The stirring soundtrack of a new BBC series on the Troubles was created by Belfast-born composer Sheridan Tongue.

Using oil drums to create the atmospheric sounds of conflict on Belfast streets during the Troubles is just one of the highly emotive elements of composer Sheridan Tongue's distinctive score for the new BBC series commemorating 50 years of the Troubles.

Sheridan is one of Northern Ireland's most successful television and film composers, best known for working on award-winning drama series such as Silent Witness (12 series), DCI Bank (five series), Spooks and documentaries including Wonders of the Universe which have reached global audiences.

Born in Belfast, he attended the City of Belfast School of Music before touring Europe playing the clarinet with the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra. Sheridan moved to London in 1985 to study music at the University of Surrey, Guildford, and then went on to work as a producer, remixer, orchestrator and arranger.

He has worked in recording studios with icons such as Robert Plant, Johnny Marr and Blur, and received a gold record for his work on Beverly Knight's Prodigal Sista album and now he has his own artist label IN-IS. Sheridan lives in Michigan with studios in both the UK and USA.

He says: "Having grown up in Belfast I felt honoured to compose the music for this series. The Belfast I grew up in was one of checkpoints, security searches and bomb warnings. But it was also an incredible city of inspiration and in my teens, making music was my passion.

"When I was first viewed a rough cut of Spotlight on the Troubles: A Secret History there was an immediate resonance with me. The images were so powerful I felt that the films did not need a large emotional response from me, the story was all already there, so I felt that my music should be observational rather than emotional. It was one of the biggest challenges of the score, to somehow retain a neutral but engaging tone to the music without it getting too emotional."