own most of the material on this album, this is worth a listen.