Following a short battle with lung cancer, videogame music legend Richard Joseph died on March 4th 2007.
Countless kids, including ourselves, sat gooey eyed after loading Cannon Fodder for the millionth time just to watch and listen to the theme tune, gazing at the pixelly photos of the team. We saw Richard Joseph peering out of the top of a tank, wishing we were part of that industry. Now we are and frankly Richard's work was a big part of that.
Basically, the guy was frikkin’ awesome. Gods, Speedball 2, Mega-Lo-Mania, and The Chaos Engine. These were games we remember not just for being great games with great graphics, but for having a soundtrack that elevated them into the annals of videogaming history. Magic Pockets, James Pond, SWOS. The list goes on and on.
We used to loiter in shops listening to this stuff – in fact these anthems were most of the reasons we wanted to get an Amiga after years pissing about with our C64’s. Many, many years later, we were both very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with Jon Hare, and to get a small glimpse into this pivotal time in the history of the industry that raised us, and our sympathies also go out to him for losing such a dear friend and colleague.
However Richard’s Amiga soundtracks aren’t the end, or the beginning, of his contributions to videogame music. His career spanned over 20 years ranging from the Spectrum and C64 (including the genre-defining Defender of the Crown) through hand-held platforms such as the GBA, consoles such as the PS2 (where he was awarded a BAFTA for best sound on Sim Theme Park), to recent PC games such as Evil Genius and Republic – both of which were BAFTA nominated for best music. In fact with his version of Cannon Fodder for the GBA, Richard has so far the only ever BAFTA best sound nomination for a small format game!
So, Richard, in honour of you we present a selection of your music that we remember most dearly, so that others can be reminded of your influence in an industry that would never have been the same without you, and others like you.
Cannon Fodder - Amiga
Gods - Amiga
The Chaos Engine - Amiga
Magic Pockets - Amiga
James Pond - Amiga
James Pond 2: Robocod - Amiga
James Pond 2: Robocod (Hub Theme) - Amiga
Sensible World Of Soccer - Amiga
Mega-Lo-Mania - Amiga
Speedball 2 - Amiga
Diggers - Amiga
Barbarian – C64
Sacred Armour of Antiriad – C64
Defender of the Crown – C64
Good God, this stuff is still brilliant now – maybe nostalgia has a lot to do with it, but then maybe not – a great theme is a great theme regardless of format or time. Okay, we’re probably breaking a whole heap of copyright laws on this stuff, so if we need to remove anything just drop us a line. But know this if you do: Shame on you… SHAME on you!
So sleep well, Richard. You will be remembered.
We've posted our blog entry in entirity, without linking, as we'd find it disrespectful proffiting from extra traffic for such a sad event like this...Lemmy & Binky
