GV : What came fist, the SID tune or the game? Did you ever play a game first which then in turn inspired the basis of the tune produced?
FG : I rarely got to see games before writing though often got a rough spec. Working for Denton Designs was a nightmare because their game specs were positively surreal at times.
GV : A steady stream of remixes of your C64 compositions have been delivered over the years. Are there any particular versions that stand out to you? What do you consider comprises a good remix?
FG : There are lots of great and well crafted takes on my music – thanks guys - but Reyn Ouwehand’s Mutants really captures the mood so well – such amazing guitar bending sounds
GV : David Whittaker successfully ported his compositions across a number of 8-bit platforms. Were there any reason you stayed away writing tunes for the Amstrad and Spectrum home computers?
FG : David was the master of the arpeggio and his compositions lent themselves well to the AY chip - personally I hated it after working on the SID chip for so long.
GV : A large proportion of your C64 tunes appeared in Ocean games. What was the company like to work with? Did they reject any of your tunes? Did they provide you with any feedback that you thereafter applied to improve the tune?
FG : They paid top money anything on offer and always paid on time - I was a happy bunny as they were my main customer. It was so sad to return to their old premises in Manchester (cannot remember the name of the road) to find it closed. I think the room where all the arcade machines were was being used as a second hand book store. It is about time we had a museum dedicated to the British computer games industry – that building would have been absolutely perfect.
GV : Is there any particular game you had wished you were involved with musically?
FG : Post 64 games like Max Pain maybe. The graphics and musical capabilities if modern PCs are awesome – it must be great to be coming into the computer games industry now!
GV : Do you keep in touch with any of the 8-bit composers such as David Whittaker and Rob Hubbard? Have you been involved at all in the Back in Time events?
FG: The first time I met the other musicians (apart from Martin Galway) was at the Birmingham BIT event then later at the Brighton gig. Both were fabulous events but those are my only encounters with the other musicians – so, no, I don’t keep in touch with any I am afraid to say. I was quite in awe of them all – they were such fun to be around – Ben Dalgish and David Whittaker especially.
GV : What is your link with Chris Abbott?
FG : Chris is a great guy and has made many sacrifices, taken many risks and put a lot of hard work into making the BACK IN TIME concept work. I can’t remember exactly how we came to be in communication but I have had a lot of fun taking part in the events he organises. We even discussed hosting an event in Liverpool at one point as it was so central and its airport caters for most of Europe – but the logistics didn’t add up. We keep in touch still by email – hi Chris!
GV : Do you become nostalgic and reminisce about the “good old days?”? Do you prefer the games industry the way it is now, or prefer it as is was in the fledgling days of home computers?
FG : I loved the early Atari games – they were magical and I was addicted to Missile command, River Raid and Dug Dug especially. I even worked in an arcade at one point and played as much as I liked haha. While the C64 was musically more sophisticated I really did welcome the 16 bit machines and the ever increasing power that the PC later offered both graphically and musically. Like I said – there has never been a better time to enter the computer games industry and I envy those who are at its heart now!
Thanks to Fred for taking the time to answer our questions.
