Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield (Michael Gordon Oldfield, b. 15 May 1953, Reading, UK) is a British musician, composer, recording artist and record producer. He first came to fame with his groundbreaking album Tubular Bells, the first release on Virgin records in 1973, composed entirely by Oldfield and on which he played the majority of instruments.

Practically a recluse, Oldfield continued with the instrumental suites format for his next two albums Hergest Ridge (1974), Ommadawn (1975) and Incantations (1978) before moving on to explore different musical directions, further to a drastic personality change in 1979. He also enjoyed Top 20 success with the singles In Dulci Jubilo, Portsmouth, the Blue Peter theme and even a 'disco' single Guilty.

Subsequent albums Platinum (1979) and QE2 (1980) brought in shorter, more conventional compositions and vocal arrangements using guest musicians and mainly female vocalists. A major commercial breakthrough came with the single Moonlight Shadow and the parent album Crises (1983). Oldfield enjoyed mixed fortunes after this intense period of recording and touring, and during which time relationships with the Virgin label, and in particular with director Richard Branson, worsened. His final album for Virgin Amarok was a cacophonic uninterrupted hour-long composition, Oldfield's retort to Virgin's request for a "Tublar Bells Two".

Sure enough, after leaving the label, Oldfield released Tubular Bells II, his first album for Warner, no.1 album in September 1992, which also spawned the Top 10 single Sentinel. He continued to record and release new material in the 1990s, including Tubular Bells III in 1998. He also completely re-recorded the original Tubular Bells with state of the art technology in 2003.

In 2008 he released an orchestral album Music of the Spheres in 2008 and a more conventional rock album Man on the Rocks in 2014. His latest album, Return To Ommadawn, reached no.4 in January 2017.

TV & Radio

 * 18 January 1975: The Mike Oldfield Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC Two & Radio 3, 9.45 pm.