British musician Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells looms large in popular culture. This was the album that launched Richard Branson’s fledgling label Virgin Records. This was the piece of music that underscored one of the most terrifying films of the 1970s, The Exorcist.
English multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter Oldfield was 17 when he conceived the album in 1971. It was released in 1973 before winning a Grammy for best instrumental album in 1974.
Robin A. Smith, Oldfield’s musical director, has worked with him for more than 25 years, collaborating on Tubular Bells II (1992) and Tubular Bells III (1998) and performing concerts with the composer at Edinburgh Castle, The Millennium Bell in Berlin and the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony.
To mark the album’s golden anniversary, Smith – with Oldfield at home – is about to tour Australia with Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells Live in Concert Gold Anniversary starting in Sydney on August 3.
Like many, Smith still remembers the first time he heard the iconic work.
“I was quite young at the time,” he admits. “But I’d had a basic background of classical training and obviously a love of classical music. I was lucky enough that my family gave me the opportunity to play and listen to blues, rock and every other form of music. So, when I heard Tubular Bells, it was extraordinary, because I had the ability to understand all these different elements that were being put together. That’s what makes it so unique, you’re listening to minimalist classical one minute and progressive rock the next and then pure folk … it’s superb.”
The tour – which features eight musicians on stage – has Oldfield’s imprimatur.
“Mike’s been amazing,” Smith says. “I’ve had a wonderful relationship with him over the years and we have a really, really good understanding. Not many people know that Mike never had a formal music education, so in many ways he would rely on me to notate his work and present it so the other musicians could play it.
“The last time I saw him was at the 2012 London Olympics and I talked to him about the idea of reimagining Tubular Bells. That was the nucleus of the work that we’re performing in Australia. He gave it his blessing.
“What inspired this reimagined version of Tubular Bells – where I’ve added a cello and soprano voice – was the sheer scope and beauty of the original work. Yes, it was composed over 50 years ago but even now the melodies, the structure and the sheer depth of emotion that can be brought from this wonderful piece is still there. All I’ve tried to do is bring it up-to-date using present-day sounds and technology, but my main ambition is to present the work in a way where not a single note of Mike’s original composition has been changed.”
Smith has curated a set list for the performance that includes other Oldfield favourites such as Moonlight Shadow, Shadow on the Wall and Family Man, alongside Oldfield themes including a section from Tubular Bells II. Widely lauded, the only challenge for Smith is that Oldfield is not on stage to share in the joy of performing the work.
“It’s very difficult for fans to accept that Mike is not going to be performing,” Smith confesses. “But he is definitely there in spirit and inspiration.”
Fifty years since its inception, the work continues to stand on its own.
“The unique thing about Tubular Bells is the fact that it is 50 minutes in length and has all these different sections which are uniquely connected,” Smith says. “And, let’s remember, it is a piece of music that doesn’t stop, it’s a pure symphony and the journey is so emotional. There aren’t many other pieces in the history of modern music outside of the classical format that do this.
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“I adore where the music takes me both creatively and emotionally and I hope for the audience that comes through. I’ll never forget the first time we played it in London at its premiere and we got to the very last section and that final note. The eruption of the audience will live with me forever.”
Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells Live in Concert Gold Anniversary is touring nationally from August 3-24 with dates including the Twin Towns, Tweed Heads, August 9; Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, August 10; Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, August 11; Caloundra Events Centre, Caloundra, August 14, and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, August 18.
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