Here’s every song worth knowing from Skins Series 5 – the generation that gave us Franky, Rich, Mini, and one of the most unexpectedly emotional series finales in the show’s run.
*This is the fifth article in our retrospective of the Skins soundtrack. You can find [Series 1 here], [Series 2 here], [Series 3 here], and [Series 4 here].
By the time Series 5 came around, people were already skeptical. Two full generations of characters had come and gone, and the bar set by Naomily and Cook and Freddie was not exactly low. What could a third generation possibly add?
Quite a lot, as it turned out. Franky, Rich, Mini, Liv, Nick, Alo, and Grace brought their own energy to Roundview — and the music, as always, was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. But what makes the Series 5 soundtrack genuinely interesting isn’t just the indie choices. It’s the Rich episode. If you thought Skins was all Beach House and Bon Iver, Episode 2 is here to absolutely destroy that assumption.
Here are some of our favourites from Series 5:
Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) by The Vaccines
Series: 5 | Episode: Franky (Episode 1)
The Vaccines were still very new when Series 5 premiered in January 2011 – “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” was their debut single and it was making noise in the UK. [VERIFY: scene context – where does this play in Franky’s episode?] There’s something perfect about opening a new generation of characters with a song from a brand new band. The Vaccines would go on to be one of the defining guitar acts of that era, but in 2011 they were just this urgent, sharp thing that felt like it had something to prove. So did Franky.
Generator ^ Second Floor by Freelance Whales
Series: 5 | Episode: Franky (Episode 1)
→ Find Freelance Whales on Amazon
Found in Franky’s episode, “Generator ^ Second Floor” is the kind of song that makes complete sense for a character who is still figuring out what kind of person she wants to be. Freelance Whales were a Brooklyn indie folk band who released their debut album Weathervanes in 2009, and this track has that slightly otherworldly quality: layered, careful, a little guarded that fits Franky’s world exactly. Not many teen dramas were reaching for this kind of music in 2011.
New Song by Howard Jones
Series: 5 | Episode: Franky (Episode 1)
This plays while Franky is in her room creating a stop motion animation and it’s a quietly brilliant placement. “New Song” was Howard Jones’ 1983 debut single, a synth-pop track about refusing to be defined by other people’s expectations. For Franky, who spends most of Series 5 fighting to be seen on her own terms, the choice is almost too perfect. The fact that it’s a song from 1983 sitting in a 2011 teen drama and not feeling out of place is a testament to both the music supervisors and Howard Jones.
Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine
Series: 5 | Episode: Rich (Episode 2)
→ Find Rage Against The Machine on Amazon
Rich’s episode is unlike anything else in the Skins catalogue. The entire episode is basically a metal playlist : Slayer, Napalm Death, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, Drowning Pool…and RATM’s “Killing In The Name” sits right in the middle of it. The premise of the episode, if you haven’t watched it, is that Rich is a committed metalhead who falls for Grace, a theatre girl who is his complete opposite. The music choices are the point: everything sounds aggressive and confrontational until it doesn’t.
Interesting Trivia: The Rich episode is one of the very few times in TV history that Napalm Death has appeared on a teen drama soundtrack. You’re welcome.
Crave You by Flight Facilities (feat. Giselle)
Series: 5 | Episode: Grace (Episode 7)
→ Find Flight Facilities on Amazon
“Crave You” plays in Grace’s room when the girls come round, and it’s one of those songs where you immediately understand what the scene is doing before anyone says a word. The Australian duo Flight Facilities had just released this as a single in 2010 and it was making its way around the internet — the kind of track that felt like it belonged to a specific summer. In the context of Grace’s episode, it floats over everything like a feeling that can’t quite be named.
Interesting Trivia: Flight Facilities formed in Sydney and “Crave You” was their debut single. It took another few years and a lot of licensing placements like this one before they broke through properly.
Runaway by The National
Series: 5 | Episode: Grace (Episode 7)
The National showing up in Grace’s episode feels inevitable in retrospect. “Runaway” plays when Matty is back in the play [VERIFY: confirm this scene], and The National’s particular brand of elegant dread is exactly what the show needed for this episode’s emotional pivot. The Grace episode is the one where everything seems, briefly, like it might be fine — and The National are very good at scoring moments that feel like that.
Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
Series: 5 | Episode: Grace (Episode 7)
This plays on the radio in the kitchen while Mr and Mrs Blood dance, and it’s one of those soundtrack choices that tells you everything about a character without any dialogue. The Blood household – Grace’s controlling, image-obsessed family – dancing to “Walking On Sunshine” in the kitchen is the show doing exactly what it does best: using an incongruously cheerful song to make something feel slightly off.
Special mention: Ready to Start by Arcade Fire
“Ready to Start” from The Suburbs (2010) was used in the Series 5 promotional material, and it’s worth flagging even though it doesn’t appear in the episodes themselves. The Suburbs had just won the Mercury Prize and Arcade Fire were at the peak of their cultural moment – the choice to use this track in the promos said something deliberate about the kind of show Series 5 wanted to be. Big, urgent, slightly overwhelming in the best way.
Next week, we’ll carry on with Series 6 – which opens in Morocco, and which makes a very specific choice about which song to play when a group of teenagers arrive on mopeds in North Africa.
