David Lowe also known as "Uncle Art" is a British composer known for his work on computer games from 1985 to 1998.
Lowe got attention by making music with professional synthesizers (
CX5,
DX7, RX11 drum machine) for an additional cassette tape distributed with the games
Starglider 2 and
Carrier Command
''Carrier Command'' is a 1988 video game published by Rainbird for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, ZX Spectrum, Macintosh, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. ''Carrier Command'' is a cross between a vehicle simulation game and a real-time st ...
.
His
Starglider
''Starglider'' is a 3D video game published in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Jez San under his company name Argonaut Software. The game is a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe vector ...
soundtrack for 16-bit computers (ST & Amiga) was also notable of having 15-second long song (a single sound file) with vocals and synthesizers on both versions. Amiga version's title music used high quality instrument sounds (for then prevailing standards - before
tracker music).
Lowe composed and recorded the music for ''
Frontier: Elite II''.
Lowe was also co author and assembler programmer for 'Buggy Blast' and also programmer for the Spectrum Z80 version of 'Thrust': both published by Rainbird 1985 & 1986 respectively. In 2017, Lowe and his daughter finished their latest album; A Temporal Shift. It features remastered versions of some of Lowe's best-known gaming tunes.
Notable games
*''Buggy Blast'' (1985,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
)
*''Rasputin'' (1986,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
)
*''Rad-Zone (1986,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...
)
*''Thrust'' (1986,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
)
*''
Starglider
''Starglider'' is a 3D video game published in 1986 by Rainbird. It was developed by Jez San under his company name Argonaut Software. The game is a fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe vector ...
'' (1987,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...
,
Atari ST,
Amiga)
*''
Carrier Command
''Carrier Command'' is a 1988 video game published by Rainbird for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, ZX Spectrum, Macintosh, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. ''Carrier Command'' is a cross between a vehicle simulation game and a real-time st ...
'' (1988,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...
, audio tape music)
*''Exceleron'' (1988,
Commodore 64)
*''Games, The: Summer Edition (Go For Gold)'' (1988,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''
Galaxy Force
is a third-person space combat simulator game developed and released by Sega for arcades in 1988. The player assumes control of a starship named the TRY-Z, as it must prevent the Fourth Empire from taking over the entire galaxy. Gameplay involv ...
'' (1988,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''
Starglider 2'' (1988,
Amiga, audio tape music)
*''
International Karate +'' (1988,
Amiga,
Atari ST) (Based on
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard (born 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, England) is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64.
Early life
Hubbard first started playing music at age seve ...
's original for the
Commodore 64)
*''
After Burner II
is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...
'' (1988,
Amiga,
Atari ST arranged from the arcade game)
*''
P47 Thunderbolt'' (1988,
Commodore 64)
*''
Xain'd Sleena
is a two genre platformer and side-scrolling arcade video game produced by Technos in 1986. It was licensed for release outside of Japan by Taito. In the USA, the game was published by Memetron, and the game was renamed to ''Solar Warrior''. ...
'' aka Soldier of Light (1988,
Amiga)
*''
Altered Beast
''Altered Beast'' is a 1988 beat 'em up arcade video game developed and manufactured by Sega. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworl ...
'' (1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Bangkok Knights ''(1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''
Darius+'' (1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''
Double Dragon II'' (1989,
Commodore 64)
*''
F-15 Strike Eagle II
''F-15 Strike Eagle II'' is an F-15E Strike Eagle combat flight simulator released in 1989 by MicroProse and is the sequel of '' F-15 Strike Eagle''. It was followed in 1992 by '' F-15 Strike Eagle III'', the final game of the series.
The fight ...
'' (1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''
Garfield: A Winter's Tail'' (1989,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Hard Drivin''' (1989, C64)
*''Power Drift'' (1989,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...
, MSX,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Raffles (Devon Aire in the Hidden Diamond Caper) / (Inside Outing)'' (1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Time Scanner'' (1989,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''ISS: Incredible Shrinking Sphere (1989,
Amiga)''
*''Betrayal (1990,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)''
*''Ghostbusters II'' (1990,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Line of Fire'' (1990,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Night Shift (video game), Night Shift'' (1990,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Railroad Tycoon'' (1990,
Amiga)
*''Turbo Outrun'' (1990, home ports, credited as "Uncle Art")
*''Black Hornet'' (1991,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Cyber Police ESWAT'' (1991,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Elite (video game), Elite Plus'' (1991 DOS)
*''Final Fight (video game), Final Fight'' (1991,
Commodore 64,
Atari ST) (based on original by Yoko Shimomura)
*''Midwinter II: Flames of Freedom'' (1991,
Atari ST)
*''Formula One Grand Prix (video game), Formula One Grand Prix'' (1992,
Amiga,
Atari ST)
*''Pinball Dreams'' (1992, DOS, based on original by Olof Gustafsson)
*''Streetfighter II'' (1992,
Commodore 64,
Amiga,
Atari ST) (based on original by Yoko Shimomura)
*''
Frontier: Elite II'' (1993,
Amiga)
*''Cybermorph'' (1993, Atari Jaguar)
*''PGA Tour Golf'' & PGA Tour Golf II (1993, Sega Game Gear)
*''Beneath a Steel Sky'' (1994,
Amiga, Amiga CD32)
*''The Misadventures of Flink'' (1994, Mega Drive cartridge) (based on original by Matthias Steinwachs)
*''Frontier: First Encounters'' (1995, DOS)
External links
Archived version of David's official Uncle Art Music websiteDavid Lowes music files on ExoticaOverview of Lowe's Amiga music at MobygamesDavid Lowe interview in Sinclair User 57David's daughter Holly's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, David
British composers
Video game composers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people