Mick Jagger provided the theme for the new spy drama Slow Horses

Mick Jagger wrote his first ever TV theme for the Apple TV Plus spy series Slow Horses, set to debut on April 1. Jagger was inspired to score the programme after reading the novel by Mick Herron that the series is based on.

The iconic rocker talked to Variety about the theme saying: "It’s a quite popular series of books, so I knew what it was about. I knew the vibe really well, so as soon as [composer Daniel Pemberton] sent the track to me, I just dashed off a few pages of notes of what I thought it was about. It came very, very quickly, which is always a good sign.”

He continued saying that Pemberton's score has created "a very unique sound world, all based on low-fi recording techniques and slightly wonky sounds.”

The duo never met in person due to COVID-19 restrictions but continued to work on the project over a series of zoom calls, emails and texts.

“I played him the track on guitar,” Pemberton told Variety. “I’m not even a good guitarist. That was very weird, playing guitar for Mick Jagger on the Zoom line.”

Jagger continued: “I just recorded it on my iPhone and sent it to him, and he loved it. And then we had to do a bit of crafting, trying to get a chorus, calling it ‘Strange Game’ and trying to get the verses from the point of view of the main character."

The upcoming series follows Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) as he leads a team at the "Slough House" where washed up MI5 spies go to scrape up what is left of their careers. The "slow horses" are all fighting to get back to the Regent’s Park headquarters as full-fledged agents.

Playing alongside Oldman is Jack Lowden (Dunkirk), Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Sound of Metal) and Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral).

Mirroring the downtrodden group, the theme's lyrics read: “Surrounded by losers, misfits and boozers / hanging by your fingernails / you made one mistake, you got burned at the stake / you’re finished, you’re foolish, you’ve failed…”

“It’s quite irreverent, but the Gary Oldman character is irreverent,” Jagger continued. “It’s also slightly eerie, so it combines those two things. You don’t want to make it too serious.”

Slow Horses will premiere on April 1.