Mike Oldfield is a British multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and producer. During his five decade long career, he moved through various music phases - from progressive rock, folk and world music to mainstream pop-rock, electronic and new age. He became one of the most successful British misic figures due to his complex individuality, surreal talent, abundant energy and consistency. Until now, he released almost 30 albums, with his debut Tubular Bells reaching the status of a classic. He sold over ten million albums worldwide. Let's go through his life journey.
Ever since he was very little, he showed interest for all types of music (especially Hank Marvin and The Shadows, that was his favorite). In East London, he attended Hornchurch Grammar School and begun his music career performing at local folk clubs where he played acoustic guitar. He was also a member of a beat group that performed music in the style of The Shadows. Since he was an accomplished local folk performed, he decided to form a duo with his sister called the Sallyangie which signed for Transatlantic Records. In 1968, their only album, Children Of The Sun, came out. After he dismantled The Sallyangie, he turned to his brother and formed rock band Barefoot. As a bassist, he joins The Whole Wide World, a collective created by jazz-fusion-progressive-rock-psychedelic vocalist Kevin Ayers. Before going solo with Harvest Records in 1971, he released two albums with The Whole Wide World, Shooting At The Moon and Whatevershebringswesing. These albums predicted the future of his music expression.
His solo career onset with debut single Tubular Bells. Due to its complexity, many record labels rejected it emphasizing the fact that it's not commercial enough. It wasn't until he got a strong financial support by Richard Branson, a seller of Virgin records, that Mike started recording in famous Abbey Road when he was only 19. Branson was mesmerized by his 50 minute quasi-classical instrumental and signed him to Virgin Records. The album Tubular Bells was actually the first release of Virgin Records. Oldfield played more than twenty different instruments and covered numerous genres. The album kicked off his career and it was even proclaimed as a prototype for the whole new age movement. The album reached third spot on Billboard Album Charts in United States and went on to sell more than 3 million copies. As title track was used in a soundtrack for The Exorcist, his debut single even managed to reach top 10 in United States.
His second studio album Hergest Ridge debuted at the top of UK Album Charts where it was succeeded by his debut. Along The Beatles and Bob Dylan, he became only one of three artists who managed to succeed himself on that chart. The albums spent incredible 276 in there. Orchestrated version of his debut, performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and titled The Orchestral Tubular Bells reached 17th spot on UK Album Charts.
Oldfield's third record Ommadawn contained Celtic and African influences, and it was at that point that it became clear to everyone that he is going to push himself out of his comfort zone project after project. Subsequently, he did many covers of folk standards, with Portsmouth being my favorite. Make sure you check it out, it's gorgeous.
If you haven't encountered Mike Oldfield before, I suggest you start with The Complete Mike Oldfield compilation he released in 1985. A beautiful duet with kid superstar Aleda Jones called Pictures In The Dark it's also to be found on this compilation and it's one of my favorite duets ever. Then, I suggest you take a listen to Tubular Bells, and then Tubular Bells II that he dropped in 1992. After Tubular Bells II came out, Oldfield noted: If I tend to accomplish anything with Tubular Bells II, it's that I don't want to be place in the new age category in the music shops anymore. That says it enough. As usually, I have covered only the initial period of a career of an artist who is in SundaySpotlight. The rest is on you to discover and I can not wait to hear your thoughts.
