The PaddlUp mixtape
We've played the back-catalogue of driving games and we've eaten popcorn at the drive-in cinema, so of course, the next step is to make a mixtape of PaddlUp's greatest driving songs of all time, and we've done just that.
Music and cars have always gone hand in hand. Whether it's a particularly fast-paced music video that needed a few extra revs or the perfect tune to just roll down the windows and go for a sunny summer evening cruise, there's a song for every driving occasion.
🎶 ▸ Play the Mixtape
ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin'
An iconic music video of the eighties, Gimme All Your Lovin' was a crash course in hot rods for many. A red 1933 Ford coupe ‘Eliminator’ featured in both the video and on the album cover for ZZ Top's 1983 album Eliminator (yes it was inspired by the car itself).
Owned by frontman and singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, the car became as famous as the band did and even came on tour with them, before Gibbons commissioned a clone to be created keeping the original safe and secure in a garage.
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
We challenge you not to start imitating that legendary bass line after the initial strums resonate through your ear drums.
If you watched Formula 1 in the UK from 1978 until 1996 and from 2009 to 2015 then you'll forever associate one particular section of this song with the BBC's coverage of the pinnacle of motorsport. They have become so symbiotic, in fact, that many fans think F1 before the epic rock band Fleetwood Mac when hearing it.
Feeder - Buck Rogers
A direct link back to our catalogue of driving games, Buck Rogers, like other Feeder tracks, features on the Playstation 2 classic, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec and became a very memorable aspect of the game's overall feel.
The song's inspiration came from an unlikely source at the start of a new century. Feeder frontman Grant Nicholas has just broken up with a long-term girlfriend and she had begun dating someone who worked in advertising and, at that time, he was working on a car advert, hence the line: ‘He’s got a brand new car'.
Snoop Dogg & The Doors - Riders on the Storm
Another gaming-related song, this time in the form of Electronic Arts' Need for Speed: Underground 2 and its unforgettable opening menu music, Riders on the Storm by Snoop Dogg & The Doors, but you already knew that...
This updated rendition of The Doors' classic track has become an integral part of the vast following the game has accumulated over the years and has the ability to transport you back to your childhood bedroom in 2004.
Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl
Cosmic Girl is certainly one of the better-known supercar music videos featuring an F355 Berlinetta, a Ferrari F40 and a Lamborghini Diablo SE30 tearing a path through Spanish mountain roads.
The F40 belonged to Nick Mason whilst the Lamborghini was originally meant to be Jay Kay’s, but his was badly damaged in transit. Luckily a replacement was sourced and we got one of the most iconic automotive music videos of all time.
Gorillaz - Stylo
A band with as many memorable music videos as Gorrilaz would've had to work pretty hard to make one stand out, and a Bruce Willis Cameo, a grim reaper appearance and a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro will do just that.
The car itself has considerable damage and modifications, as it puts in considerable legwork during the car chase with Willis, before eventually turning into a submarine shaped like a shark at the end of the video, no seriously...
Maroon 5 - Payphone
The Payphone music video will likely have the most significant budget featured on this list. A bank robbery followed by a monster police chase really adds a blockbuster feel to the production, let alone the appearance of a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 [997] and a 1967 Shelby Cobra.
Throughout the video, the car takes bumps and scrapes before meeting a fiery end at the song's conclusion. Mercifully, the Cobra is a very convincing replica.
Kavinsky - ProtoVision
Protovision's music video is a homage to all things eighties and really does that era justice with a superb car chase and the atmospheric track providing suspenseful undertones.
The car chase itself features a Ferrari Testarossa with its unmistakable pop-up headlights and a Ford Mustang II, driven by an unsuspecting cop who eventually runs out of luck.
🎶 Play the PaddlUp Mixtape
via Spotify