The Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Tour (Double Disc) [DVD]

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Like any other horror fan, I knew of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, or at least the first couple of minutes of it, as the theme from The Exorcist. It wouldn’t be until I was in college and my then girlfriend had a copy of it that I heard the full album. It was as much of a revelation to me as it was to the music industry in 1973 when it was first released. Originally released on 25th May 1973, the Tubular Bells The 50th Anniversary Celebration tour will feature an expansive live group, arranged by Mike Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin A Smith. The concert opens with a trio of short pieces, ‘The Gem’ by Robin Smith and ‘Summit Day’, from the album Guitars and composed by Oldfield and arranged by Smith. The trio is rounded out by Oldfields hit single “Moonlight Shadow” which is also my favourite of his songs although over the years I’ve come to favour Nolwenn Leroy’s version. Along with the musicians, I’m really thrilled to be offering this beautiful re-imagined version of Tubular Bells to a wider audience up and down the country. It was by chance that Robin met Mike Oldfield after he’d worked with Mike’s sister, Sally as a sessions musician on her album, Natasha . Mike was preparing the world premier of Tubular Bells 2 – a concert which was to be performed outside at Edinburgh Castle and broadcast live around the world and Sally felt the two would work well together.

I love Birmingham’s music scene and have played in the city many times. I am also a great concert listener and recently enjoyed a thrilling performance of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony performed by the CBSO at Symphony Hall. Wearing another hat, I have also conducted the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in Elvis Live at the NEC’s Resorts World Arena. We will be returning there for another hugely popular Elvis concert in October.” I started working on a reimagined version of Tubular Bells about six years after the London Olympics. I wanted to play a cinematic version for a new generation of concertgoers and Mike told me this was a great idea to embrace. I sat down and started recreating the work by altering the tempo and instruments and adding other nuances to give it a fresh vitality. Every melodic note is true to Mike’s original – embellished with colours and textures to heighten emotion and drama. I wanted to show that Mike is not only someone who can play a lot of instruments but is also a genuine composer. The reimagined version culminated in its premier at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 2021 and a CD album and now a 50th anniversary UK tour.” I was completely mesmerised and captivated by its ingenious uniqueness and how Mike wove together so many different genres into one complete work. I was training to be a classical musician at the time, studying composition at the Royal College of Music.” It amazes me how much can be achieved through fancy wording. All those promotion slogans that describe this absolutely desecrated version of TB as a ‘ground-breaking’ performance with ‘expressive’ singers and ‘intriguing’ arrangements…are as deceitful as those original ads that made hundreds of people believe that Mike Oldfield was actually playing there. The show tour included Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and all over Europe the following year.

Tour

The show was split into two halves. We were to be treated to ‘Tubular Bells’ performed in full, along with further Oldfield compositions. Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn) The complex piece of music has seldom been played live in our region, but was given a rare outing at Newcastle City Hall in October 1975 when an orchestral version was performed by the 64-piece Northern Concert Orchestra. (The support act that night, incidentally, was Tyneside jazz fusion band Last Exit, featuring a young Geordie bass player called Gordon Sumner who would go on to make quite a name for himself as Sting).

And now to the audiences. Up and down the country you have been wonderful and supportive and just lovely. The warmth and joy we felt from you, night after night, has been absolutely amazing so a big, big thank you from us all. There are more tours in the UK planned before we go overseas. Robin has always loved German Composer, Carl Orff’s, Carmina Buranda, which was originally composed in 1935 for chorus and orchestra.The wonderful thing about Tubular Bells is that it never seems to age, the actual composition is just perfect and is as spell-binding now as it was 50 years ago. The set started up with a new arrangement of the ‘Opening Theme‘ from ‘Tubular Bells 2’. The lights dimmed and smoke swirled across the stage. I am not a fan of excessive use of smoke machines, but tonight it was spot on. It provided a wonderful support for the atmospheric lighting, bouncing the colours around the stage and into the auditorium. Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn)

The set was perfectly played with Robin’s arrangements and his hand on the wheel as he steered this orchestra of musicians through the performance. He didn’t sit still for a second as he changed keyboards, standing up conducting and smiling into the crowd. Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn) Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn) DO you know we had some people who came a second and third time. We met people who’d travelled from Croatia, Israel, Paris, Northern Ireland and Serbia just to see the show – how wonderful is that. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tubular Bells, the iconic masterpiece will be performed live with a full band across the UK in Spring 2023. The Tubular Bells Concert 2023 Tour is conducted and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin Smith.

Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells: A 50th Anniversary Celebration stopped off at The Sage Gateshead (Image: Manuel Harlan) The Tubular Bells Concert Tour will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tubular Bells, the iconic masterpiece will be performed live with a full band across the UK in Spring 2023. Tubular Bells Concert Tour 2023 This is a transformation, without a single note changed from the original, but bursting with a fresh vitality, audio theatrical elements, movement, light, and with a small ensemble of musicians (some of the finest in the country all chosen for their ability to play this complex work and embrace all the technical issues presented to them.)” The reimagined version of Tubular Bells, premiered at the Royal Festival Hall, all over the UK in February and March with a fabulous team of musicians and support staff. We’re playing music including Ommadawn, Return to Ommadawn, excerpts from the Voyager Album and including Mike’s wonderful songs, Moonlight Shadow, To France and Family Man as well as my own composition the Gem. So far – we’ve had the most amazing audiences – so a huge thank you. We all filed out into the cold frosty air and everyone was clearly buzzing about what they had just seen and enjoyed. It was great to see the Dome nearly full again, and also the wide range of ages making up the audience. 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. Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn)

The orchestra got together for a well-deserved bow for the Brighton crowd who were now on their feet for the second time tonight. It was THAT good! Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn) Following its successful sell-out run in the UK for the Tubular Bells, the 50th Anniversary Tour is heading to Europe.

Tubular Bells’ was created in 1971 and released in 1973. It was the debut studio album by English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter Mike Oldfield. The album, which was the first long player put out by Richard Branson’s Virgin Records, went on to become the highest selling instrumental album of all time. Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ The 50th Anniversary Celebration, Brighton Dome 5.2.23 (pic Ian Bourn) It became an instant classic - a must-have record for those 'in the know' about music. Winning a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 1974, Tubular Bells is credited with helping Richard Branson build the Virgin brand. To date it has spent 287 weeks on the UK album chart where it also reached number one. An incredible work of studio engineering, remember this was before the age of digital recording, the various instruments, all played by the 19-year-old Oldfield, had to be overdubbed using analog tapes. It was an eclectic mixture of musical styles with nothing that even remotely resembled lyrics that could be used as a single. Despite that, Richard Branson used it to launch Virgin Records, those first few minutes found their way into Friedkin’s film and the rest is history. As for the acrobats and everything else, enough said elsewhere on the Internet. The 50th Anniversary of Tubular Bells at the Royal Festival Hall was, sadly, not worthy of the timeless music that Mike Oldfield’s original is. Some nice bits here and there, most musicians clearly skilled…but the overall impression not good, unfortunately.