THE MULTI-MILLION SELLING, MULTI-AWARD-WINNING, ICONIC ALBUM
Mike Oldfield’s
TUBULAR BELLS EXTENDED 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN A UK WIDE TOUR 2024
Continuing on from last years 50th anniversary celebrations of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, it has been announced the multi-million-selling and multi-award-winning album will be performed live in concert across the UK this Autumn on a 29 date tour.
Tubular Bells is world-renowned as one of the most celebrated examples of music in film for its soundtracking of horror classic The Exorcist. Its legacy was cemented with Oldfield’s performance of the album’s main theme at the iconic London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, one of the rare performances of the project he has given.
The Tubular Bells UK Autumn tour will feature an expansive live group, conducted and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin Smith, which will see the iconic Tubular Bells performed in full, as well as other works by Mike Oldfield including Moonlight Shadow, Summit Day, Family Man and Ommadawn.
‘A magnificent performance of a piece that's now part of the fabric of popular culture. And when you think Mike Oldfield was just 17 when he began writing it, and was 19 when the album was released, it's nothing short of a work of genius.’
Newcastle Chronicle
‘This is a concert for anyone, for those who grabbed the album when it came out on vinyl in 1973 to the Spotify audiences of today. Music is at its best when it’s live! A most enjoyable experience. I would go and see this show again in a heartbeat.’ Brighton and Hove News
Tubular Bells, created in 1971 and released in 1973, was the debut studio album by English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter Mike Oldfield. At just 17 years old when he started composing the music, Oldfield recorded and played almost all the instruments on the album, gained worldwide recognition when the opening theme was used for the soundtrack of the horror film, The Exorcist and went on to become the highest selling instrumental album of all time.
A bold and progressive fusion, Tubular Bells is a journey through classical, jazz, folk, progressive rock, and electronica and went on to win a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 1974.
Robin Smith, the Musical Director of the tour show, was completely mesmerised by Tubular Bells the moment he heard it. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School High Wycombe and then studied Composition at the Royal College of Music. He spent several years working as a piano/keyboard player in Africa, the Caribbean, USA, and Europe before coming back to UK to join National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He quickly became the principal pianist and spent most of his free time composing new jazz compositions.
Smith has collaborated with Mike Oldfield for over 30 years, with performances of Tubular Bells including at Edinburgh Castle, and also the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
On the tour, Smith says:
“The show was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in August 2021 to great acclaim as an early celebration of and tribute to Mike - who in my view is one of England’s greatest composers of the last century. Along with the musicians, it’s a real privilege to be performing this extraordinary work. It’s as fresh today as it was when Mike created it in 1971 - and I love having the chance to bring it to new audiences as well as those who, like me, are still captivated by it whenever they hear it.
“The wonderful thing about Tubular Bells is that it never seems to age. It takes you on a journey through progressive rock and electronica, blues, folk, jazz and classical and along the way evokes such melodic beauty and drama. We’ve had plenty of tears from the audience throughout the UK and Europe, with so many wonderful stories of their first experience with Tubular Bells.”
