Richard Adrian Jacques (;
born 1973) is a British composer of film, television and video game music. Best known for his critically acclaimed orchestral scores for blockbuster franchises such as ''
James Bond 007: Blood Stone'', ''
Sonic R'', ''
Mass Effect'', ''
LittleBigPlanet 2'', ''
Alice In Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', ''
Starship Troopers
''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...
'' and ''
Headhunter
Headhunter or head hunter may refer to:
* Headhunting, hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing them
* Executive search, informally called headhunting, a specialized recruitment service
Arts and entertainment Film and telev ...
'', Jacques has collaborated with numerous premier TV and movie theatre campaigns for some of the world's largest media agencies including
Saatchi & Saatchi and
McCann Ericsson, and global brands such as
Audi,
Bacardi,
Mercedes-Benz and
Stella Artois. His music for television includes top brand shows for the
BBC,
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and
Channel 4.
Early life
Jacques was interested in composing music from an early age. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
in London, studying
trombone and
piano, and showed a keen interest in composition in multiple styles including
orchestral,
jazz and
popular music genres. He then attended Wells Cathedral School aged 16 as a Specialist Musician, where he also took up Percussion. In 1994 Jacques graduated with a Batchelor of Arts degree in music from
Colchester Institute /
University of Essex. He was immediately hired as an in-house composer at
Sega Europe
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
.
Career
At
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
Europe, Jacques began by composing soundtracks for a number of
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
and
Dreamcast games such as ''
Daytona CCE'', ''
Sonic R'', ''
Sonic 3D'', ''
Jet Set Radio'', ''
Metropolis Street Racer'' and ''
Jet Set Radio Future''.
Jacques's perhaps best known and acclaimed work at
SEGA
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
came with 2001's ''
Headhunter
Headhunter or head hunter may refer to:
* Headhunting, hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing them
* Executive search, informally called headhunting, a specialized recruitment service
Arts and entertainment Film and telev ...
''
[Jacques's VGM Rush profile](_blank)
. was the first video game soundtrack to be recorded with A-list musicians at
Abbey Road Studios' Studio One. The soundtrack was well received, and won multiple awards including Game Audio Network Guild 'Recognition Award', and was performed at the first
Symphonic Game Music Concert at The
Gewandhaus in
Leipzig and
Video Games Live events including the inaugural concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2015.
Jacques left
Sega Europe
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
shortly after ''
Headhunter
Headhunter or head hunter may refer to:
* Headhunting, hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing them
* Executive search, informally called headhunting, a specialized recruitment service
Arts and entertainment Film and telev ...
s release and became a freelance composer, continuing his relationship with
SEGA
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
by scoring ''
Headhunter: Redemption'' in 2004.
Jacques went on to compose the
BAFTA and
Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century.
He was born into a musical ...
nominated original music for
James Bond 007: Blood Stone, which is a big energy score that immerses the audience in a thrilling, cinematic Bond experience. The score received top honours for "Best Original Composition" from the Music and Sound Awards 2012. After this, Jacques composed the music for the
Alice In Wonderland game, for
Disney in 2010, and
LittleBigPlanet 2 for
Sony in 2011.
Soon after, Richard opened a new studio in central London AUDISSI where which he writes original music for new advertising, television. video games and other visual media projects, including an animated feature film. This included music for TV game-shows such as ''
Don't Scare the Hare
''Don't Scare the Hare'' is a 2011 British television game show produced by Initial (a subsidiary of Endemol UK) for the BBC, hosted by Jason Bradbury and narrated by Sue Perkins. The programme was aired on BBC One on Saturday evenings and was fi ...
'', ''
Prize Island
''Prize Island'' is a British television game show produced by Initial for ITV. The series was presented by Alexander Armstrong and Emma Willis. It was originally aired from 27 October to 1 December 2013 and ran for six episodes.
In June 2013, ...
'', ''
Fifteen to One'', ''
Catchphrase'', ''
The Getaway Car
''The Getaway Car'' is a British game show that has aired on BBC One from 16 January to 3 September 2016. It is hosted by Dermot O'Leary and is themed around motoring; it also features the character The Stig from the BBC car show ''Top Gear'', a ...
'', ''
Go for It
Go for It may refer to:
Music
* ''Go for It'' (Stiff Little Fingers album), 1981
* ''Go for It'' (compilation album), a 1983 Australian compilation album by various artists, which peaked at number 1 on the Australian charts
* '' Go for It... L ...
'', ''
Don't Ask Me Ask Britain'' and ''
Y Siambr
The Senedd building () in Cardiff houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; , formerly the National Assembly for Wales). The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint ...
''.
In 2018, Jacques was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award from the Game Audio Network Guild.
Works
Video games
Film and TV
References
External links
Richard Jacques's official site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Richard
1973 births
Living people
English composers
People from Warwickshire
Video game composers
Freelance musicians
British people of French descent
La-La Land Records artists