Published on 11/18/2006

I think it would be impossible to write an article that could over emphasise just how inspirational Rob Hubbard was to computer music. Before Rob Hubbard, most game music was a series of pitiful beeps and bleeps! Simply put there was no one prepared for what Mr. Hubbard was to bring to the Commodore 64 game scene.

1985 D-Day for Computer Music

I think it would be impossible to write an article that could over emphasise just how inspirational Rob Hubbard was to computer music. Before Rob Hubbard, most game music was a series of pitiful beeps and bleeps! Simply put there was no one prepared for what Mr. Hubbard was to bring to the Commodore 64 game scene. The Commodore 64 was a machine with a number of notable features that were superior to its competitors - one of these was the SID (Sound Interface Device) - a dedicated sound synthesiser chip by sound engineer Bob Yannes.
Commodore intended to market the Commodore 64 primarily as a business machine - therefore fancy sound was not needed. However, because Commodore really didn’t specify exactly what they required - Bob Yannes almost had a ‘blank canvas’ to design the dream sound chip! Therefore, Commodore’s original intention for the C64's sound chip was a lot more mundane than what the sound engineer Bob Yannes eventually created! When the Commodore 64 was released in 1982 it featured the SID (Sound Interface Device). While other machines had sound chips as an afterthought. The SID was a powerful and versatile sound chip that was beyond anything in the home computer market at the time. The prestigious BYTE magazine in their September 1995, 20th Anniversary issue, listed the SID chip in their hall of fame as one of the most important chips ever manufactured.	Byte Magazine September 1995 20th Anniversary Edition by CMP Media
When Rob Hubbard discovered the power of the SID chip he harnessed it in a way that would not only astound Commodore 64 owners, but change the perception of home computer music forever. In the early 80's Rob Hubbard decided to submit examples of his work to software companies to try and get a job composing music for their games. Fortunately, Gremlin Graphics recognised the raw talent of Hubbard and gave him a lucky break - they wanted him to compose music for a new platform style game in development called Thing On A Spring.
Thing On a Spring by Gremlin Graphics	Thing On a Spring (Gremlin Graphics 1985) is one of my favourite Commodore 64 games - it was technically impressive due to the look and design of the levels with colourful, cartoonish graphics, and superb sprite animation on the main character. Unfortunately it was hampered by some overly difficult game play - but had the saving grace of a wonderful cheat mode, which thankfully allowed you to experience the beauty of the whole game! It also happened to be the first 'commercially successful' game that Rob Hubbard composed a soundtrack for, and therefore the first time I had heard a Rob Hubbard soundtrack. The music was amazing! Perfectly capturing the mood of the game. Loud, bouncy, energetic sound with clearly recognisable instruments, including the violin and even a harmonica! It may be one of his early efforts, but in my opinion this is one of Hubbard’s best tracks, yet it is often overlooked. It’s the sheer quality of the arrangement that just impresses so much. It’s a masterpiece that deserves far more recognition - and it really adds to the overall enjoyment of the game.

The Musical Mole

Monty on the Run (Gremlin Graphics 1985) raised the bar even further - with a breathtaking arrangement that the Zzap! 64 reviewers and most Commodore 64 users were blown away by. This track has everything - easily recognisable instruments, including a wonderful violin section! Even hand clapping can be heard! There is also a further piece of music on the High Score Table, which is probably the best High Score Table music (with the exception of Martin Galway’s RAMBO!) that you have ever heard on a computer game. The music on this game is a beautiful demonstration of what the SID chip could produce when it’s really pushed, and Hubbard became more famous than ever, when this game was released. Some Commodore 64 owners who weren’t overly keen on the game still bought it because of word of mouth about the quality of the music!! Something that the execs at Mastertronic must have realised when they decided to hire Hubbard at a later date - if a game had a Hubbard soundtrack it should shift enough units!
Monty On The Run by Gremlin Graphics
Commando (Elite 1985), a licensed conversion of the popular arcade machine. Based on the original arcade music, Hubbard worked his magic with a powerful, loud, thumping soundtrack, that really captures the spirit of the game. It’s interesting to note that Rob created this music under immense pressure from Elite, due to the deadline for the release of the game. It just goes to show the raw talent of Hubbard that he was able to complete this composition on time, while maintaining his usual standards. This soundtrack is highly regarded by a lot of C64 sound fans and is one of Hubbard’s most popular tracks. For more information on the back-story to the creation of this music - please read the Commodore Horizons article (reproduced in full) at the end of this article.	Commando by Elite
Mega Apocalypse by Martech	Crazy Comets (Martech 1985) was a new spin on an old concept, a game in the mould of space invaders, but looking and playing more like the Parker Brothers successful and addictive arcade game Gyruss. A good game, enhanced immeasurably by the inclusion of a Hubbard soundtrack. When the title screen appears with big white letters spelling the word Crazy Comets moving up the screen, you are introduced to the unforgettable music - with a boisterous bass line, and electric guitars laden throughout. The soundtrack is extremely effective and well suited to the frenetic game play. It became hugely popular and a favourite amongst Hubbard fans. Interestingly, there was a sequel to the game Crazy Comets which appeared a few years later, also on the Martech software label, called Mega Apocalypse (Martech 1987). The game was obviously similar to the original but played faster and also featured some software speech. Hubbard composed the music for this as well and it was a kind of souped up version of the original soundtrack. It was a thunderous mix, more powerful and louder - but probably losing some of the charm of the original.

The Mastertronic Years and The 'Budget Game' Revolution

Due to Hubbard’s increasing popularity and success, eventually he was offered a job at the now legendary Mastertronic. A company that specialised in marketing cheap games. It’s not surprising to see why so many of those £1.99 games sold so well - some of the games may have been rather average, even poor, but not the soundtrack. It is indeed correct that some Commodore 64 gamers bought certain games not for the game but for the soundtrack! I know, because I was one of them! And with Mastertronic it was easy to justify it because the titles were priced so low! There really can be no doubt that Mastertronic’s continued success on the C64 was due to the game having a Hubbard soundtrack. Personally, I think Mastertronic showed their considerable genius for selling these cheap games by employing Hubbard.
Formula One Simulator (Mastertronic 1985) had a soundtrack which some believe (including myself for some time) was not an original work, but a rendition of the song Hard Times by the successful 80’s pop group - Human League. The confusion appears to stem from the Zzap! 64 review of this game, where Gary Penn described it as a cover of Hard Times. Although it does share some similarities, they are vague, and it therefore is not a cover. It’s an impressive, boppy, upbeat tune that was superior to the game in every way! Although the music strangely worked in that it seemed to suit the game! In a way it was wasted, as it would have been far better associated with a bigger more expensive racing game - can you imagine something like Buggy Boy with this music!	Formula One Simulator by Mastertronic
The Last V8 by Mastertronic	The Last V8 (Mastertronic 1985), was one of Hubbard’s finest hours at Mastertronic. It's a driving game with a storyline similar to a sequence from a James Bond film. The game incorporated some software speech synthesis, which was unfortunately, appalling! The speech sounded like – 'V8 return to Vase hemediately'. It was infuriatingly difficult to play, infact some would say almost impossible! However, it had one saving grace, truly amazing theme music - it made you forget just how poor the game was! You could easily imagine this cinematic music being associated with a film – it’s that good. A Hubbard masterpiece. A perfect example of just how powerful the Commodore 64’s SID chip was. I’m sure owners of other home computers who were already in awe of C64 music - were green with envy when they heard this...
Master of Magic (Mastertronic 1985) was released under the M.A.D label - an acronym for Mastertronic Added Dimension. A range of budget games that added more quality and value to a game, either in terms of extra features or a more impressive audio/visual punch. This title was totally different to their usual efforts - a 'maze' type role-playing game (R.P.G.), with weird 'dungeons and dragons' style characters, similar to the game Temple of Apshai by Epyx, but more visually appealing. Hubbard's track on this is just so good it actually became a distraction! Beautifully constructed, wonderfully atmospheric. It is a cover of the track Shibolet by the band Synergy which appeared on the Album Audion. The game may only have been average but the music really helped to drive the game and keep you interested.	Master Of Magic by Mastertronic
Human Race by Mastertronic	The Human Race (Mastertronic 1986) had an outstanding soundtrack. The music was powerful and cinematic, but yet again probably too good for the game, although it was appropriate. It would have benefited from being associated with a more classier game. This is one of Hubbard’s most popular pieces of music, so it’s not surprising that this music has been remixed by a number of other computer musicians including Markus Schneider, who did a terrific remix of Rob Hubbard’s original and Hubbard himself in recent times has composed a new arrangement for the Back In Time CDs (see more information on c64audio.com at the end of this article). Also, a variation/remix of one of the Human Race level tunes was arranged for the cartridge utility, Game Killer by Robtek (more information on this appears towards the end of this article).

A Freelancing Hubbard

Following on from Hubbard's successful work at Mastertronic, Hubbard worked for a lot of other software companies and composed music for their games - some of his best work is referenced below. One of Hubbard’s strengths as a computer musician was not only constructing wonderful music compositions, but also the length of the music. This became more apparent later on, especially with his work on Delta and WAR. Knucklebusters (Melbourne House 1986) features Hubbard’s longest piece of music - an astounding 17 minutes! Unfortunately most people will never have heard the music fully, due to it being saddled with a game that’s below average, with weak and repetitive game play. The music itself is not without problems - it can be rather tiresome in places. But it does have some stunning moments - like the violin section that kicks in after a few minutes which is just awesome! Overall it’s below par compared to Hubbard’s usual standards, but it would certainly stand up against his competition quite well.	Knucklebusters by Melbourne House
Zoids by Martech	Zoids (Martech 1986) includes a strange but compelling soundtrack by Hubbard, the music starts slowly but soon becomes loud and thumping - Hubbard always seems to be able to compose music that is well suited to a game and this is no exception, as the game itself is original but strange! It is a cover of the track Ancestors by the band Synergy which appeared on the album Audion. Using a rather complex icon driven interface, which some gamers never understood! It’s based on a planet and you control a zoid machine - the objective is to defeat the red zoid army!. The music throughout is spot on, it helps to heighten the atmosphere and tension. I think it’s one of those tunes that probably was under appreciated at the time due to the complexity of the game, as some gamers probably never persevered with the game long enough to appreciate the overall quality of the music.
Warhawk (Firebird 1986) became a reasonably successful budget game not only because it was based on a familiar space shootem-up theme, but it also was fortunate enough to be graced with a quality Hubbard soundtrack. It’s well put together with a steady beating drum line and searing style sound. For some reason though - and I’m probably a lone voice on this! I always found it a bit irritating in places probably due to its intentionally 'whiney' nature when heard over and over again! The music for this game sometimes goes under the name Proteus which was the original game title before it was changed to Warhawk.
Tarzan (Martech 1986) - is intriguing, as the music was almost certainly underrated in its day, but it yet again showed the sophistication of Hubbard’s talent. It sounds rather different to any other Hubbard track, but again is perfectly suited to the game. It utilises clever and realistic jungle drum sounds throughout the mix, and creates a wonderful atmosphere when playing the game. As it is based on the legend of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Boroughs, the game takes place in the Jungle and has night and day time sequences which Hubbard cleverly takes advantage of by changing the pace and volume of the jungle drums! Brilliantly executed. Unfortunately the game does not really live up to the quality of the sound - the game play should have been better, it just ends up as rather average.	Tarzan by Martech

It's all about shootem-ups!

Light Force (Faster Than Light 1986) is yet another game set in space - actually when putting this article together, I realised for the first time just how many Hubbard soundtracks featured on space shootem-ups! It's quite surprising! Light Force is an interesting composition, it’s a more subtle sound mix in some ways compared to Hubbard’s other work. It’s certainly distinctive and complements the game beautifully. A test for knowing just how good some game music can be, is to listen to the music separately from the game, with the advent of the internet and the downloadable mp3s of C64 music you can experience this easily. Light Force is one of those 'stand out' tunes, which is great, even heard on its own.	Light Force by Faster Than Light
Sanxion by Thalamus Flash video - press play button to start	Sanxion (Thalamus 1986) features one of Hubbard’s most famous pieces of music during the loading sequence for the game. Almost immediately it became a Hubbard classic. The music works so well because it’s 'different' from any other music that was around at the time - you just never heard anything sound quite like this! It’s a terrific mix and one of those sound tracks that actually becomes better the more you hear it. It's not surprising that this music has been remixed and re-released numerous times by other musicians including Matt Gray on the compunet demo Sanxion Re-Loaded! When the game loads you are also treated to a rendition of Romeo and Juliet! - A truly bizarre idea for the title music, but strangely it does seem to work and is not as out of place as you may think!
WAR (Martech 1986) had an interesting, unusual score and was quite a long soundtrack. The game is a space shootem-up similar to Uridium. The music suits the game quite well. It starts slowly and a bit strange, but progresses to a strong and powerful mix. About half way through the music it really kicks in to gear with a rather busy, even hectic arrangement where so much seems to be going on – it’s almost like 5 sound channels are playing simultaneously, obviously it can’t be as the C64’s hardware only has 3! But it certainly gives that impression. I think this soundtrack was underrated at the time, as although it is not as popular as some of Hubbard’s other work, it is certainly sufficiently different to other music you may have heard. It's not surprising that this music has been remixed and re-released on CD by Chris Abbott of c64audio.com. Chris obviously recognised the quality of this music and finally gave it the promotion it deserved.	WAR by Martech
Delta (Thalamus 1987) is another stunning piece of work and really showcased the different kind of instruments that Hubbard music could incorporate.
Delta by Thalamus	During the loading sequence of this game - a music demo is available for use. You can use the joystick to switch the various instruments on different sound channels to create your own remix of the Delta loading tune. It was a brilliant idea and great fun. But the best was yet to come - when the game loaded and you started to play the game - the most unusual and eerie piece of music plays. The music at first just seems a bit weird and nothing special, but it’s an inspired and original 11-minute extravaganza! With a simple but effective phasing in of the sound channels, the music gradually builds up as you continue to progress through the levels of the game. It’s probably one of Hubbard’s most elaborate soundtracks. At first you’re not entirely sure what to make of it! - But trust me after hearing it for about 5 minutes you will soon realise that you are experiencing something special. It’s a captivating tune, which fits the game superbly. You will never hear anything quite like this on another C64 game and if you have never heard it before then it’s definitely a track you need to check out!

An Oriental Thing On a Spring?

International Karate by System 3	Due to the success of the game Way of the Exploding Fist (Melbourne House 1985) - it soon inspired other software companies to release similar games. One of the best was International Karate (System 3 1987 - the creators of the classic Last Ninja game series). Hubbard did the music for this and it turned out to be a wonderful oriental score that made an already great game, greater! However, it was criticised by Greg Barnett (who worked for Melbourne House and was the game designer, responsible for Exploding Fist) in a Zzap! 64 interview – for sounding like a slowed down, oriental version of Thing On a Spring! Although this is a bit harsh and a tad unfair, it is true there are some similarities, probably due to the choice of instruments, but it is also sufficiently different in its own right. A popular Hubbard tune and one that has been remixed in recent years by other music composers.
Arcade Classics (Firebird 1987) showed another side to Hubbard, the music bursts to life from the opening screen, which depicts some popular Arcade machines with an in your face heavy guitar riff that just keeps on going! It requires an acquired taste. Not everyone will like this track – it’s just too full on for some people, but it certainly demonstrated Hubbard’s versatility and talent and that is really the main attraction to this track. Hubbard’s brilliance was being able to express his music in any way he desired to fit a game, with the use of various instruments and techniques that other computer musicians simply could not match.	Arcade Classics by Firebird
With the popularity of skate boarding in the mid 80’s, the game Skate or Die (Electronic Arts 1988) was released. An amazing game that excelled graphically in every department - a tremendous number of animation frames were used on the characters and skateboards. Technically quite advanced for a C64 and the game play was equally impressive - with different skateboard challenges. Hubbard added a 'heavy' guitar riff soundtrack, that boomed away as soon as the title screen appeared, using actual digital samples of an electric guitar! It added a new dimension to Hubbard’s music and sounded great!
Skate Or Die by Electronic Arts

Not Just Games...

In 1984 a new service was developed and launched in the UK by Commodore Business Machines (CBM) and Compunet Teleservices Ltd which relied on the British Telecom (telephone network), called Compunet (aka Cnet). It used a 300-baud rate modem attached to the Commodore 64’s user port and your existing telephone line. Using special client software running on the Commodore 64, which would allow a user to log on to the Compunet Service, you could use the service for uploading and downloading information.
One of the most famous areas on Compunet was the 'Demos'. A unique area used by programmers, graphic artists and musicians to release demos of their work. It was an instant success story and one of the reasons to own a Compunet modem. Demos released here were discussed in the various magazines like Zzap! 64. One of the famous demos of the day was the Chicken Song; it had some strange music compositions like Eastbenders (a rendition of the popular music on the United Kingdom (UK) soap Eastenders!) and of course the Chicken Song by the maestro himself Rob Hubbard (based on the music that appeared in the famous United Kingdom (UK) satirical Spitting Image television show). A simple, fun and boppy tune, nothing special but became quite popular. The music was accompanied by an on screen graphic of the United Kingdom and words for the song would appear below in a similar fashion to Activision programmer David Crane's bouncing ball text, on the title screen of the game Ghostbusters.	Compunet by Compunet Teleservices Ltd
Game Killer by Robtek	In 1986 the company Robtek marketed a new product called Game Killer for the Commodore 64. It was a cartridge-based device that allowed gamers to cheat when playing certain games that contained sprite collision code. The cartridge would allow the sprite collision to be switched off, which in effect meant that you could complete a game because the in-game enemies could never kill your character! Unfortunately it did not work that well as it was only useful for certain games due to the software method used. Robtek asked Hubbard to compose the theme music for the software. It was the only commercial software utility that contained a Hubbard soundtrack and what a soundtrack it is! It’s actually a remix of some music he did for the Human Race (Mastertronic 1986). It has a memorable chorus line, which you won’t easily forget, it’s one of those tunes that just seems to stay in your head even after all these years - I can still hear the tune now! As usual it complements the software well and is most appropriate.

After the Commodore

All good things come to an end and with the inevitable demise of the 8-bit home computer market due to the arrival of a new wave of 16-bit computers like the Amiga and Atari ST, it was only a matter of time before Hubbard started composing music on these machines - one of his initial efforts was for the game Zany Golf on the Amiga computer.
Zany Golf by Electronic Arts
After a short while it was time for Hubbard to move on to new challenges. In 1989 he moved from Newcastle, UK to the USA and worked for the successful software company Electronic Arts and composed music for the PC. In the early years of the PC, it was saddled with a useless sound chip - about the only thing it could manage was a beep! But during the 16-bit revolution a range of sound cards from the Creative Labs Company was released which changed PC music forever. One of Hubbard’s early music efforts on the PC was on the popular game PGA Tour Golf.
Electronic Arts - Redwood Shores Offices, Redwood City, California
Eventually Hubbard became an Audio Technical Director at EA, which was more of an administrative role, quite a change from his usual hands on approach to music. After a number of productive years at Electronic Arts, in 2002 he decided to move back to the UK. In recent years he has appeared at music events such as the Back In Time live concerts and composed new remixes for some of his C64 music for the Back In Time CDs (see next page). With the advent of the mobile phone craze, he has also composed music for mobile phone games.

Back In Time

Chris Abbott of c64audio.com has released a number of 'Back in Time' music CDs - with new compositions/remixes of Commodore 64 music with CD quality sound that will allow you to experience Commodore 64 music in a whole new way. TCZ has purchased all the BIT CDs and highly recommends that you visit c64audio.com and check out the CDs available. Monty on the Run, Sanxion and Delta are included on these CDs. Well worth considering is "Back In Time 3" which includes a track remix of WAR! Some CDs may come with a free COMPANION CD-ROM containing MP3 remixes of Commodore 64 music. The CDs are reasonably priced and worth every penny.
Back In Time Live! DVD - by Chris Abbott of c64audio.com	A professionally produced DVD of the successful Back In Time live concerts is now available from c64audio.com by Chris Abbott. If you could not make or did not know of the BIT concerts then you will love the DVD - which is a neat compilation of the most notable Back In Time Live events, hosted by that other great C64 musician Ben Daglish. A lot of familiar faces attended including the maestro himself Rob Hubbard and the talented 'a-cappella' pop group Visa Roster who vocally hum the music to various top C64 music! If you can remember the early 80’s pop group, The Flying Pickets who did not use musical instruments but their voices to create music, like on the 1982 United Kingdom (UK) number one hit 'Only You' - then you will get an idea of how this group perform, very talented and a great experience. The DVD is reasonably priced and well worth checking out.
In recent years various composers usually in .mp3 format have released a myriad of versions of famous Hubbard music on C64 music websites. Some of the remixes are outstanding - check out the versions of Lightforce (X-formZ), Human Race (Markus Schneider), Formula One Simulator (Marcel Donne), International Karate (DJ Lizard), Knucklebusters (No Other Medicine), and some have even had vocals added to the mix!, like Mega Apocalypse (N-Joy/TsW) or Commando High Score (N-Joy/TsW and DJ Poa).
The High Voltage SID Collection available from HVSC.org contains all of Rob Hubbard’s C64 music, in a SID file format, which can be played on modern computers like the PC and Apple Mac, using SID Player software. It’s even possible to play the music via a real SID chip using special hardware like the Catweasel MK4 or HardSID, which are internal cards for the PC that can incorporate 6581 SID chips! Using a standard phono audio cable the sound output can be connected to your Hi-Fi / Amplifier for playback!	Catweasel MK4 - by Individual Computers (jens schoenfeld)

Game Release Timeline


Action Biker	Bump Set Spike	ACE II	Kings Of The Beach
Battle of Britain	Chicken Song	Arcade Classics	One On One 2
Commando	Chimera	Auf Wiedersehen Monty	Pandora
Confuzion	Deep Strike	Bangkok Knights	Powerplay Hockey
Crazy Comets	Flash Gordon	BMX Kidz	Ricochet
Formula 1 Simulator	Geoff Capes	Chain Reaction
Game Killer	Gerry The Germ	Delta
Harvey Smith	Hollywood or Bust	Dragons Lair II
Hunter Patrol	Human Race	I-Ball
Last V8	International Karate	IK+
Master Of Magic	Kentilla	Mega Apocalypse
Monty On The Run	Knucklebusters	Nemesis
One Man and His Droid	Light Force	Saboteur II
Rasputin	Ninja	Shockway Rider
Thing On A Spring	Phantoms Asteroid	Sigma Seven
Up Up and Away	Samantha Fox	Skate Or Die
	Sanxion	Star Paws
	Spellbound	Thanatos
	Tarzan	Train Robbers
	Thrust	Thundercats
	Video Poker	Wiz
	WAR
	Warhawk
	Zoids

A number of articles about Rob Hubbard that appeared in Commodore 64 magazines are in the
Legends of the C64 - Rob Hubbard category:

Profile - The Master Of Micro Music by Tony Reed, which appeared in Commodore Horizons and Wap-Bop-A-Lula.
WAP-BOP-A-LULA by Jim Douglas, which appeared in Computer & Video Games (C+VG).

If you would like to comment on this article then please use the comment/rating feature available.

Thanks to TCWORH (The Complete Works of Rob Hubbard) and Andreas Wallstrom / Ville Nurmi of C64HQ/C64.com for highlighting some factual and grammatical errors in the draft version of this article.

Thanks also to Rob for noticing some errors in the text for Master of Magic and Zoids which incorrectly stated that the music was an original composition by Rob Hubbard when in fact they are covers of tracks by the band Synergy from the album Audion.

Thank you to the following websites, which were used for sourcing some images, that appear in this article:
Armchair Arcade, AmigaKit, Commodore64.hu, c64audio.com, Ebay, Moby Games, Wikipedia,
The Complete Works of Rob Hubbard.