In the vast world of TV theme songs, intro music is for AppleTV+‘s slow horses remains greatly underestimated.
Except for enduring off-air favorites like friends and That officeand choose current series like successor and The White Lotus, not nearly enough TV theme songs get the attention they deserve these days. So I want to take a moment to remind everyone that “Strange Game,” the song that Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger co-wrote and sang specifically for the spy thriller, absolutely slaps the face.
Based on the bestselling book series by Mick Herron and adapted for television by veep co-writer and co-producer Will Smith, slow horses follows a group of British Secret Service agents whose mistakes led to their banishment to the gloomy Slough House by the elite MI5. Led by the grumpy, jaded Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), the disgraced team at Slough House work together to solve high-profile crimes and perhaps redeem their reputation.
Jagger was a fan of the popular book series prior to the show’s premiere in April 2022, and when composer Daniel Pemberton emailed him for his help on the theme song, he was all in. “I had heard about it [Pemberton]because he’d done quite a bit of TV and film music, English, and he’d gotten a lot of credit [and] nominations for awards. He said, “Would you be interested in doing this TV theme?” I’m always ready to do something different.” Said Jagger Rolling Stone. “They’re kind of a new take on spy stories… It’s kind of anti-John le Carré or anti-James Bond. … I’ve always loved this genre, and it’s always nice to see it reinvented a bit.”
Pemberton sent Jagger a track with no lyrics and he got to work. The result? A mysterious, sexy, smoldering song that begins with these painfully apt lyrics: “Surrounded by losers, misfits and boozers. Hanging on your fingernails. You made a mistake. You were burned at the stake. You’re done, you’re stupid, you failed.”
Jagger’s unique voice overlaid on this particular collection of chords is the epitome of cool. I transform into another person when the slow horses Intro booms and bleeds into an opening scene. I move my shoulders in unison with the clinking sound effects, cooing with jaggers OOOOooooOoOooh, and summon my softest chant to belt out the chorus. i feel lively Alive. Like a secret spy from Slough House.
That slow horses Theme is badass by nature, like the offbeat cousin of Peaky Blinders’ iconic “Red Right Hand” from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The mood of the song fits the show and its characters perfectly, it makes me so effective for an episode The White Lotus or successor do themes. While these options might be better suited to hectic living room dances, Strange Game not only has catchy, but VOCALS too, so if it’s stuck in your head for a week after each episode, you’ll actually be able to sing lyrics instead of sound effects to shout out . The dream.
Strange Game deserves to be a regular part of your playlists, so if you slept late slow horses wake up the hell Take my word that the show and its theme song will hit. But if you need more proof, look no further than Mick Jagger himself. Do you really think someone of his caliber of cool would associate with a show that didn’t do their music justice? now the would be a weird, weird game.
New episodes of slow horses Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ Fridays.
