Sometimes a TV series or film needs to be just as good as its theme song that sets the pace for the entire storyline. In 1941, the Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released a hit single that ended up being used in some of Hollywood’s biggest franchise hits.
In a list by Ultimate Classic Rock, they compiled every classic rock song that ended up becoming hit theme songs for some of TV’s most popular series. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released “Red Right Hand” as a single from their eighth studio album Let Love In. The song was written by Cave and Mick Harvey, who used a title from John Milton’s Paradise Lost as the inspiration behind the track.
According to reports, the song’s title in the epic poem symbolizes divine vengeance. While developing the track for the album, Cave filled an entire notebook with drawings, descriptions, and maps of the setting, a reimagined version of his hometown of Wangaratta.
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While the song didn’t fare well on the Billboard charts, it quickly became one of the most infamous thanks to how it was used. Many Peaky Blindersfans could easily spot the song as it was used as the title track and theme for the hit series. Both the album version and the cover version have been used. The series includes covers of the song by the Arctic Monkeys, Fidlar, and folk singer Laura Marling.
The band’s track has also been used in an episode of Dexter: Resurrection, Ted Lasso, and even The X-Files. A deep dive into the track reveals it’s been used in some hit cult classics and popular movies as well.
“Red Right Hand” has been used in almost every Scream franchise installment, starting with the original 1996 film. It was then used in all the following installments, except for the fourth film in 2011. Cave even recorded a new version of the song for Scream 3 and was later released on his compilation album. It’s also been used in Dumb and Dumber, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, and The Lost City.
