The 'Rivals' Series on Disney+ Is Full of Bangers

The long-awaited adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals has finally made it to the small screen, as sexy fare like Regency-set Bridgerton and time-traveling Outlander suddenly have the 1980s-era Bonkbuster coming up behind them. Disney+ went all in on the adaptation, landing superstar David Tennant (Doctor Who) as the man you'd love to hate(ahem), Tony Baddingham, plus Aidan Turner (Poldark) and Alex Hassell (Everything Now) as his arch-rivals, Declan O'Hara and Rupert Campbell-Black, who hate each other as much as they do Tony. But it's the 1980s-era Dynasty-style camp of the endeavor that really makes this show sing; and the soundtrack, perfect for a U.K. series set in 1986, punctuates the fun in all sorts of ways, bringing back hits from the era you probably can't believe someone still remembers existed.

As our review noted, the series opens with a couple of our leads in flagrante delicto, set to Robert Palmer's seminal hit, "Addicted to Love," before bringing back such 1980s New Wave and Punk adjacent favorites like The Clash and Blondie, not to mention the Top of the Pops froth of The Pointer Sisters and Wham! While none of these are guaranteed to pull a Kate Bush-on-Stranger Things-style revival, like most hit TV series set in the near past, they will cycle those songs up in your memories, so here's the full listing of what song is played where. 

Here are all the songs heard on Rivals, episode by episode.

Episode 1

1. "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer
2. "Gimme All Your Lovin’" by ZZ Top
3. "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon
4. "Oh L’Amour" by Erasure
5. "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode

Episode 2

1. "Dog Eat Dog" by Adam & The Ants
2. "Slave to Love" by Bryan Ferry
3. "Rabbit" by Chas & Dave
4. "Situation" by Yazoo

Episode 3

1. "The Man with the Bag" by Kay Starr
2. "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" by The Human League
3. "The Look of Love" by ABC
4. "The Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh
5. "We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off" by Jermaine Stewart
6. "Happy House" by Siouxsie & The Banshees
7. "Avalon" by Roxy Music

Episode 4

1. "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen
2. "Love Plus One" by Haircut 100
3. "Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf

Episode 5

1. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
2. "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship
3. "White Riot" by The Clash
4. "Don't Leave Me This Way" by The Communards
5. "Country Boy" by Heinz

Episode 6

1. "Y Viva Espana" by Sylvia Vrethammar
2. "La Bamba" by Los Lobos featuring Lalo Guerrero
3. "Mirando A Las Muchachas" by Los Castro
4. "Un Giorno Tu Un Giorno Io" By Julio Iglesias
5. "Call Me" By Blondie

Episode 7

1. "Club Tropicana" by Wham!
2. "Manic Monday" by The Bangles
3. "Maneater" by Daryl Hall & John Oates

Episode 8

1. "Jump (For My Love)" by The Pointer Sisters
2. "An English Country Garden" by Nana Mouskouri
3. "Love Is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar
4. "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
5. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler

All episodes of Rivals Season 1 are streaming on Hulu and on Disney+ under the Hulu tile in the U.S.