“Cemetery Junction” writer-director Ricky Gervais has taken to the Guardian to discuss the music in his upcoming coming-of-age tale which, according to Gervais himself, centers on “the most fundamental things in the making of a man: family, economics, the time and place you happened to be plonked in.”
As a once aspiring pop star himself, Gervais is an avid music fan — he passionately controlled the playlist for his long running, über popular radio show with ‘Junction’ co-writer, co-director Stephen Merchant — and added that “even though the movie is a [work of] fiction, the values, themes and characters are based on my memory of growing up in Reading in the early 70’s. The soundtrack had to reflect that. It’s purely coincidence that the songs in the film happen to be some of my favourites.”
“My favourite piece of music in the world. So that’s how the film opens. Strings and harp over English countryside in summer. A perfect coupling. As this film is sort of my love letter to England I wanted to remind people that it is probably the most beautiful country in the world.”
Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
“I got permission from Elton John to use this track for the opening credit sequence two years before we started writing the film. I’d always wanted to use the song and it fits the mood and themes of the movie perfectly. Growing up seemed to revolve around Saturday nights. You’d worked hard for someone else all week and now it was your time.”
Roxy Music – “Amazona”
“Stranded was the first album I actually went into town to buy with my own money. I felt like the coolest guy in the world. ‘Amazona’ is the third track on the album and is used in the movie to enhance the swagger and camaraderie of the three lads.”
David Bowie – “All The Young Dudes”
“‘Don’t wanna stay alive, when you’re 25.’ Even though ‘Cemetery Junction’ is set in a different time, I suppose we were trying to say that the attitude of youth never change. This song sort of became the anthem of the movie. It was written by David Bowie but of course made famous by Mott the Hoople. We used the Bowie version because his vocal gives the song more of an outsider feel.”
Led Zeppelin – “Rain Song”
“The most expensive thing in the whole movie and worth every penny. This sublime piece of rock n roll majesty soars through the story climax. We planned and cut the last few minutes of the film to the track before we’d even got permission from the band. I basically sent them a begging letter and they said yes. Phew! There was no plan B.”
Bruce Springsteen – “Thunder Road” and others.
“There are loads of other great tracks in the movie from Slade, T Rex, The Osmonds, Elvis and Jim Reeves (my mum’s favourite – I knew all his songs off by heart when I was 10), and one very important song that doesn’t feature. ‘Thunder Road’ by Bruce Springsteen was the inspiration behind the main theme of the movie – escape. When we started writing the script our aim was to bring to life one particular lyric- ‘It’s a town full of losers and we’re pulling out of here to win’ I’d like to think we succeeded. You’ll be the judge of that.”
Despite recent disappointments with “The Invention Of Lying” and “Ghost Town,” this latest effort sees Gervais reunite with “Extras” and “The Office” collaborator Merchant which instills a lot of hope and promise in us. The two have also spoken very passionately about the project — an ode to their upbringing — and are seemingly going no holds barred, as evident in Gervais’ discussion of the music here.
“Cemetery Junction” stars the young leading quartet of Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan and Felicity Jones with support from the experienced likes of Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Matthew Goode and Gervais himself. It hits U.K. theaters next week but seemingly doesn’t have a U.S. release as of yet.