Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, recorded when he was 19 and released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success. Vivian Stanshall provided the voice of the "Master of Ceremonies" who reads off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement. The opening piano solo was used as a soundtrack to the enormously successful William Friedkin film The Exorcist (released the same year) and gained considerable airplay because of this.
The piece was later orchestrated by David Bedford for The Orchestral Tubular Bells version and it had three sequels in the 1990s, Tubular Bells II (1992), Tubular Bells III (1998) and The Millennium Bell (1999). Finally, the album was fully re-recorded as Tubular Bells 2003 at its 30th anniversary in 2003. A newly mastered and mixed re-issue of the original album appeared in June 2009 on Mercury Records, with bonus material.
For the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics Oldfield rearranged segments from Tubular Bells for a segment about the National Health Service. This rendition appears on the soundtrack album Isles of Wonder and is included on the official BBC DVD release.
Track listing - original 1973 release[edit][]
All songs written and composed by Mike Oldfield, except "The Sailor's Hornpipe" (traditional, arranged by Mike Oldfield) Copyright 1973 Virgin Music Publishers Ltd.
Side one[edit][]
- "Tubular Bells, Part One" – 25:30
Side two[edit][]
- "Tubular Bells, Part Two" – 23:20
Personnel[edit][]
Mike Oldfield[edit][]
Acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, Farfisa, Hammond, and Lowrey organs; flageolet, fuzz guitars, glockenspiel, "honky tonk" piano (piano modified to sound more percussive), mandolin, piano, "Piltdown Man", percussion,Spanish guitar, producer, "taped motor drive amplifier organ chord", timpani, vocals and tubular bells.
Additional personnel[edit][]
- Steve Broughton — percussion
- Lindsay L. Cooper — string bass
- Mundy Ellis — vocals
- Jon Field — flutes
- Sally Oldfield — vocals
- Vivian Stanshall — Master of Ceremonies
- Nasal Choir
- Manor Choir (Simon Heyworth, Tom Newman, Mike Oldfield)
- Trevor Key - artwork
Production[edit][]
- Produced By Mike Oldfield, Simon Heyworth & Tom Newman
- Recorded & Engineered By Simon Heyworth & Tom Newman
- Mastered By Simon Heyworth