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, Ommadawn and Incantations before moving on to explore different musical directions, further to a drastic personality change in 1979. Subsequent albums Platinum and QE2 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. 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, in 1991.