The moment Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds start singing “Red Right Hand,” you know exactly what you are about to watch. That slow-motion walk of Cillian Murphy through the smoky, industrial streets of Birmingham has become one of the most recognized openings in television history. But according to Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, this now-famous sequence almost happened by accident and came together “in a way no one was expecting.”
The Peaky Blinders opening credits have introduced every single episode since the show first premiered on BBC Two on September 12, 2013 . For six seasons, viewers have watched Tommy Shelby and his family navigate the dangerous world of post-World War I gangster life, all set to that haunting Australian rock track. Knight recently opened up about how this perfect marriage of music and visuals actually came to be, and the story is surprisingly simple.
The Song That Was Only Supposed to Last One Episode
Here is something most fans do not know. “Red Right Hand” was never meant to be the permanent theme song for the show. Knight recently revealed that the track was originally chosen just for the first episode. The plan was to change the music each season or even each episode.
But something unexpected happened during editing. The song just fit too perfectly to let go .
According to Knight, “The lyrics conjure up our industrial landscape” . When you actually listen to the words, it makes complete sense. Lines about a “tall handsome man” in a “dusty black coat” describe Tommy Shelby as if Nick Cave wrote the song specifically about him. The track talks about a figure who can get you money and holds power, which is exactly what the Shelby family represents in the Birmingham underworld.
Knight explained that the image of crossing railway tracks into the poorer parts of town, “where the viaduct looms like a bird of doom,” perfectly matched the grimy, industrial setting of 1919 Birmingham . The decision to keep the song came naturally because it captured the mood of the show better than anything else they could find.
Why Modern Music Works in a 1919 Story
One of the most interesting choices Knight made with Peaky Blinders was using modern rock and roll music in a period drama. The show features artists like Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes, Radiohead, and PJ Harvey alongside the famous Nick Cave theme .
Knight explained his thinking in an interview with Historia magazine. He pointed out that in 1919, jazz music had not really arrived in England yet. There was simply no period music that felt right for the show . More importantly, Knight wanted to break down the barrier between the audience and the characters.
“Music has an effect that is completely mysterious to me. The music is the thing that tells you how the characters feel… With Peaky Blinders, these are modern people with the same feelings, emotions, and jealousies as we have now. So the modern music means there isn’t a barrier between their modern emotion and our modern emotion” .
This decision gave the show its unique identity. It stopped feeling like a stuffy costume drama and started feeling alive and dangerous. The music tells you that despite the old-fashioned clothes and horses, these people think and feel just like we do today.
Cillian Murphy Thought the Music Choice Was a Terrible Idea
Here is a funny twist. The man who became the face of Peaky Blinders actually hated the music idea at first. Cillian Murphy admitted to Radio Times that he was completely against using contemporary music in a period story.
“I have to be honest I thought it was a terrible idea when someone told me first that it would be contemporary music against a period story. I didn’t think it would work” .
But once Murphy saw how it all came together, he changed his mind completely. He said something just clicked. The cast and crew even developed their own way of describing whether a song felt right for the show. They would ask each other if a tune was “Peaky” or “not Peaky” .
Murphy’s initial reaction makes perfect sense. Using 1990s and 2000s rock music in a show set in 1919 sounds like it should feel wrong. But somehow, with Peaky Blinders, it became the secret ingredient that made the show special.
The Director Who Made the Final Choice
While Knight created the world and the characters, the credit for choosing “Red Right Hand” actually goes to director Otto Bathurst. He directed the first episodes of the series and had the vision that Nick Cave’s masterpiece would perfectly match their protagonist .
Bathurst saw that the song’s description of a shadowy figure in a long black coat matched exactly how they were presenting Tommy Shelby to the audience. The show introduces Tommy as a mysterious, dangerous man, and the music tells you everything you need to know about him before he even speaks a word.
The combination worked so well that “Red Right Hand” is now permanently linked to Peaky Blinders in popular culture. The song had appeared in movies like Scream and shows like The X-Files before, but it reached a whole new level of fame after becoming the Peaky Blinders theme song .
What the Song Actually Means
“Red Right Hand” was released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 1994. The title comes from John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, where it refers to the vengeful power of God . The song describes a charismatic, dangerous figure who can provide for you but also destroy you.
Lines like “You don’t have no money? He’ll get you some” and “Stacks of green paper in his red right hand” fit the Shelby family’s gambling operations perfectly . The Shelbys control illegal betting in Birmingham. They take money, they provide opportunities, and they punish anyone who crosses them.
The “tall handsome man with a dusty black coat” could easily be Tommy Shelby riding through Birmingham on his black horse . That image, combined with the song, creates the signature Peaky Blinders opening credits that fans have loved for years.
A Opening That Defined a Generation of Television
The Peaky Blinders opening credits did more than just introduce an episode. They created a cultural moment. That slow-motion walk, the flat cap, the cigarette smoke, and the Nick Cave soundtrack became instantly recognizable symbols.
Reviews from the very first episode noticed this magic. One reviewer wrote about being “hooked” after the “blindingly beautiful cold open” when the credits rolled to “Red Right Hand” . Another review years later described the opening montage as Tommy Shelby “clopping on a horse in stylized slow motion as Nick Cave croons” .
The show’s use of music became so famous that it influenced how other period dramas approached their soundtracks. Knight’s decision to treat his 1919 characters as modern people with modern emotions opened doors for other creators to take similar risks.
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The Legacy Continues
Peaky Blinders ran for six seasons on BBC Two and later BBC One, with the final season airing in 2022 . Netflix holds the streaming rights for the United States and worldwide, introducing the show to an even larger global audience .
The show won a BAFTA for Best Drama Series and earned Cillian Murphy worldwide fame before his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer . Helen McCrory, who played the beloved Aunt Polly, passed away in 2021, making the show’s legacy even more precious to fans.
Knight has confirmed that a Peaky Blinders movie is in development to conclude the story properly . While details remain scarce, fans can expect that familiar opening sequence to return one more time.
The simple truth is that Steven Knight created something special by trusting his instincts. He used a 1990s rock song in a 1919 drama because it felt right. He ignored the rules and made something that connected with audiences on an emotional level. And in doing so, he created an opening credit sequence that will be remembered as one of the greatest in television history.
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The way Steven Knight brought together 1919 Birmingham with 1994 rock music proves that great television comes from trusting your gut, not following the rules. For more stories behind your favorite shows and movies, keep reading VvipTimes.
