File:Mike_Oldfield_NOTP_2006.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Mike Oldfield
Sign in to saveAlso known as Michael Gordon Oldfield, Michael Oldfield
English musician (born 1953)
Mike Oldfield is an English musician born in 1953 who is known for his work in progressive rock and instrumental music. He is most famous for creating the album "Tubular Bells," which became a landmark release in progressive music and introduced audiences to his distinctive multi-instrumental compositions.
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Person · Open Library
- Works
- 4
Top works
- Mike Oldfield
- Changeling
- Born in the UK
- "Dire Straits"
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Sound · Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
Michael Gordon Oldfield is a British musician, songwriter, and producer best known for his debut studio album Tubular Bells, which became an unexpected critical and commercial success and propelled him to worldwide fame.
Known for
- Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge 50th Anniversary2025
- Mike Oldfield - Return To Ommadawn (Deluxe Edition)2017
- When Albums Ruled the World — Self2013
- Tubular Bells: The Mike Oldfield Story — Self2013
- London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder — Self2012
- Prog Rock Britannia — Self2009
- Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 3 — Self2008
- Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 2 — Self2007
- Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 12006
- Mike Oldfield: Exposed — Self2005
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1953
Discography
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,190,668
- Total plays
- 32,259,974
Tags
Mike Oldfield (born Michael Gordon Oldfield, 15 May 1953, Reading, Berkshire, England) is largely known for Tubular Bells, his groundbreaking album from 1973, the success of which also bankrolled Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Records, for which Tubular Bells was the inaugural release. However, his musical career has spread over more than 40 years encompassing a range of styles, with varying amounts of success. According to the Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock, his style is labeled as Ol
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
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· 1971 · cited 31,065x
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· 2015 · cited 20,642x
- A global reference for human genetic variation
· 2015 · cited 17,368x
- Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis
· 2022 · cited 13,058x
- The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration
· 2009 · cited 12,392x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “I want not to panic. I want to be comfortable in my body and my life. I don't want to keep thinking that I don't belong here, that I have ended up on the wrong planet, completely alienated. (from Changeling)”
- “When I was younger I had an incredible sensitivity; I suppose there were too many brain cells, or they were organised in the wrong way, and they've either reorganised themselves or I've lost lots of them through alcohol and substance abuse. I can get along without being terrified now. Maybe I've just got used to it.”
- “Everything on Tubular Bells was done on the first take – it was lovely, so spontaneous. I had such a long time to prepare it, and I had just one little chance to do it, and now I listen to it and it has a lovely spontaneous energy. It's got mistakes, and I could easily have cut them out, but I left them on.”
- “If it was a horrible thing I was known for, like some horrible pop song, it would annoy me, but it doesn't. I'm proud of it.”
- “We're lookingFor the strangersWith sunlight in their eyesWho lived on EarthWhen Man was newWhen Time wasJust a coloured dewThat grew inside their mind...”
- “Hey, cool princessWith your eyes hangingThe milk of the moonHey, pretty princessTake me down to your cave in the dawnAnd you're gonna be a queenWhen the stars waterHeaven with tearsAnd you gonna love meWhen all ourGolden lands are free.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com
- Image
- Mike Oldfield by Alexander Schweigert 2.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Mike Oldfield
- date of birth
- 1953-05-15
- birth name
- Michael Gordon Oldfield
- name in native language
- Mike Oldfield
- start of work period
- 1967-00-00
- social media followers
- 3621
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~32 min read
Article
Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is a retired English musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut album Tubular Bells (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield played a range of instruments, which included keyboards and percussion, as well as vocals. He had adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, world, folk, classical, electronic, ambient and new age music. His discography includes 25 studio albums, nine of which have reached the UK top ten.
Oldfield took up the guitar at age ten and left school in his teens to embark on a music career. From 1967 to 1970, he and his sister Sally Oldfield were a folk duo, the Sallyangie, after which he performed with Kevin Ayers before starting work on Tubular Bells in 1971. The album caught the attention of Richard Branson, who agreed to make it the first-ever release on his new label Virgin Records. Its opening was used in the horror film The Exorcist, and the album went on to sell over 2.7 million copies in the UK. Oldfield followed it with Hergest Ridge (1974), Ommadawn (1975) and Incantations (1978). Like Tubular Bells, these albums consist of longform, mostly instrumental pieces.