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 â€" 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 â€" 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 (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/cannonfodder.mp3) - Amiga
Gods (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/gods.mp3) - Amiga
The Chaos Engine (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/chaosengine.mp3) - Amiga
Magic Pockets (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/magicpockets.mp3) - Amiga
James Pond (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/jamespond.mp3) - Amiga
James Pond 2: Robocod (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/robocod.mp3) - Amiga
James Pond 2: Robocod (Hub Theme) (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/robocodcatlots.mp3) - Amiga
Sensible World Of Soccer (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/swos.mp3) - Amiga
Mega-Lo-Mania (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/megalomania.mp3) - Amiga
Speedball 2 (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/speedball2.mp3) - Amiga
Diggers (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/diggers.mp3) - Amiga
Barbarian (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/barbarian.mp3) â€" C64
Sacred Armour of Antiriad (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/sacredarmour.mp3) â€" C64
Defender of the Crown (http://www.cgempire.com/lemmyandbinky/richardjoseph/defendercrown.mp3) â€" C64
Good God, this stuff is still brilliant now â€" maybe nostalgia has a lot to do with it, but then maybe not â€" 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
Idle Thumbs have newsed this too, with some awesome original art and a link to an interview they did with him :)
www.idlethumbs.net
Er sorry that sounds like blatant advertising... but we were sorry to see him go and I figured you might like to see the art/interview :) , t'was before I ever wrote for the Thumb.
One of the many who provided the soundtrack to the portion of my childhood spent glued to an Amiga, and sadly the first to check out. Rest in peace, Richard.
Rest in peace Richard Joseph. We'll miss you. I know I will. I know the Cannon Fodder theme by heart :'(
Yay James Pond! RIP :)
Wow. I don't even recognise his name, yet I have always remembered these songs despite not hearing them for many years.
Especially "war!". I've been singing that one for years!
And the Gods music was the best part of that game! 'Cos the game was rubbish. And it reminds me of Jesus Jones for some reason, so thats cool.
Thanks for letting me hear and appreciate these songs once again.
Strange, I can hear how poorly some of them loop, but never did notice at the time! They still rock though!
Anyone got the Robocod theme that played on the hub screen? I loved that to bits.
Hm, my Amiga never played the music in these games, but when it's a name that connects to Cannon Fodder and SWOS, it's always a great loss. Sad thing to happen.
Quote from: Tuomas on Tue 06/03/2007 20:00:51
Hm, my Amiga never played the music in these games.
This makes me sad. :'( how painful that must have been for your Amiga... Like a dog without a nose.
Quote from: ManicMatt on Tue 06/03/2007 19:57:00
Anyone got the Robocod theme that played on the hub screen? I loved that to bits.
Good God Matt, you make us feel like heretics! ;) As soon as we read this we almost cried! We LOVE that tune too...
It's just SOOO hard getting them all without realizing another has slipped you by, Richard Joseph's best tunes are like an endless thread on a jumper of greatness. :-s
We will get it there promptly! ;D
As for the looping, you never know that may be our fault. We're mp3ing them up ourselves from mods or from the games themselves in many cases.
There ya go, Matt - added the Robocod Hub Theme to the list in the first post! :D
CB
:D Yay thank you so much!
It was a joy to hear that again! it's almost exactly as I remember it to be, too!
It was great how you'd get that super speed power up and the music would go fast too!
Much appreciated, L+B.
Wow, they take me back. ;D
Unfortunately, I only heard Atari ST versions of Robocod, Speedball 2, and Cannon Fodder.
Robocod's soundtrack was converted to the ST sound chip, a horrible piece of hardware, and yet the Hub Theme was still as infectious as the Amiga version.
Luckily the ST versions of Speedball 2 and Cannon Fodder's theme tunes were digital samples of the Amiga originals, and I didn't even have to click on your links to remember them note perfect. True iconic music of the 16-bit age. :)
Richard Joseph, ar dheis Dé go raibh an anam.
Thanks very much for these, they really were some classic games. I hope they will be remembered for years to come.