The opening of this episode is a more violent Episode #2.8 (2007) pastiche of the opening of 1960s popular British children's TV series, Camberwick Green (1966).
Sam says, "They say it's good to talk". This is a reference to a series of UK TV adverts for British Telecom in the 1990s featuring Bob Hoskins, in which the tag-line was, "It's Good To Talk".
Sam and Annie consider going to see Roxy Music at the Free Trade Hall. The Free Trade Hall became Manchester's premier concert hall, as it was in 1973 and beyond, until the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996. By 2006, only the façade of the hall remained, the rest of the building having been demolished and replaced by hotel facilities.
Gene refers to Annie as 'The Female Eunuch' whilst dressing her down for questioning his previous conviction. This is the title of the 1970 international bestseller feminist thesis by Germaine Greer. Highly controversial at the time (and still so amongst many feminists now), its content and themes definitely wouldn't be popular with characters like Gene Hunt.
After Annie mildly complains about her workload, Sam indicates the other detectives and asks, "which one of them lot do you want to do this? Larry, Curly, or Moe?" "Larry, Curly, and Moe" were one incarnation of The Three Stooges, an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid-20th century, best known for their numerous short-subject films.