Tubular Bells

Product Information

Tubular Bells has spawned an orchestral version of the work and two sequels, Tubular Bells II and III. Aspects of the work have been incorporated into songs by metal bands Possessed and Death Angel as well as other artists including the California Guitar trio. In 1973, a young, largely unknown 20-year-old released his debut album, the first release on a brand-new label. The artist was Mike Oldfield, the album Tubular Bells and the label, Virgin Records. The album became a phenomenon, topping the UK charts, winning a Grammy; giving a green light to his career. Its popularity and notoriety was secured by its main theme being featured in The Exorcist, the film which became a global sensation.

English composer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield began writing Tubular Bells 50 years ago, at the age of 17. The record, released two years later, was the first on Richard Branson’s newly established Virgin label and remains Oldfield’s highest selling and best known album to date. Electric Guitar, Organ [Farfisa, Lowrey, Hammond], Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar [Speed Elec. Guitars], Timpani [Concert Tympani], Guitar [Sounding Like Bagpipes, Spanish], Vocals [Piltdown Man], Chorus [Moribund] – Mike OldfieldA multi-format reissue of Mike Oldfield’s seminal 1973 debut Tubular Bells will be released on May 26, to mark its 50th anniversary. It will be available in double vinyl and CD formats and as a Blu ray exclusively via Super Deluxe Edition. The new editions feature an unreleased demo made by Oldfield five years ago and intended at the time to herald a new 50th anniversary version of the work. This 50th Anniversary celebration edition of Tubular Bells, overseen by Mike Oldfield, contains a brand new half-speed Abbey Road master of the original album, plus a second album that unites several beguiling versions of Oldfield’s masterwork for the first time. A custom-made distortion was used to create the “bagpipe guitars” (so called because their sound is similar to bagpipes) heard on side two. And at the end of side two a familiar tune is heard: Oldfield’s arrangement of the Sailor’s Hornpipe brings the album to a close. A template for innovation Several sections of music on Tubular Bells were written by Oldfield and recorded as demos on cassette before he entered the Manor — a 16th century building bought by Branson and converted into a recording studio — to begin work on the album. A repeated motif

Electric Guitar, Organ [Farfisa], Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar [Speed Elec. Guitars], Organ [Lowrey], Timpani [Concert Tympani], Guitar [Guitars Sounding Like Bagpipes], Performer [Piltdown Man], Organ [Hammond], Guitar [Spanish], Chorus [Moribund], Conductor [Manor Choir] – Mike Oldfield Oldfield then retired from recording and performing, and the eight-minute introduction piece was shelved. Now emerging for the first time, “Tubular Bells 4 Intro” stands as a new conclusion to the epic work, and may well be the last piece ever to be recorded by Oldfield. Matrix / Runout (B Side, stamped (and handwritten) in Runout): VIG 2933 722 2DU1 380 CIDIS (~~~~) 6

Reviews

Chosen as the album’s title and the subject of a great fanfare at the end of side one, tubular bells constituted something of a novelty item and source of fascination for listeners.

Electric Guitar, Organ [Farfisa, Lowrey, Hammond], Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar [Speed], Timpani [Concert], Guitar [Sounding Like Bagpipes, Spanish], Voice [Piltdown Man], Chorus [Moribund], Conductor [Bootleg Chorus], Written-By – Mike Oldfield Among these, and available on vinyl for the first time, is “Tubular X,” which was Oldfield’s take on Mark Snow’s theme for the smash hit TV series The X-Files. Also included is the “Tubular Beats” remix collaboration with YORK, plus the original “Mike Oldfield’s Single (Theme From Tubular Bells),” made in response to an unauthorized US single that contained an excerpt from the album. Read the full, strange story of that release here. Also, for the first time since a very limited run in 2012, “Tubular Bells/In Dulci Jubilo (Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games)” is included. I seem to have an edition not catalogued above. It is very similar to the first press however it is printed by Robor Limited and the matrix (side A) is V-2001-A 1 and (side B) V-2001-B 1 Tubular Bells is best known for Part One, particularly the first three and a half minutes of music, which feature a repeated motif in the key of A minor with a 15/8 time signature.

A repeated motif

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