c64.com - The Definitive C64 Interview Archive
The c64.com archive contains one of the most comprehensive collections of C64 composer interviews. Whittaker’s entry covers his early career, his driver development, and his views on composition for the SID chip.
“I always thought of the SID chip as a musical instrument rather than a sound chip. The constraints forced you to be creative — three voices, a noise channel, and a whole set of filters. You had to engineer the music, not just write it.”
David Whittaker, paraphrased from c64.com interview archiveZzap!64 - “The Musician’s Other Ball”
Zzap!64 magazine’s celebrated feature on C64 game composers - appearing around issue 16 - was one of the first mainstream print pieces to treat SID composers as musicians worthy of in-depth coverage. Whittaker appeared alongside Rob Hubbard, Ben Daglish, and Tony Crowther.
The feature introduced readers to the technical realities of SID composition: the limitations, the workarounds, and the genuine musicianship required to produce memorable results within those constraints.
Zzap!64, “The Musician’s Other Ball” feature, c. 1986Choicest Games - “Where Are They Now?”
In December 2014, Choicest Games published a “Where Are They Now?” feature covering David Whittaker’s career arc from the C64 era to his role as Head of Audio at Traveller’s Tales. The piece is one of the most useful resources for understanding his post-EA career.
Kernkraft 400 - The Sampling Story
Multiple sources have covered the three-generation sampling chain behind Kernkraft 400. The clearest published accounts note that Zombie Nation sampled Whittaker’s Stardust without authorisation; that Whittaker received a settlement; and that Stardust itself adapted the melody of Visage’s “Fade to Grey” (Midge Ure / Billy Currie, 1982).
“I didn’t know anything about it until a friend phoned me and said ‘there’s a number two in the charts and it’s your tune’.”
David Whittaker, widely reported, original source: Lemon64 forum / press coverageRemix64 - Community Coverage
Remix64 has covered Whittaker’s work extensively through its community remix scene. Several high-profile remixes of Lazy Jones, Shadow of the Beast, and Speedball have appeared on the platform, with accompanying discussion of the original compositions.
Allister Brimble’s David Whittaker Amiga Works - an album of orchestral arrangements of Whittaker’s Amiga scores - is available on Bandcamp and was noted by the Remix64 community as a significant tribute.