BBC One’s This City Is Ours is a Liverpool crime drama created by Stephen Butchard. Sean Bean plays gang boss Ronnie Phelan, and James Nelson-Joyce plays his right-hand man, Michael Kavanagh. Series 1 aired in spring 2025, Series 2 arrived on October 25, 2026, and a third series has already been confirmed.
The music is a big part of why the show feels the way it does. Lead director Saul Dibb has said the scripts came with specific songs already written in, from Ronnie’s love of crooners like Matt Monro and Perry Como to Frankie Valli and Bobby Darin.
Underneath those old records sits an original score by Rael Jones, released as a 20-track album by Madison Gate Records. Below you’ll find the full tracklist, the composer’s background and every licensed song heard in Series 1, episode by episode.
This City Is Ours Soundtrack Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Series | This City Is Ours |
| Created by | Stephen Butchard |
| Directors (Series 1) | Saul Dibb, John Hayes, Eshref Reybrouck |
| Production company | Left Bank Pictures |
| Network / platform | BBC One, BBC iPlayer (AMC+ in the U.S.) |
| Series 1 premiere | March 23, 2025 |
| Series 2 premiere | October 25, 2026 |
| Composer | Rael Jones |
| Label | Madison Gate Records |
| Album release date | March 26, 2025 (digital) |
| Total tracks | 20 |
| Album runtime | 56:33 |
This City Is Ours Soundtrack Overview
The official album, titled This City Is Ours (Original Series Soundtrack), collects 20 cues from Rael Jones’ score. Madison Gate Records put it out digitally on March 26, 2025, just three days after the series premiered. You can read the label’s own album page for the full credits.
Jones recorded the score at AIR Studios in London. The album was produced and edited by Jones himself, with Jake Jackson as recording engineer, Al Green mixing and Anders Peterson mastering at GS Mastering & Post.
Only the score is on the album. The crooner records, club tracks and covers heard in the episodes are not part of it, so they’re listed separately further down. Film Music Reporter’s album announcement carries the same tracklist.
Who Composed This City Is Ours Soundtrack?
Rael Jones is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist. He studied Music and Sound Recording on the Tonmeister course at the University of Surrey and graduated in 2004.
He is best known for Suite Française, My Cousin Rachel, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Harlots and My Lady Jane. His Suite Française score earned a Primetime Emmy nomination, and My Cousin Rachel brought a World Soundtrack Awards nomination for Discovery of the Year.
Before scoring full projects, Jones worked behind the scenes on big productions. He was additional orchestrator, music editor and music programmer on Les Misérables, a job that won him a Golden Reel Award. He also contributed additional music to four series of BBC’s Sherlock. His own site, raeljones.com, has the full list.
This isn’t his first job with Saul Dibb. Jones scored Dibb’s film Suite Française and the BBC dramas The Salisbury Poisonings and The Sixth Commandment too, as noted in Film Music Reporter’s scoring report.
Outside film and TV, Jones plays in the band Thumpermonkey and has toured as a guitarist with Fyfe Dangerfield.
This City Is Ours Official Tracklist
All 20 tracks are composed by Rael Jones.
- This City Is Ours (2:20)
- Ultrasound (2:01)
- Baptism (2:01)
- Boarding (3:25)
- All Balls No Brains (4:50)
- Straightener (3:03)
- Gaucho (2:24)
- Oven Fresh (1:54)
- Solidarity (2:30)
- Stepping Aside (1:32)
- Disembarking (3:39)
- Blood on My Hands (3:58)
- For Your Children (2:19)
- Billy in the Back (2:30)
- What He Would Have Wanted (1:35)
- Cheryl (2:44)
- A Life for a Life (4:17)
- Tell Him (1:33)
- The Coroner (1:35)
- This City Was Ours (6:23)
This City Is Ours Score Highlights
This City Is Ours (2:20) opens the album and doubles as its title cue. Film Music Reporter picked it as the track to preview when the album was announced.
This City Was Ours (6:23) closes things out and is the longest cue by a wide margin. It runs close to three times the length of the opener, and the near-identical titles look like a deliberate bookend.
All Balls No Brains (4:50) and A Life for a Life (4:17) are the next longest, so they’re the places where Jones gets the most room to build.
Boarding (3:25) and Disembarking (3:39) likely belong to the ferry sequence in Episode 3, when the gang smuggles a body back to Liverpool. That link is analytically derived from the titles and the episode synopsis, since the label doesn’t tie cues to scenes.
Ultrasound (2:01) and Baptism (2:01) sit side by side near the start. Going by the titles, they probably follow Michael and Diana’s baby storyline, though that is also inferred.
This City Is Ours Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
Series 1 leans on old-school crooners, soul and a few club tracks. Singer George Gallagher, who won the BBC One competition Frank Sinatra: Our Way in 2015, also performs on screen. Telly Visions notes that his live numbers show up at christenings and funerals, and his covers are mixed in with the original recordings.
The lists below are cross-checked between Time Out, Telly Visions and SeekerTune. Time Out’s episode-by-episode tracklist also has Saul Dibb’s comments on the music.
Series 1, Episode 1
- “The Ride of the Valkyries” by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- “Take Care of Business” by Nina Simone
- “Just Landed (Reverso 68 Remix)” by Cantoma
- “Sweatboxx Party” by Bianca Oblivion, Sam Binga & Fox
- “Mack the Knife” by George Gallagher (cover)
- “You Can Tell Me Goodbye” by Benetia Miller
- “A Well Respected Man” by The Kinks
- “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by George Gallagher (cover)
- “Out of Brain” by Joe Impero
- “The House of Bamboo” by George Gallagher (cover of the Andy Williams song)
- “Mack the Knife” by Dave Van Ronk
Series 1, Episode 2
- “Sway” by Dean Martin
- “Adagio for Strings” by Tiësto
- “Blue Horse” by Lora Lee & Leo
- “All of a Sudden” by Matt Monro
- “La Casa del Sol Naciente (House of the Rising Sun)” by Frida Boccara
- “Show Me Love” by Robin S.
Series 1, Episode 3
- “The Good Life” by Tony Bennett
- “Party” by Aria feat. DEVMO
- “I Can’t Stand the Rain” by Ann Peebles
Series 1, Episode 4
- “Friend or Foe” by Jordan Rakei
- “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by Nina Simone
- “Grindstone” by RJ Faulkner
- “Kiss the Sky” by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra
Series 1, Episode 5
- “I’ve Gotta Be Me” by Sammy Davis Jr.
- “The Good Life” by Tony Bennett
- “Till Then My Love” by Matt Monro
- “Till Then My Love” by George Gallagher (cover)
- “House of Bamboo” by Andy Williams
- “A Little Respect” by Erasure
Series 1, Episode 6
- “Who Am I” by Berwyn
Series 1, Episode 7
- “Real Like That” by Young LS
- “Anyone Who Had a Heart” by Cilla Black
- “Mack the Knife” by Mark Lanegan
- “It’s Not for Me to Say” by Johnny Mathis
Series 1, Episode 8
- “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin
Series 2 trailer
The official Series 2 trailer uses “All of a Sudden” by Matt Monro, the same song heard in Series 1, Episode 2.
Rael Jones Filmography
| Year | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | This City Is Ours | TV (BBC One) |
| 2024 | My Lady Jane | TV (Prime Video) |
| 2024 | Role Play | Film |
| 2024 | Seize Them! | Film |
| 2023 | The Sixth Commandment | TV (BBC) |
| 2022 | Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris | Film |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | TV |
| 2020 | The Salisbury Poisonings | TV (BBC) |
| 2017–2019 | Harlots | TV (Hulu / ITV) |
| 2017 | My Cousin Rachel | Film |
| 2016 | Kids in Love | Film |
| 2015 | Suite Française | Film |
If you want another Liverpool-set BBC crime drama, our The Cage soundtrack breakdown covers its music, more titles like it sit in our TV soundtrack section, and the wider Streaming hub rounds up every show we cover.
Where to Listen This City Is Ours Soundtrack?
Rael Jones’ score is available on all major digital music services, Amazon Music included, and Madison Gate Records has an official listen link that gathers the streaming options in one place. The licensed songs are not on that album, so look them up by artist on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music. To watch, all episodes stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and the series has been on AMC+ in the U.S. since March 5, 2026.
FAQs
Who composed the This City Is Ours soundtrack?
Rael Jones composed the original score. His other credits include Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, My Cousin Rachel, Harlots and My Lady Jane.
How many tracks are on the official soundtrack album?
The album has 20 tracks and runs about 56 minutes and 33 seconds.
When was the This City Is Ours soundtrack released?
Madison Gate Records released it digitally on March 26, 2025, three days after the series premiered on BBC One.
Where can I stream the This City Is Ours soundtrack?
The score album is on major streaming services including Amazon Music, and the label’s official link lists the rest. The series itself is on BBC iPlayer in the UK and AMC+ in the U.S.
Which song plays most often in This City Is Ours?
“Mack the Knife” turns up in four versions across the first series, by George Gallagher, Dave Van Ronk, Mark Lanegan and Bobby Darin. Bobby Darin’s version is the only song listed for the finale.
Who sings on screen in This City Is Ours?
Liverpool singer George Gallagher performs on camera and also covers songs like “Mack the Knife” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” He won BBC One’s Frank Sinatra: Our Way in 2015.
Which song is used in the Series 2 trailer?
The trailer uses “All of a Sudden” by Matt Monro, a song that first appeared in Series 1, Episode 2.