Totally agree. Even though I've always liked AC/DC, the volume difference between the music and dialogue is completely unnecessary.

Hi SL
I know there was an Army officer attached to RAF who commanded a Typhoon Sqn (as Sqn Ldr),fairly sure he had a DFC but I cannot find the place where I saw it some months ago,maybe same chap ??.

rgds LR

We turned on iplayer last night and found that the series is actually on there (we cannot get sat tv) - quite entertaining so far with some great one liners,watching the (rifle) armed guards paying compliments to officers is especially funny (one of them actually saluted with left hand whilst rifle slung over right shoulder :) ).
The use of ac/dc songs is quite bizarre as it really jars with the time/place/narrative and as others have said - unnecessarily loud compared to dialogue :rolleyes:,seems the fashion with modern films etc - the music is almost always overbearing.
Shame that a decently entertaining series is marred by the choice and volume of 'incidental' music (which is only required at low volumes anyway).

I too agree with most about the inappropriate use of modern music, I’m sure something more in period could have been used ? However I did think it was maybe for the younger generations benefit !
I read the book The Phantom Major in the early 1960’s, written in 1958, still available now and worth a read .
Ironically I ended up a pilot after failing my SAS selection in 1978………

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....01094c974.jpeg

We watched episode 1 on iPlayer last night. Rather a weird trendy production style with a lot of unneccessary effing and blinding and wholly inappropriate metal music. Normally I quite like some heavy metal, but not in the context of this production.

We will watch the second episode in the hope that it will improve somewhat.

Don't hold your breath BEagle - the 'effing' carries on relentlessly,they seem to want to completely blacken the character of paddy mayne (I know he was no angel but was never in military prison afaik),any aircraft/vehicle noise is completely drowned out by ac/dc et al at ridiculous volume (compared to dialogue volume) - other than that it is quite entertaining.

Given it's a drama based on real events rather than a faithful documentary, I personally think the music works quite well, if anything it serves to remind the viewer that some aspects have been embellished.

I wonder whether music louder than the dialogue is a modern thing; I ridicule my daughter for watching films with the subtitles on (she has no hearing issues) but ended up doing it myself for this one and was surprised to find it improved my enjoyment. Won't tell the daughter though!

We loved it. Watched in a day with whisky to hand. Quirky production, didn’t care about ac inaccuracies (because didn’t/wouldn’t know or notice), loved the soundtrack. Hard to imagine the SAS not using the occasional swear word.

Cracking series and a great soundtrack! The series would have been deadly-dull to a younger audience if they'd used era-appropriate language and music (the King's English and Dame Vera Lynn??).

Also, apart from the mil history wonks who cares about the historical inaccuracies? There's a zillion books on the subject if you want to dig deeper, which I'm sure many people will now do on the back of this.

For me the outstanding part is the dialogue. Some of it is genius.

The occasional, indeed. But not the constant effing and blinding in this production.

I'll try the whisky accompaniment to see if that improves matters!

Arrghh now you've got me thinking! I remember that film but can't recall its name.

Sloppy Link & Longer Ron
In 1977, when I was Accompanying RAF Staff Officer at a CCF Annual Inspection at a well known Public School, I was with an Army Major General. He had an RAF Pilots Flying
Badge. Also an impressive array of WW2 and Korean War medals with DFC. I can not remember if he had MC as well. Possibly the same chap.

Oldpax
There was a George Clooney film set in Irag after Desert Storm with a similar story line. Titled Three Kings (?).

Yes Three Kings but was set during the Gulf War, I too have been wracking my brain over the film. WW2 ones I remember was the one removing the diamonds from Amsterdam before the Germans arrived.
That and the excellent Monument Men..

Unless you are thinking of Clint Eastwood in Kelly’s Hero’s after the Gold in a bank guarded by a Tiger Tank.

Not a film, but it is the plot of 'The Golden Keel' by Desmond Bagley published in the 1960's. Their WWII treasure was hidden in Italy rather than N. Africa.

I suspect the film you're trying to remember is Loot (2008)?

Not a film, but I remember reading a book about a group of veterans returning to the desert titled "The Old Trade of Killing" by Elleston Trevor, who also wrote "Squadron Airborne" and "The Flight of the Phoenix".

Regarding the rock music soundtrack to the TV series, when watching it I thought of those Ukrainian clips in another thread.

Enjoyed the first episode on TV,. It wasn't a documentary and contained many inaccuracies but the basic facts remained true to the original (and excellent) book by Ben McIntyre

Not my man, he topped out at Lt Col as I recall, definitely had an MC. Telegraph obit search hasn’t helped at all.

Mebbe, I saw the obit a few years ago now.

Same here (except I had a beer or two). IMHO as an entertainment series it was excellent, made more absorbing by being based on a true story. Whether or not it was 100% faithful to the facts didn't detract from it.

NEO

I really enjoyed watching the series. The musical soundtrack added a bit of a twist and I felt it worked. I hope there will there be a second series as the way the final episode ended (no clues to spoil it), gives lots of options for some edge of the seat plots.