Gay Dad’s ‘Joy!’ was a single from the band’s album Leisure Noise, released in 1999. I’ve never listened to anything else by the band. I couldn’t tell you much else about them that isn’t on their Wikipedia page. This song was on FIFA 2000, albeit heavily edited so it ran under three minutes. When that game was released I was four years old. I can’t remember playing the game when I was that young. I may have done though I always try to give you the facts on here. There was a point when I was about nine that I remember spending hours on the thing. As a result, this song and a few others ingrained themselves into my memory.

‘Joy!’ stood out for a few reasons. Its main guitar riff is a killer. The verses are led by a smooth groove by its bassline and lead singer Cliff Jones’ calmly delivered vocals. But really it’s all about that build up to the chorus that ends in an emphatic cry of the song’s title. Because I had been listening to the FIFA 2000 edit for most of my life, it was a small surprise to find that the track went on for another two minutes ending with a section where the singer calls: “Goodbye, my darling, I’m ready to die”. It’s a bit of a strange shift from what goes on in the minutes before it but all-in-all doesn’t change the song’s momentum too much.

The track has a music video which I’ll embed below. Never knew it had one. I don’t think it’s too great. I’ll leave that for you to decide.