Rob Hubbard - select a track to play -
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Hull, England · 1985–2002 · SID Chip Composer

Rob Hubbard

The composer who turned three oscillators and a noise channel
into the defining soundtrack of a generation.

75+ games scored
1985 C64 debut
'87 Golden Joystick
Listen to the Music Read the History
The composer

The Man Behind the SID

Rob Hubbard came to the Commodore 64 in 1985 with a classical training, a background in session work, and no particular plan to write game music. Within months of sitting down with the SID chip documentation, he had produced scores that made the rest of the industry stop and listen. His debut on Commando - a propulsive march coaxed from three oscillators and a noise channel - announced a new standard for what home computer music could be.

Three years of freelance work followed: Sanxion, Auf Wiedersehen Monty, Delta, Knucklebusters, and more than 75 titles in total. In 1988 he joined Electronic Arts as Director of Music. The full biography covers his complete career from Hull to Silicon Valley.

Now playing

Hear the SID Chip

The player bar at the bottom of this page plays authentic SID files via jsSID - a Web Audio API emulator of the Commodore 64's SID chip. Every subtune of every composition is available. Use the Music page to browse the full catalogue, filter by platform, and jump directly to any track or subtune.

Keyboard shortcuts: Space = Play/Pause · ←/→ = Previous/Next track · , / . = Previous/Next subtune

Open the Full Catalogue
In his own words

Retro Tea Break Interview

In 2019, Rob Hubbard sat down with Retro Tea Break for an extended conversation about his C64 years, his working methods, and what it was like to write music for a chip that nobody else had fully explored. This is one of the most candid interviews he has given.

More interviews and quotes collected on the Interviews page.

Career at a glance

The Numbers Behind the Music

Hubbard's C64 freelance period ran from 1985 to 1988. In those three years he produced music for more than 75 games - a volume that would be remarkable for any composer, let alone one working entirely in 6510 assembly language on hardware that had been available for barely two years. The complete run is searchable in the Music catalogue.

In 1987, the Golden Joystick Awards voted him Best Music Composer - the first time a C64 musician had been recognised at a major industry event. The following year, Electronic Arts hired him as Director of Music, a role he held for approximately 14 years and through which he shaped audio across EA's 16-bit, 32-bit, and console catalogue. For five landmark compositions covered in depth, visit the Flagship Compositions page.