Riot Women Soundtrack Revealed: Every Song Powering Sally Wainwright’s New Drama
This band shreds — and so does every track in Sally Wainwright’s new series.
Riot Women is stacked with needle-drops and brand-new bangers. If you come for the cast, you stay for the soundtrack. Here is the who, what, and why of the music, plus an episode-by-episode playlist you can raid immediately.
Who made the original songs?
The show tapped ARXX, a rock-alternative duo out of Brighton — Hanni Pidduck and Clara Townsend — after a recommendation from rock journalist Amy Raphael. They did not just deliver; they basically kicked the door in.
"ARXX came back with by far the best version. They put so much into it and really made it their own. It’s catchy and fabulous."
That was series creator Sally Wainwright on the track that first got them in the door, a song that became Seeing Red. ARXX wrote the music and lyrics, with a couple of fun wrinkles: the show’s police advisor, Lisa, threw out the first line — "I’m so depressed, I can’t get dressed" — and the team shaped around it while ARXX powered the rest.
Officially, the production says ARXX turned in three originals for the series: Seeing Red, S**ting Pineapples*, and Just Like Your Mother. In the world of the show, those songs are credited to bandmates Kitty and Beth.
One tiny wrinkle worth flagging: the episode playlist also features Crying in the Carwash and a track literally called Riot Women, both credited to ARXX, with Riot Women labeled as an original. So either ARXX’s remit grew as the show evolved or we’re looking at a soundtrack crediting quirk. Either way, more ARXX is not a problem.
The recurring theme you’ll keep hearing
There is a short bespoke intro, but the song that keeps coming back is Violet by Hole — covered by the band in the show — which rolls over the end of every episode. It is a razor-edged breakup track about a woman getting stripped of her feelings and control. The chorus hits with: "Go on, take everything."
Violet was written by Courtney Love in 1991 and landed on Hole’s 1994 album Live Through This. It is widely tied to her relationship with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, with many people also reading in threads from her relationship with Kurt Cobain. The title has been linked to the image of a violet sky — shorthand for reinvention and new beginnings.
Love and Corgan have been cheeky about it over the years. In 1995, Love told Jools Holland the song was "about a jerk she put a hex on, who was now losing his hair" — a wink at Corgan’s look back then. And in 2024, Corgan entered a charity raffle to win the handwritten Violet lyrics and posted: "I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit about and I’d love to put that on my wall."
Every song in Riot Women
- Episode 1
I’m Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
Weak - Skunk Anansie
The Passenger - Iggy Pop - Episode 2
Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Just Like Your Mother - ARXX (Original)
Waterloo - ABBA - Episode 3
Races - Interplanetary Criminal (feat. Blanco)
Dissolved Girl - Massive Attack
Nothing Matters - The Last Dinner Party - Episode 4
Don’t Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra
Sit Down - James
Seeing Red - ARXX (Original) - Episode 5
Your Maker - Gonjasufi and Anna Wise
Nothing’s Wrong - Miss Grit - Episode 6
Crying in the Carwash - ARXX
F**k and Run - Liz Phair
Riot Women - ARXX (Original)
When and where to watch
Riot Women airs Sunday 12 October at 9pm on BBC One, with all episodes streaming on BBC iPlayer from 6am.