Urban Soundtracks

Paul Oakenfold produced Urban Soundtracks for pieces of classic and contemporary literature from late 1999 to 2002. They were aired by Galaxy FM in the UK. They were also aired on BBC Radio One at the same time.

There were a total of 35 soundtrack audiobooks produced and aired over the Galaxy network during 1999-2002. Each two-hour programme went out on Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm. These tracks blend classic literature with a mixture of dance and contemporary music. The narratives were read by famous voices such as Ewan McGregor, Kylie Minogue, Richard Blackwood, Sean Pertwee, Max Bleasly, Tom Baker, Neneh Cherry, Christopher Lee, Brian Blessed, Neil Tennant and Honor Blackman.

The series, won a Bronze Award in the 2002 Sony Radio Academy Awards Specialist Music category, and was endorsed by the National Literacy Trust. The series also included Pinocchio read by Ronan Keating, The Little Mermaid by All Saints' singer Nicole Appleton and Kylie Minogue read Alice in Wonderland. Broadcast on the radio stations Galaxy and Kiss 100, they proved to be hugely popular with the core 15 to 34-year-old audience.

Although highly successful and well received, the series have never been released and are not officially commercially available. However, some copies recorded at time of broadcast seem to be in circulation.