Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield at Nokia Night of the Proms (December 2006)
Background information
Birth name	Michael Gordon Oldfield
Born	15 May 1953 (1953-05-15) (age 55) Reading, Berkshire, England
Genre(s)	Ambient, celtic fusion, classical, Europop, experimental, minimalist, new age, Neofolk, progressive rock, rock and roll, trance, world
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Game designer
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals, Bass
Years active	1967–present
Label(s)	Virgin (1972–1991) Warner Bros. (1992–2003) Mercury (2005–present)
Associated acts	Kevin Ayers, David Bedford, Maggie Reilly, Pekka Pohjola
Website	http://www.mikeoldfield.com/

Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age and more recently dance. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Celtic fusion is an umbrella term for modern music which incorporates influences considered "Celtic" or Celtic music which incorporates modern music Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music This is a page for the musical genre Europop in general For the album Europop by Eiffel 65, see Europop (album. Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 Minimalist music is an originally American genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady New Age music is peaceful Music of various styles which is intended to create inspiration relaxation and positive feelings often used by listeners for Yoga, Neofolk is a form of Folk music -inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Trance is a style of Electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell Warner Music Group (WMG is the third-largest of the "big four" major record labels, the others being Sony BMG, EMI, and Universal Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English Songwriter and major influential force in the English David Vickerman Bedford (born 4 August 1937 in London) is a British Composer and Musician. Maggie Reilly (born September 15 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish vocalist best known for her collaborations with the composer Mike Oldfield between 1980 and 1984 Jussi Pekka Pohjola (born January 13, 1952) is a Finnish Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and producer. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A multi-instrumentalist is a Musician who plays a number of different instruments The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production New Age music is peaceful Music of various styles which is intended to create inspiration relaxation and positive feelings often used by listeners for Yoga, This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album Tubular Bells, which broke new ground as an instrumental concept album and launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow". Tubular Bells is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell " Moonlight Shadow " is a Pop song written by British Multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield and released as a single in

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early career 1.2 1973–1991: Virgin years 1.3 1992–2003: Warner years 1.4 2004–present: Recent years 1.5 Personal life 2 Discography 2.1 Main albums 3 Instruments 3.1 Guitars 3.2 Recording 4 See also 5 Bibliography 6 References 7 External links

History

Oldfield's parents are Maureen and Raymond Oldfield, a nurse and doctor respectively. His sister Sally and brother Terry are successful musicians in their own right and have appeared on several of his albums. Sally Oldfield (born in August 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is a folk Singer and the sister of Composers Terence "Terry" Oldfield (born 12 August 1949) is an English composer Mike Oldfield attended Presentation College at 63 Bath Rd. , Reading, in Berkshire (now the Elvian School).

Early career

Oldfield's career began fairly early in his life, playing acoustic guitar in local folk clubs. See also Acoustic Guitar (magazine An acoustic guitar is a Guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings A Folk club is a regular event permanent venue or section of a venue devoted to Folk music and Traditional music. At this time, he already had two fifteen minute instrumental pieces in which he would "go through all sorts of moods", a precursor to his landmark 1970s compositions. In his early teens, Oldfield was involved in a 'beat group' playing Shadows style music (he has often cited Hank Marvin as a major influence, and would later cover the Shadows' song "Wonderful Land"). The Shadows are an English instrumental and vocal Rock and roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s Brian Robson Rankin (born 28 October 1941) Newcastle upon Tyne, known by the Stage name Hank B The Shadows are an English instrumental and vocal Rock and roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s In 1967 he and his sister Sally formed the folk duo The Sallyangie and were signed to Transatlantic Records after exposure in the local folk scene. The Sallyangie were a 1960s folk duo consisting of Siblings Mike and Sally Oldfield. Transatlantic Records was a British Independent record label. An album, Children of the Sun was issued in 1968. Children of the Sun is the 1969 album by British folk duo The Sallyangie. After Sallyangie disbanded, he formed another duo with his brother Terry, called Barefoot, which took him back to rock music. The Sallyangie were a 1960s folk duo consisting of Siblings Mike and Sally Oldfield. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. ^[1]

In 1970 he joined ex-Soft Machine vocalist Kevin Ayers' backing group The Whole World playing bass guitar. Soft Machine was an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English Songwriter and major influential force in the English " The Whole World " is a single by OutKast released as a new track on the compilation Big Boi and Dre Present The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The band also included keyboardist and composer David Bedford, who quickly befriended Oldfield and encouraged him in his composition of an early version of Tubular Bells. An electronic keyboard or digital keyboard is a type of Keyboard instrument. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance David Vickerman Bedford (born 4 August 1937 in London) is a British Composer and Musician. Bedford would later arrange and conduct an orchestral version of that album. With Ayers, Oldfield recorded two albums, Whatevershebringswesing and Shooting at the Moon. Whatevershebringswesing is the third solo album by Kevin Ayers. Shooting at the Moon is the second solo album of Kevin Ayers. Both albums featured early versions of what would become his trademark sound.

Having recorded a demo version of Tubular Bells, Oldfield attempted to convince someone in the music industry to take the project on, but was told the project was unmarketable. However, in 1972 he met the young Richard Branson who was setting up his own record label, Virgin Records, and after playing the demo to engineers Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth, he began recording the 1973 version of the album. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell Tom Newman (born 1943 is an English Record producer and Musician ( Rhythm guitar)

1973–1991: Virgin years

Tubular Bells became Oldfield's most famous work. Tubular Bells is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. The instrumental composition was recorded in 1972 and launched on 25 May 1973 as the inaugural album of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell The album was groundbreaking, as Oldfield played more than twenty different instruments in the multi-layered recording made in Branson's Manor studios, and its style progressed continuously, covering many diverse musical genres. The Manor Studio (aka The Manor) was a Recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England The album quickly reached the Top 10 of the UK album chart and has spent 279 weeks on the chart to date, a figure bettered by only ten other albums. The UK Albums Chart is a list of Albums ranked by sales in the United Kingdom. Its 2,575,000 UK sales put it at No. 28 on the list of the best selling albums in the UK. In the U.S., it received attention chiefly by appearing in the soundtrack to The Exorcist. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, In the autumn of 1974, the follow-up LP, Hergest Ridge, was No. Hergest Ridge is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield released in 1974 (see 1974 in music) 1 in the UK for three weeks before being dethroned by Tubular Bells. Although Hergest Ridge was released over a year after Tubular Bells, it reached No. 1 first. Tubular Bells spent 11 weeks (10 of them consecutive) at No. 2 before its one week at the top. In 1979, Tubular Bells was used as the main musical score for The Space Movie, a Virgin movie that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The Space Movie is a documentary film produced in 1979 by Tony Palmer at the request of NASA, to celebrate the tenth anniversay of Neil Armstrong The Exorcist track is the score used for the landing sequence of the Apollo flights.

Like Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge is a two-movement instrumental piece, this time evoking scenes from Oldfield's Herefordshire country retreat. Tubular Bells is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. Hergest Ridge is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield released in 1974 (see 1974 in music) Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the This was followed in 1975 with the pioneering world music piece Ommadawn, and 1978's Incantations which introduced more diverse choral performances from Sally Oldfield, Maddy Prior and the Queen's College Girls Choir. The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Ommadawn is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. Incantations is a Double album written and produced by Mike Oldfield. Sally Oldfield (born in August 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is a folk Singer and the sister of Composers Maddy Prior (born 14 August 1947, Blackpool, England) is an English Folk singer. Queen's College is an all-girls English Independent school located in Harley Street, London.

Around the time of Incantations, Oldfield underwent a controversial self-assertiveness therapy course known as Exegesis. Incantations is a Double album written and produced by Mike Oldfield. ^[2] Possibly as a result, the formerly reclusive musician staged a major European tour to promote the album, chronicled in his live album Exposed, much of which was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, the first-ever concert there. Exposed is a 1979 live album by Mike Oldfield. The album was a collection of Oldfield's tours in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the The National Exhibition Centre ( NEC) is an Exhibition centre in Solihull, near Birmingham, England.

In 1975, Oldfield received a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition in "Tubular Bells – Theme From The Exorcist". The 17th Grammy Awards were presented March 1, 1975, and were broadcast live on American television The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960 The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, In 1979, he recorded a version of the signature tune of the popular British Children's Television programme, Blue Peter, which was used by the show for 10 years. "Blue Peter" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music) Blue Peter is a BBC Television programme for children It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the

The early 1980s saw Oldfield make a transition to "mainstream" popular music, beginning with the inclusion of shorter instrumental tracks and contemporary cover versions on Platinum and QE2 (the latter named after the cruise ship). QE2 is a record album mostly written and performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music) Characteristics The ship has a and is 963 ft (294 m long She had a top speed of using her original steam turbine powerplant which was increased to when she was re-engined Soon afterwards he turned to songwriting, with a string of collaborations featuring various lead vocalists alongside his characteristic searing guitar solos. The best known of these is "Moonlight Shadow", his 1983 hit with Maggie Reilly. " Moonlight Shadow " is a Pop song written by British Multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield and released as a single in Maggie Reilly (born September 15 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish vocalist best known for her collaborations with the composer Mike Oldfield between 1980 and 1984 This song has been covered by various other artists, including Aselin Debison (Canadian folk singer) and DJ Mystic (electronic/techno). Aselin Debison (born June 27, 1990) is a Canadian pop and Celtic music singer sometimes known affectionately as Azi Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production Techno is a form of Electronic dance music (EDM that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s In 2002 it was a number one hit in central Europe for the German dance act Groove Coverage. Groove Coverage is a German Euro-trance band The Groove Coverage project consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch better known as Mell The most successful Oldfield composition on the US pop charts during this period was actually a cover version — Hall & Oates's remake of Oldfield's "Family Man" for their 1982 album H₂O. Hall & Oates are a Pop music duo made up of Daryl Hall and John Oates. " Family Man " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) H2O is the 1982 hit album from the duo Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Oldfield later turned to film and video, writing the score for Roland Joffé's acclaimed film The Killing Fields and producing substantial video footage for his album Islands. Roland Joffé (born November 17, 1945 in London) is a Film director who began his career in The Killing Fields is a 1984 British film drama about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Islands is the 11th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1987. Islands continued what Oldfield had been doing on the past couple of albums, with an instrumental piece on one side and rock/pop singles on the other. Of these, "Islands", sung by Bonnie Tyler and "Magic Touch", with vocals by Max Bacon (US version) and Jim Price (UK/rest of the World) were the major hits. "Islands" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1987 (see 1987 in music) Bonnie Tyler (born June 8 1951 in Skewen, Neath) is a Welsh rock Singer. " Magic Touch " is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music) For the Missouri jurist legislator and co-author of " Let the eagle soar. In the USA, Virgin America promoted the song "Magic Touch" to a large extent, making it a success, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard album rock charts. The Billboard charts are music sales airplay and digital ranking reports distributed to the general public by Billboard magazine

Earth Moving was released in July 1989, and was a moderate success. Earth Moving is the 12th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature rock/pop songs on both sides. Several were released as singles: 'Innocent' and 'Holy' in Europe, and 'Hostage' in the USA for album rock stations. This was, however, a time of much friction with his record label. Virgin Records reportedly insisted that any future instrumental album should be billed as Tubular Bells 2. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell Oldfield's rebellious response was Amarok, an hour-long work featuring rapidly changing themes (supposedly devised to make cutting a single from the album impossible), unpredictable bursts of noise, and a very cleverly hidden Morse code insult directed at Richard Branson. Amarok is the 13th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1990. Morse code is a Character encoding for transmitting telegraphic information using standardized sequences of short and long elements to represent the letters numerals Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Although regarded by many fans as his greatest work, it was not a commercial success. His parting shot from the Virgin label was Heaven's Open, which continued the veiled attacks on Branson but was notable for being the first time Oldfield had contributed all the lead vocals himself. Heaven's Open is the 14th record album performed by Michael Oldfield, released in 1991. Some say this was due to his desire to quit Virgin as soon as possible (he had previously stated that his voice did not belong on his recordings). This theory is supported by the fact that Heaven's Open is the only album that Oldfield released as Michael Oldfield, not Mike Oldfield. Heaven's Open is the 14th record album performed by Michael Oldfield, released in 1991.

1992–2003: Warner years

The very first thing Oldfield did when arriving at this new label, Warner Bros. Records, and as his final insult to his former label, was to write and release Tubular Bells II (the sequel to the first record released by Virgin), which was premiered at a live concert at Edinburgh Castle. Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Tubular Bells II is the 15th music album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1992. Edinburgh Castle is an ancient Stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the He then continued to embrace new musical styles, with The Songs of Distant Earth (based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name) exhibiting a softer "New Age" sound. The Songs of Distant Earth is the 15th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1994. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and Songs of Distant Earth is the common title of several Science fiction works by Arthur C New Age music is peaceful Music of various styles which is intended to create inspiration relaxation and positive feelings often used by listeners for Yoga, In 1994 he also had an asteroid named after him, 5656 Oldfield. Asteroids, sometimes called Minor planets or planetoids', are bodies—primarily of the inner Solar System —that are smaller than planets but 5656 Oldfield (A920 TA is a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on October 08, 1920 by W ^[3][4]

In 1995 Oldfield further continued to embrace new musical styles by producing a celtic themed album, Voyager. Celtic music is a term utilised by artists record companies music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of Musical genres that evolved out of the Folk In 1998 he produced the third Tubular Bells album, Tubular Bells III (also premiered at a concert, this time in Horse Guards Parade, London), drawing from the dance music scene at his then new home on the island of Ibiza. Tubular Bells III is the 17th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. Ibiza (Eivissa is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain This album was still inspired by themes from Tubular Bells, but differed in lacking a clear two part layout.

During 1999 Oldfield released two albums. The first, Guitars, used guitars as the source for all the sounds on the album, including percussion. Guitars is a record album written and performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music) The second, The Millennium Bell, consisted of pastiches of a number of styles of music that represented various historical stages over the past millennium. The Millennium Bell is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music) The work was performed live in Berlin for the city's millennium celebrations in 1999-2000. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany.

He added to his repertoire the Music VR project, combining his music with a virtual reality-based computer game. MusicVR is a virtual reality project created and developed by the musician Mike Oldfield. Virtual reality ( VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a Computer-simulated environment be it a real or imagined one His first work on this project is Tr3s Lunas launched in 2002, a virtual game where the player can interact with a world full of new music. Tr3s Lunas (also known as Tres Lunas) is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. This project appeared as a double CD, one with the music, and the other with the game.

In 2003 he released Tubular Bells 2003, a re-recording of the original Tubular Bells, on CD, and DVD-Audio. Tubular Bells 2003 is an album by Mike Oldfield, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music) DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering very High-fidelity audio content on a DVD. This was done to "fix" many "imperfections" in the original due to the recording technologies of the early 1970s and limitations in time that he could spend in the recording studio. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of Tubular Bells, Oldfield's 50th birthday and his marriage to Fanny in the same year. The DVD-Audio version has the same content as the CD version in surround, and some demos of the original Tubular Bells. Tubular Bells is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. At around the same time Virgin released an SACD version containing both the original stereo album and the 1975 quadraphonic mix by Phil Newell. Super Audio CD ( SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format that can provide higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the Red Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic) sound &ndash the most-widely-used early term for what is now called 4 In the 2003 version, the original voice of the 'Master of Ceremonies' (Viv Stanshall) was replaced by the voice of John Cleese, Stanshall having died in the interim. Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall, 21 March 1943 &ndash 5 March 1995) was an John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer

2004–present: Recent years

On 12 April, 2004 Oldfield launched his next virtual reality project, Maestro, which contains music from the Tubular Bells 2003 album and also some new chillout melodies. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Virtual reality ( VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a Computer-simulated environment be it a real or imagined one MusicVR is a virtual reality project created and developed by the musician Mike Oldfield. The games have since been made available free of charge on Oldfield's website.

A double album, Light & Shade was released on Mercury Records, with whom Mike had recently signed a three album deal. Light + Shade is a two- disc album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of The two discs contain music of contrasting moods, one relaxed (Light) and the other more edgy and moody (Shade). The album was released on 26 September 2005. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Light includes a selection of tracks from the album in U-MYX format, which allows listeners to create their own remixes. U-MYX is a music format launched in 2004 which allows a user to arrange and create their own mix of songs by known music artists Oldfield headlined the German Nokia Night of the Proms tour, consisting of 18 concerts in December 2006. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Night of the Proms is a series of concerts held yearly in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. ^[5]

His autobiography Changeling was published in May 2007 by Virgin Books. Changeling (ISBN 978-1852273811 is a 2007 autobiography by Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books is a United Kingdom book Publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally ^[6] In March 2008 Oldfield released his first classical album, Music of the Spheres; Karl Jenkins assisted with the orchestration. Music of the Spheres is the first classical album by English musician Mike Oldfield released in the UK on 17 March 2008 Dr Karl William Jenkins OBE DMus FRAM ARAM LRAM FWCMD FTCC (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer ^[7]

Personal life

Oldfield and his siblings were raised Roman Catholic, the faith of their Irish mother. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate ^[8] In the late 1970s, Oldfield briefly married Diana D'Aubigny (the sister of the Exegesis group leader), but this lasted just a few weeks. Exegesis was an Alternative therapy programme founded by Robert D'Aubigny in the late 1970s

Mike Oldfield has seven children. In the early 1980s, he had three children with Sally Cooper (Molly, Dougal and Luke). In the late 1980s, he had two children (Greta and Noah) with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Anita Hegerland (born 3 March 1961 in Sandefjord) is a Norwegian singer famous for her childhood career in the Scandinavian and German markets In the 2000s, he married Fanny Oldfield (née Vandekerckhove), whom he met during his time in Ibiza; they have two sons together (Jake and Eugene).

Oldfield is a motorcycle fan, and has five bikes. These include a BMW R1200GS, a Suzuki GSX-R750, a Suzuki GSX-R1000 and a Yamaha R1. The BMW GS series of dual purpose off-road/on-road BMW motorcycles have been produced from 1980 to the present day The GSX-R750 is a Sport bike from Suzuki 's GSX-R series of Motorcycles. The GSX-R1000 is a Sport bike from Suzuki 's GSX-R series of Motorcycles. The Yamaha YZF-R1, introduced in 1998, is Yamaha Motor Company 's third generation Sport bike. He also says that some of his inspiration for composing comes from riding them. ^[9]

In November 2006, fellow musician Noel Gallagher won a Spanish court case against Oldfield. Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967 in Manchester, England is the lead guitarist backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Oasis Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Gallagher had bought an Ibiza villa for £2. Ibiza (Eivissa is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain 5 million from Oldfield in 1999, but quickly discovered that part of the cliff-top property was falling into the sea. The resulting court case awarded Gallagher a six-figure sum in compensation. ^[10]

In 2007 Oldfield caused a minor stir in the British press by criticizing Britain for being too controlling and over protective, specifically concentrating on the smoking ban which England and Wales introduced that year. Oldfield then moved from his Gloucestershire home to Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Palma is the major City and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[11][12] Oldfield has lived outside the UK in the past; including living in Los Angeles and Ibiza in the 1990s and Switzerland in the mid-1980s, for tax reasons. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Ibiza (Eivissa is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Oldfield also currently has a home in Monaco. For other uses see Monaco (disambiguation Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco ( French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque

Discography

Main articles: Mike Oldfield discography and Mike Oldfield singles discography

Main albums

Year	Title	UK Album Chart position
1973	Tubular Bells	1
1974	Hergest Ridge	1
1975	The Orchestral Tubular Bells	17
1975	Ommadawn	4
1978	Incantations	14
1979	Exposed	16
1979	Platinum	24
1980	QE2	27
1982	Five Miles Out	7
1983	Crises	6
1984	Discovery	15
1984	The Killing Fields
1987	Islands	29
1989	Earth Moving	30
1990	Amarok
1991	Heaven's Open
1992	Tubular Bells II	1
1994	The Songs of Distant Earth	24
1996	Voyager	12
1998	Tubular Bells III	4
1999	Guitars	40
1999	The Millennium Bell
2002	Trɜs Lunɑs
2003	Tubular Bells 2003
2005	Light & Shade
2008	Music of the Spheres	9

Instruments

Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist; however he considers himself to be predominantly a guitarist^[13]. See also Mike Oldfield This page is a Discography for the musician Mike Oldfield. See also Mike Oldfield This page is a singles Discography for the musician Mike Oldfield. The UK Albums Chart is a list of Albums ranked by sales in the United Kingdom. Events January-February January 9 - Mick Jagger 's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug bust putting an abrupt end Tubular Bells is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. Events January - The Ramones form January - Joni Mitchell releases her monumental album Court and Spark, supported Hergest Ridge is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield released in 1974 (see 1974 in music) Events January 2 - New York City US District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers The Orchestral Tubular Bells is an orchestral version of Mike Oldfield 's album Tubular Bells, arranged by David Bedford and recorded Events January 2 - New York City US District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers Ommadawn is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. Events January: May - The Bee Gees dominate the singles and album charts as Saturday Night Fever becomes a cultural phenomenon Incantations is a Double album written and produced by Mike Oldfield. See also Musical groups established in 1979 Record labels established in 1979 1979 in music (UK Exposed is a 1979 live album by Mike Oldfield. The album was a collection of Oldfield's tours in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the See also Musical groups established in 1979 Record labels established in 1979 1979 in music (UK Events January January 1 - The year starts off with a strong Disco backlash which causes the majority of musicians to abandon the use of real instruments QE2 is a record album mostly written and performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music) See also 1982 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 Five Miles Out is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. Major releases Michael Jackson's Thriller, the highest-selling album of all time as well as the best-selling album of 1983 and 1984 was released Crises is the 8th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1983. Oldfield's well known " Moonlight Shadow " appears on the See also Events January 21 - " Relax " by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart it Discovery is the 9th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. See also Events January 21 - " Relax " by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart it The Killing Fields is the 10th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. See also Musical groups established in 1987 Record labels established in 1987 Events Islands is the 11th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1987. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989 Earth Moving is the 12th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1989. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990 Amarok is the 13th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1990. See also 1991 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1991 Record labels Heaven's Open is the 14th record album performed by Michael Oldfield, released in 1991. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992 Tubular Bells II is the 15th music album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1992. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994. The Songs of Distant Earth is the 15th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1994. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998 Tubular Bells III is the 17th Album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. See also 1999 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1999 Record Guitars is a record album written and performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music) See also 1999 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1999 Record The Millennium Bell is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music) This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002 Tr3s Lunas (also known as Tres Lunas) is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. See also 2003 in music (UK Musical groups established in 2003 Record labels Tubular Bells 2003 is an album by Mike Oldfield, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music) Events January 1 - In most of Europe copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier including Light + Shade is a two- disc album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2008 Music of the Spheres is the first classical album by English musician Mike Oldfield released in the UK on 17 March 2008 A multi-instrumentalist is a Musician who plays a number of different instruments The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument For a large list of Oldfield's instruments, past and present, see the Instruments section at Tubular. net.

Guitars

Over the years Oldfield has used a various selection of guitars, some of the most noted being:

• A 1961 salmon pink Fender Stratocaster – Used by Oldfield from the early 1980s until 2007 – Sold for £30,000. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares
• A late 1980s amber PRS Artist Custom 24 – Used by Oldfield from the late 1980s to the present day. PRS Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer based in Stevensville Maryland.
• A 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster serial no. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. 180728 – The only electric guitar used on Tubular Bells and also previously owned by Marc Bolan^[14] – Went up for auction at Bonhams in June 2007, with the money going to the SANE charity. Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English singer songwriter and Guitarist Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793 SANE is a Mental illness charity in the UK established in 1986. ^[15]
• Various Gibson Les Paul and SGs – Used by Oldfield extensively in the 1970s and 80s. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied Electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s

Oldfield used a modified Roland GP8 effects processor in conjunction with his PRS Artist to get many of his heavily overdriven guitar sounds from the Earth Moving album onwards. is a Japanese manufacturer of Electronic musical instruments electronic equipment and Software. Earth Moving is the 12th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1989. ^[14]Oldfield has also been using Guitar synthesizers since the early 1990s, using a Roland GK2 equipped red PRS Custom 24 (sold in 2006) with a Roland VG8,^[14] and most recently a Line 6 Variax. This is about synthesizers which can be played like guitars for the portable keyboard synthesizers that are held like guitars see Keytar. Line 6 is a manufacturer of Digital modelling Electric guitars Acoustic guitars, amplifiers and Variax is a line of modeling Guitars marketed and developed by Line 6.

Oldfield has somewhat of a unique playing style, usually playing with his fingers or nails and using different ways of creating vibrato, a "very fast side-to-side vibrato" or "violinist's vibrato". ^[16] Oldfield has also stated that his playing style originates from the way in which he started out as a musician; playing folk music and the bass guitar. ^[17]

Recording

Oldfield has self-recorded and produced many of his albums, and played the majority of the instruments that appear on them, largely at his home studios. A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. Ideally the space is specially designed by an acoustician to achieve the desired acoustic properties (sound In the 1990s and 2000s Oldfield has been mainly using DAWs such as Apple Logic Pro, Digidesign Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo as recording suites. A digital audio workstation (DAW is an electronic system designed to record, edit and play back digital audio Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Logic Pro is a Digital Audio Workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform Digidesign is an American Digital audio technology company It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks Pro Tools is a Digital Audio Workstation platform for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows operating systems developed and manufactured by Digidesign Steinberg is a German Musical equipment and Software company It mainly produces MIDI Music sequencer software ^[18] For composing classical music Oldfield has been quoted as using the software notation program, Sibelius,^[6] combined with Apple Macintoshes^[19]. Sibelius is a Scorewriter program created by Sibelius Software, used in the music industry by Composers Arrangers and Music Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc In the 1980s Oldfield composed the score for the film The Killing Fields on a Fairlight CMI. The Killing Fields is a 1984 British film drama about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney Australia. The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument was the first polyphonic digital sampling Synthesizer. ^[14]

See also

• Sally Oldfield
• Terry Oldfield
• Kevin Ayers
• Maggie Reilly
• Maddy Prior
• Anita Hegerland
• New Age Music
• Electronic Music

Bibliography

• Moraghan, Sean. Sally Oldfield (born in August 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is a folk Singer and the sister of Composers Terence "Terry" Oldfield (born 12 August 1949) is an English composer Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English Songwriter and major influential force in the English Maggie Reilly (born September 15 1956 in Glasgow) is a Scottish vocalist best known for her collaborations with the composer Mike Oldfield between 1980 and 1984 Maddy Prior (born 14 August 1947, Blackpool, England) is an English Folk singer. Anita Hegerland (born 3 March 1961 in Sandefjord) is a Norwegian singer famous for her childhood career in the Scandinavian and German markets New Age music is peaceful Music of various styles which is intended to create inspiration relaxation and positive feelings often used by listeners for Yoga, Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production A Man and his Music (Biography). BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 978-1419649264.  
• Evans, Peter. Music from the Darkness.  
• Branson, Richard. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Losing My Virginity. Losing My Virginity The Autobiography (ISBN 1-8522-7684-3 is a 1998 autobiography by Richard Branson. Virgin Books. Virgin Books is a United Kingdom book Publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally ISBN 978-0753506486.  
• Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling. Changeling (ISBN 978-1852273811 is a 2007 autobiography by Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books. Virgin Books is a United Kingdom book Publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally ISBN 978-1852273811.  
• Mike Oldfield biography (1953-1991) from Elements Box booklet. Elements Box is a 4CD Box set by Mike Oldfield released in 1993 (see 1993 in music) Retrieved on 2008-04-24. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to  

References

External links

• MikeOldfield.com – The official Mike Oldfield website (requires Flash plugin)
• MikeOldfield.org – The official Mike Oldfield information service
• tubular.net – Tubular. Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of Multimedia software created by Macromedia and currently net, the largest and most well-established Mike Oldfield website, for news and information.
• Mike Oldfield at Last.fm

Lastfm is a UK -based Internet radio and Music Community website, founded in 2002

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