MIKE OLDFIELD Tubular Bells (Live at the BBC, 1973) [HQ]

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Mike Oldfield
"Tubular Bells Part 1"
Live at BBC TV 2nd House
Filmed: 30 November 1973
Video URL: https://youtu.be/nbYQYOM66MA

Tubular Bells is the debut album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released on Virgin Records on 25 May 1973. It comprises two mostly instrumental compositions of over twenty minutes each. Oldfield recorded it when he was 19 and played the majority of the instruments. Tubular Bells consists of "Tubular Bells Part One" and "Tubular Bells Part Two". Although sales were initially slow, Tubular Bells gained global attention when it was used on the soundtrack to the horror film The Exorcist (1973). In 1974, it reached number one in the UK, Australia and Canada, and number three on the US Billboard 200. It was the third-bestselling album of the 1970s in the UK. It is estimated to have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, including more than 2.6 million in the UK. Tubular Bells was the first release on the Virgin Records label, and its success played an important part in the growth of the Virgin Group.

Oldfield and many of the musicians performed Part One in the year for the BBC arts programme 2nd House, but this time as a pre-recorded performance in a studio setting without an audience. The performance was recorded on 30 November 1973 and transmitted on 5 January 1974 on BBC2. The arrangement included a new part for oboe, played by Soft Machine's Karl Jenkins, and the musicians were accompanied by images of tubular steel sculptures and sequences from the film Reflections, both created by artist William Pye.

Musicians for BBC 2nd House performance:
Jon Field – flute
Fred Frith – bass, guitar
John Greaves – keyboards
Steve Hillage – guitar
Tim Hodgkinson – keyboards
Karl Jenkins – oboe
Geoff Leigh – flute
Pierre Moerlen (credited as "Pierre de Strasbourg" in the Radio Times programme listing) – percussion
Tom Newman – voice (nasal choir) and mixing
Mike Oldfield – bass, guitar
Terry Oldfield – flute
Mike Ratledge – keyboards
Ted Speight – guitar, bass
Mick Taylor – guitar
Choir (unknown)