Tim Follin

Game composer whose C64 work — above all Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Bionic Commando — the wiki's interviews treat as canon: when scarzix asked a Facebook sceners' group in 2013 to rate his old tunes 0–10, the scale was "where 10 is Galway, JT, Hubbard, Follin" (source: s-sidin14-scarzix-interview).

Facts#

• Ghouls 'n Ghosts: JCH ranks him "not overrated" for its "lifelike harmonica and an old electronic organ" — JCH copied the harmonica (source: s-chordian-sid-musicians; instrument-design). laxity lists Body Slam tune 4 and Ghouls'n Ghosts tune 1 among the best SIDs ever (source: s-sidin11-laxity-interview); tsm names the Ghouls'n'Ghosts title among his favourite SIDs (source: s-sidin13-tsm-freedom-interview).
• jeroen-tel's regard: favourite tunes Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Bionic Commando (source: s-sidmusic-jeroen-tel-interviews); third-listed in Tel's 1996 composer top 5, with Bionic Commando among the best tracks (source: s-imr-jeroen-tel-interview); in 1994, "some of the tracks Tim Follin did … absolutely smashing!" (source: s-domination01-jeroen-tel-interview); an influence "a little later" than Hubbard, Galway and Daglish (source: s-gamesart-jeroen-tel-interview); already in the 64'er interview of 3/91, aged 18, Tel rated Follin while dismissing Jens-Christian Huus (source: s-sidmusic-jeroen-tel-interviews).
• The benchmark a publisher pointed at: when charles-deenen turned down JCH's first C64 demo tape around 1989, the advice was market advice — "the English market not wanting the 'hit, snare' kind of music and that I should listen to what Tim Follin had done". Follin was what the UK houses were buying (source: s-chordian-my-computer-chronicles).
• Own player: "Tim Follin wrote his own routines" — a side remark in the Cybernoid behind-the-notes video commentary (source: s-cybernoid-behind-the-notes; sid-player-routine).
• The planned 3-CD album: Tel's 1996 studio album of the most popular C64 game tracks was "already agreed with Rob Hubbard, Martin Galway and Tim Follin" (source: s-imr-jeroen-tel-interview); the 1997 Commodore Zone interview describes the same plan as a three-disc remix album with Hubbard, Follin, Galway and Bjerregaard (source: s-sidmusic-jeroen-tel-interviews).
• Also on nata's list of favourite game composers (source: s-sidin09-nata-interview) and among the game composers stephan-schmid listens to (source: s-sidin03-schmid-interview).
• One of the four composer names put to bob-yannes in 1996 — the SID's designer "had not heard Hubbard, Galway, Follin or Tel" (source: s-sidmusic-yannes-interview).
• The adjective: chris-abbott's Ninja Remix review hears The Office "adding a Follinesque riff here and there" (source: s-remix64-ninja-remix).

Related#

jeroen-tel · chordian · laxity · rob-hubbard · martin-galway · ben-daglish · instrument-design · sid-player-routine · bob-yannes · scarzix · tsm · charles-deenen

Sources#

s-chordian-my-computer-chronicles · s-sidin14-scarzix-interview · s-chordian-sid-musicians · s-sidin11-laxity-interview · s-sidin13-tsm-freedom-interview · s-sidmusic-jeroen-tel-interviews · s-imr-jeroen-tel-interview · s-domination01-jeroen-tel-interview · s-gamesart-jeroen-tel-interview · s-cybernoid-behind-the-notes · s-sidin09-nata-interview · s-sidin03-schmid-interview · s-sidmusic-yannes-interview · s-remix64-ninja-remix