Mike Oldfield: A Half-Century of Progressive Rock Mastery

Back in the early '70s, a remarkably gifted 19-year-old British musician successfully persuaded studio executives (including a fledgling Richard Branson) to provide him with studio access. His vision was to create an elaborate extended musical composition that would later be known as "Tubular Bells."

When a segment of the music was featured in the score for "The Exorcist," the investment yielded substantial returns, propelling the album onto global chart positions and exposing millions to progressive rock as an artistic style.

Oldfield proceeded to enjoy a fruitful yet understated professional journey, with Branson expressing gratitude for his contribution that brought the Virgin Group its initial significant financial breakthrough. In 2013, Oldfield remarked, "It never occurred to me that the phrase 'tubular bells' would become so pivotal in our story.” He further noted, "'Virgin going into space probably wouldn’t have happened without bringing aboard this specific piece of equipment.'"

Many revised editions and updated versions of Tubular Bells have been released over the years, along with sporadic live concerts. The 50th ^th The anniversary tour initially began in 2023 and has since announced an extensive lineup of performances extending through 2025. Nonetheless, it appears unlikely that the elusive Oldfield will make personal appearances at these events.

One of the numerous peculiar aspects you ought to be aware of regarding Tubular Bells is:

The famous album cover was created by Trevor Key, who allegedly received only £100 (approximately EUR 120 or USD 134), yet later contributed to the design of many other prominent albums.

• The tentative title for the album was "Opus One."
• The album has surpassed sales of 20 million copies.
• In 1985, Oldfield’s publisher insisted on obtaining a co-writing credit due to similarities with the Paul Hardcastle hit song "19."
• The title of the fourth album, “Ommadawn”, is a phonetic spelling of the Gaelic “amadán”, idiot. The chant that can be heard, "Amadán ag ceól", means "Idiot singiing".
• A variety of instruments were rented for the event. However, the genuine tubular bells came from an earlier John Cale recording session.
• Not happy with the sound he was getting from them, Oldfield chose a harder hammer and cracked one of the bells.
• In 1986, an interactive Commodore 64 edition of the album came out, featuring a sound chip that played a streamlined reinterpretation of the music, enhanced with basic 2D visuals.
• The American vocalist Tori Amos has often employed the use of an opening Tubular Bells theme of her live performance.
• Virgin Airlines named one of their planes "Tubular Belle."
• Mike recorded demos for a fourth instalment in the Tubular Bells series in 2017, but never finished them.

The dates for 2024 and 2025 encompass performances throughout the UK and Europe. Further information can be found below. Mike Oldfield tour info .

(Michael Leahy. Photo: UMG)

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