Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield (born Michael Gordon Oldfield the May 15th 1953 with Reading) is a Musicien multi-instrumentalist and British Compositeur .

Biography

Michael Gordon Oldfield was born with Reading the May 15th 1953. Wire of Dr. Raymond Henry Oldfield and Maureen Bernadine Listel (of Irish origin ), it is the last of three children having done everything career in the music: Sally Oldfield (born in 1947) is singer, while Terry Oldfield (born in 1949) composes of the musics the documentary ones.

Mike Oldfield had six children of various unions: Molly (1979), Dougal (1981), Luke (1986), Greta (1988), Noah (1990) and Jake (2004).

Childhood and first steps in the music

The childhood of Mike Oldfield is marked by the disease of his/her mother, who makes frequent stays in psychiatric hospital. She will die at the beginning of 1975. Vis-a-vis the many crises of madnesses of her mother, Mike Oldfield will develop a personality maladivement introverted and will in practice find refuge guitar as of the 7 years age. It develops a very personal technique of play while trying to imitate the guitarists of the British music folk in vogue with the beginning of the year 1960: John Renbourn and Bert Jansch in particular.

With adolescence, Mike Oldfield is guitarist in some clubs folks, but its career really begins when at the 15 years age it forms the duet Sallyangie with his sister Sally Oldfield. Sallyangie off leaves an album entitled Children the sun , in November 1968, at Transatlantic. Mike forms then a transitory group with her brother Terry Oldfield. At this period, it acquires of a fair Fender Telecaster having belonged to Marc Bolan. In February 1971, it joined as a bass player, then guitarist, Kevin Ayers and its group: The Whole World , in which it becomes acquainted with the type-setter avant-gardist David Bedford, who encourages it to develop his first compositions.

Genesis of Tubular Bels

At 17 years, Mike Oldfield starts to compose of the bits of what will become Tubular Bells and records a model with a tape recorder Bang & Olufsen lent by Kevin Ayers. It arranges the apparatus, so that it manages to carry out overdubs all alone, which enables him to superimpose the sound of its Telecaster, of low Fender Precision, of a Farfisa organ and a xylophone, undoubtedly a toy for children. At the summer 1971, it makes the turn of the recording companies with its model, without success. The demonstration is likely however to like Tom Newman, which works with the studio The Manor that the young contractor Richard Branson assembles. In 1971, this last is setting up a network of stores of discs and it tries without success to find a recording company to publish the music of the young guitarist. It is however only in 1972 that Richard Branson decides to create its own label and that he proposes in Mike Oldfield to appear among the first artists of Virgin. It makes him sign a contract engaging it on ten albums, which will cause thereafter litigation between Oldfield and Virgin.

Tubular Bells leaves the May 25th 1973 under the number catalog V2001, a few days after the twentieth birthday of Mike. It is about an album of instrumental music presenting only one length piece of rock'n'roll symphonic on each face of the 33 turns. All the instruments or almost are held by Mike Oldfield, which required, at the time, of the technical prowesses for the recording. Richard Branson carries the album near the English media and the famous English disc jockey John Peel program the two complete faces of the album in its emission of rock'n'roll to BBC. The album will be a colossal success and will become one of the largest sales of the history of the music, which is remarkable for a purely instrumental music. The resumption of the introductory topic as a main theme of the film the Exorcist, a few months later, will amplify this success, in particular with the the United States.

The Virgin years

Suddenly rich and celebrates, whereas it is always maladivement timid and prone to crises of panic, Mike Oldfield leaves London and leaves to take refuge in a detached house, in the Herefordshire, countered rural in edge of the Wales. He will still move several times in the Seventies and Eighties.

The following albums of Mike Oldfield gain important successes, which remain however well in on this side that of Tubular Bells, whose sales continue to cumulate during years, to reach the ten, then sixteen million specimens.

After Tubular Bells (1973) follow Hergest Ridge (1974) and Ommadawn (1975), two other albums of symphonic Rock. In 1978, the double album Incantations , if it remains in the same progressive vein, at greater length stretches the repetitive topics of Mike Oldfield, which in fact an album accessible a little with more difficulty. Its publication is accompanied by a radical change of the appearance of Mike Oldfield (which cut its hair and shaved its beard) and of her behavior (it goes to the front of the media and organizes a European round), consecutive with a discussed therapy followed by Oldfield during the recording of Incantations .

This revolution also involves deep changes of the music of Mike Oldfield: the following albums consist of pieces plus rock'n'roll, often shorter, and sometimes of pop songs (with invited singers). They are promoted by round-marathon which traverse all Europe: under this period the albums Platinum (1979) fall, partly realized with New York, QE2 (1980), which Miss Vocoder, rhythmic African and Celtic references with Phil Collins; Five Miles Out (1982) develops the tracks explored in QE2, in particular on the long progressive piece Taurus 2 and truly proposes the first “pop” songs of Mike Oldfield; Crises (1983) and Discovery (1984) moves away from the folk references and proposes a pop effective rock'n'roll with a greater part of synthetizer, in particular of the Fairlight CMI, the first sampler. Crises mark also the return of Mike Oldfield to the foreground of the music pop-rock'n'roll: the song Moonlight Shadow becomes an international tube.

During this time, Mike Oldfield surrounds himself by other musicians, on scene obviously, but also in studio. If it tends to regularly renew the musicians who surround it, some weave a more durable musical relation: the French beater Pierre Moerlen intervenes regularly on disc and in concert of 1973 (live BBC) at 1987 ( Islands ); the British beater Simon Philips also ties a profitable relation with Mike, with whom it by-product two albums ( Crises and Discovery ); as regards the voice, the singer Maggie Reilly intervenes on five albums of Mike Oldfield, throughout the Eighties.

In 1981, Mike Oldfield declares that it will make many rounds until it can acquire of the material to realize of the vidéos. Its interest for the video was manifest as of its first round, in 1979, where it projected images in background of the scene. As from 1985, Mike Oldfield ceases going up on scene and starts to imply in the graphic design and it video. It acquires of expensive materials and, after being itself made the hand on some videos clip ( Pictures in the Dark , Shine ), it launches out in the innovative project of a video album. It is not able however to carry it out within a reasonable delay and the exit of the video The Wind Chimes is made well after the audio album Islands (1987) which was dependant for him. Mike Oldfield finishes her contract with Virgin by three unequal albums: Earth Moving (1989) is a collection of songs which disappoints many fans, while Amarok (1990) pours in opposite excess with only one 60 minutes audio track proposing instrumental inventive and removed from rim. The album is a commercial failure but becomes the work of reference for many fans. Heaven' S Open (1991) seems an album carried out with goes-quickly. It has as an originality to be signed Michael Oldfield and to propose five songs sung by Oldfield itself.

The Warner years

In 1992, Mike Oldfield signs an new agreement at Warner and publishes Tubular Bells II , which enables him to reconsider the front of the scene to England (where one attaches much Oldfield to its first album). The album is by-product by Trevor Horn and the ideas of this last seem to mark Oldfield durably. Its following albums are the subject of less stackings of arrangements and a purification of its musical style. It is the case on The Songs off Distant Earth (1994), album initially décrié by the fans of Mike Oldfield, but who was reappraised positively with time. Follow Voyager in 1996 (a collection of recoveries the traditional Celtic ones), Tubular Bells III in 1998, Guitars in May 1999 and The Millennium Bell in November 1999, followed by an exceptional concert to Berlin for the passage at the year 2000.

In 2002, while leaving Very Lunas , Mike Oldfield sees finally a first result of its investment in the universe of the video, since audio CD is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing a play 3D in which figure of the new music. Mike Oldfield proposed, in 2004, another play ( Maestro ) in remote loading on her personal site, but the business success of these two ludic productions was not with go (a few thousands of specimens of the play sold). This way was since abandoned by the musician.

The thirtieth birthday of Tubular Bels , in 2003, was celebrated by the publication of Tubular Bells 2003 , which is a reinterpretation and a re-recording of the original partition.

The Mercury years

In 2005, the double Light + Shade , appeared at Mercury Records does not seem to have reconciled Mike Oldfield with all her community of the fans, oldest not approving its evolution, since 1998, worms of the instrumental courts and influenced by the sequencer S and the Dance. However, this album touched a public definitely vaster than Tres Lunas.

Of 2006 and 2007, its participation in the Night off the German and Spanish Proms consists of the resumption of great classics: extracts of Tubular Bels and Ommadawn , like Moonlight Shadow , To France and Shadow one the Wall .

The next album of Mike Oldfield should mark the return to the instrumental long ones: in March 2007, in a maintenance for Resolution Magazine , Mike Oldfield indicated to build a part for traditional orchestra, in which he will play itself only of the piano and the acoustic guitar. The project is entitled Music Of The Spheres (philosophical concept indicated in French by the term of Harmonie of the spheres). This new album will appear at Mercury Records, announced initially for on November 12th, 2007 by several sales points of discs on line, then for the month of January 2008, it would leave finally only in March 2008 (Universal information relayed by tubular.net). It would seem that Mike is in impossibility of promoting the album for personal reasons for the moment. Mike Oldfield had indicated to consider a European round at the end of the year, but this project, if it is concretized, will be shifted in the same way that the exit of the album.

In May 2007 is appeared at Virgin Books, the Autobiographie of Mike Oldfield, under the name Changeling . The work is primarily focused on the childhood of Mike Oldfield, her relations with its family affected by the disease of his/her mother, and the beginning of its musical career until 1979. It approaches there the psychological disorders of which it suffered at the time of its adolescence and reports the group therapy that he followed in 1978. Mike Oldfield announced that it would pour its royalties of this book during one year to a caritative work.

Music of Mike Oldfield

It is difficult to classify definitively the music of Mike Oldfield in a given kind. The first albums of Mike Oldfield were connected with the progressive Rock by the existence of long complex pieces, but with important incursions of folk influences. The scarcity of the battery associated with the hypnotic and repetitive character of certain topics encourages some to regard Mike Oldfield as an artist of the kind New Age, the more so as the programming and the synthetizers became prominent in the albums of the artist to the hinge of the year 2000. The artist also evolved/moved in the pop music (pop songs) and influenced by the dance music as from the years 1990.

Mike Oldfield is before a whole guitarist and it is especially with the Guitare that it composes his works, even if it feels then the keyboard like an instrument more adapted ( The Top off the Morning on Tubular Bells III). The guitar is proposed on almost all its discs. The Electric guitar of Mike Oldfield has an acute sound and nasillard, that Oldfield worked much: it more or less represents its “voice” on its discs. The sound of its guitar evolves/moves with the wire of the changes of material of Mike Oldfield: if it started with a Fender Telecaster, it then used a Gibson SG Junior, a Gibson L6 custom, a Fender Stratocaster. Since the end of the year 1980, Mike Oldfield seems to play primarily on PRS.

Mike Oldfield is also characterized by her taste pronounced for technology: it has always been the first to be equipped with new materials (it was one of the first to acquire a Fairlight CMI, for example) and works for twenty years on the multi-media concept of works (music, video and play).

Not being him even singer (except on the album Heaven' S Open ), more than one score of singers and singers collaborated with him. With the apogee of his success, one remembers the air voice of Maggie Reilly, in particular in famous the Moonlight Shadow and To France . The singer of Yes, Jon Anderson, also sang in two titles, but also Barry Palmer, Bonnie Tyler, Anita Hegerland, Roger Chapman and well of others.

Mike Oldfield also composed the music of the film the Tear and of some documentary British. Its version of Blue Peter was used like credits of emission for child of BBC during ten years.

Discography

Albums studios

Recordings in public/Concerts/Live

1979 Exposed (live)

Compilations

1976 – Boxed (retrospective box)
1979 – Impressions
1980 – Music Wonderland
1980 – Airborn (Compilation the U.S.A.)
1981 – Episodes
1985 – The Supplements Mike Oldfield
1987 – has Virgin Compilation
1990 – Collector' S Edition Box I & II
1993 – Elements - The Best off Mike Oldfield
1993 – Elements - The Best off Mike Oldfield 1973-1991 (4CD)
1997 – XXV: The Essential
2001 – The Best off Tubular Bels
2002 – Collection
2006 – The Platinum Collection (3CD)

Collaborations, participations

1967 – The Sallyangie of Sallyangie (with Sally Oldfield)
1970 – Shooting At the moon of Kevin Ayers and the Whole World
1971 – Edgar Broughton Band of The Edgar Broughton Band
1971 – Ear Off Beholder of Lol Coxhill
1972 – Children's nurses Song With Elephants of David Bedford
1973 – Whatevershebringswesing of Kevin Ayers and the Whole World
1973 – Legend of Henry Cow
1974 – Rock'n'roll Bottom of Robert Wyatt
1974 – The Confessions Off Dr. Dream And Other Stories of Kevin Ayers
1974 – June 1,1974 of Kevin Ayers, John Fixes, Nico and Brian Eno (live)
1974 – Star' S End of David Bedford
1974 – Unrest of Henry Cow
1975 – The Rhyme off the Ancient Mariner of David Bedford
1976 – Odd ditties of Kevin Ayers (compilation of scarcities)
1976 – The Odyssey of David Bedford
1976 – Bindings of The Edgar Broughton Band
1977 – Instructions For Angels of David Bedford
1977 – Mathematicians Air Display (collaboration with Pekka Pohjola)
1977 – Song Off The White Horse of David Bedford
1977 – Fine Old Tom of Tom Newman
1979 – Faerie Symphony of Tom Newman
1979 – Downwind of Pierre Moerlen' S Gong
1979 – Downwind Live of Pierre Moerlen' S Gong
1979 – Strange Man, Changed Man of Bram Tchaikovsky
1979 – Judy' S Gone Down/Jung Lovers of James Winnows
1980 – The Concertina Record of Lea Nicholson
1980 – Joy (1981) of Skids
1990 – Natasha of Sally Nathasha Oldfield
1990 – Kâmâ Sutrâ of Michel Polnareff
1992 – Still life with guitar of Kevin Ayers
1992 – Radio operator BBC 1 Live In Concert of Kevin Ayers
1995 – Variations One has Rhythm Of Mike Oldfield of David Bedford
1996 – Singing The Bruise of Kevin Ayers
1997 – Snow Blind of Tom Newman
1998 – The Garden Of Coils Kevin Ayers
2000 – Official Bootleg One of Phil Beer
2000 – C Ya Wanna Play, Carl of Carl Micrometer caliper
2002 – From The Banks Off To rivet Irwell max Bacon
2005 – Tag und Nacht of Schiller

DVD

2001 The Millenium Beautiful - Berlin 2001
2003 The Art in Heaven Concert - Berlin 2003
2004 Elements
2005 Tubular Bels II (Edinburgh Castle, september 1992) & Tubular Bels III (London First Live Performance)
2005 Exposed
2006 Live At Montreux, 1981

Taken again or samplés pieces

The musical work of Mike Oldfield was the subject of many recoveries or samplings ( samples ), the latter relating to especially the music Rap and Hip hop.

Some examples of recoveries:

Hall & Oates took again the song Family Man and transformed it into tube with the the United States, in 1982.
Wallis Franken took again the song Foreign Affair in French ( Etrange Business ) who was a tube in France in this form in 1985.

Some examples of samples:

In 2001, Eyedea uses a sample Tubular Bells on the title Even shadows cuts shadows (available on compilation We cam from beyond ).
In 2005, Disiz the Plague makes in the same way in the version interpreted by Geoff Love and his Orchestra on the title an extraordinary History (extracted the album the extraordinary Stories of a young person of suburbs ).

Anecdotes

Christian Vander of the group Magma asserts the paternity of the famous topic of Tubular Bells, affirming that Oldfield “would have flown to him” in 1972, whereas Magma worked on a new piece titrated Dawotsin . According to the biography written by Sean Moraghan, the demonstration of Mike Oldfield including/understanding this topic would date from the summer 1971.
Mike Oldfield declared with the Melody Maker in April 1979 “the end of the first face of Ommadawn is the sound of my explosion out of the Vagin of my mother”.
In the album Amarok , Mike Oldfield slips a small message of “sympathy” to the owner of Virgin, Richard Branson: one can hear at one time a message coded in Morse which says “F.U.C.K. O.F.F. R.B. ”! The message is located at 48 ' 05" and is produced in the form of sounds of strident Synthétiseur.
Thanks to the chain TNT Direct 8, which diffuses in loop in 2005 its Moonlight Shadow, Mike Oldfield currently enjoys a renewal of popularity in France.

References

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