TUBULAR BELLS | A Unique Masterpiece

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Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College

[@separateglances1]

Another factor in the success of Tubular Bells was John Peel playing the album in it’s entirety on his late night radio show.

[@martinn6564]

You are spot on. Peel played it several times on release and his audience helped it initially chart in the UK. Mike Oldfield is responsible, almost single handedly, of virgin records survival and success.

[@ghostlight1]

I practically worship Oldfield, having been a fan of his since the early 80s. I grew up listening to Tubular Bells, Ommadawn, and his 80s stuff such as Discovery, Crises and Five Miles Out. With a couple of exceptions (Earth Moving and Heavens Open) I have loved his entire vast discography. Truly one of music’s greats, but sadly overlooked by many.

[@syn707]

This record is a paradox for me. Many years ago I made an attempt to listen to it. I didn’t get very far. Before that ‘effort’ Ihad heard, read, many things referring to it and to Oldfield himself. So after watching this video, I found it and after 20 seconds I couldn’t stop. I thought it was amazing.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thats what this channel is for!

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

As a stage lighting tech in the 80’s I toured with Mike Oldfield Band in Europe & North America so heard Tubular Bells every night for months . Never tired hearing it !

[@SpookyLuvCookie]

Can't remember where I heard this, but the story I remember about Friedkin was that he was visiting his son at college and heard the tune playing out of an open window. He asked his son if he knew what it was and his son told him it was Mike Oldfield's debut LP. He knew straight away that it would be a perfect theme for The Exorcist.

[@MauriceHotblack]

I'm quite a fan of Mike Oldfield, especially his long form work. Some of the shorter pop songs can be a bit hit and miss. For me, Ommadawn is the culmination of that first trilogy and is his best work. After that third album he had therapy for his mental health problems and he never wrote anything quite as good again. I think Incantations is his most minimalist work. Four sides, four tracks, repetitive motifs. Amarok, like Kate Bush's The Dreaming, is his bonkers album where he throws everything, including the kitchen sink, at it. It's excellent. It was Oldfield's minimalist tendencies that got me in to Reich and Glass. His classical album, Music of the Spheres isn't, to my mind, classical at all. It's a collection of Mike Oldfield tunes played by an orchestra. I'm still a fan of much if his output though.

[@flaredrake8058]

My favorite is Incantations. The minimalism really works with the constant modulations and of course great instrumentation. Mike shreds on guitar. The singles, b-sides and outtakes from that era are also fantastic.

[@johnhenfrey5936]

I can remember the day Tubular Bells got released, there were window displays in every record shop window, and it got played everywhere, those were the days.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

So can I and I was five!

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Mike was heavily influenced by the use of tape loops via Daevid Allen of Soft Machine who in tern was himself influenced by Terry Riley when they collaborated together in Paris. Hugh Hopper was also inspired to delve into the use of tape loops from Daevid Allen. Due to Mike’s involvement with Kevin Ayers after he left Soft Machine he was able to learn from both Hugh and Daevid. That was the spark that produced the idea of Tubular Bells.

[@adude9882]

Born 1963 working class. My parents didn't have a hi fi or record player. I didn't have an elder sibling. I played in a brass band. They didn't have records. Just TV with 2 channels and a transistor radio. I had even less. They were pre rock and roll people. I had a mate who had things. I didn't have anything except some basic clothes. My mate's family were younger, richer and up to date and got technological things like cameras, skis and yes a hi fi. Another mate's parents actually had Pink Floyd albums, fascinating cardboard square envelopes leaning against the skirting board. You could look at the arty pictures on them. I distinctly remember when I first heard this hi fi and what the music was.Their stuff not mine. It will please your listeners to know it was suitably prog; Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Rick Wakeman. Nothing since has compared to the richness of hearing this in a home environment. I suppose I could hear much higher frequencies than I can hear now too. It was an incredible tangeable artefact and aesthetic experience. You had no idea how anyone created this connection. It was better than reality. Comparing it to the immersiveness of cinema is apt. Yet they owned the thing itself in their own home. Only a few years later the typical way to hear stuff was a radio/cassette player - in the late 70s. Cassette tapes on a little stereo ghetto blaster. That was the student thing. Somewhere in the former period is TB.

[@marknovak6498]

The irony of an album that is compelling but needed a movie it was not created to give to give it a context for people to put it in.

[@ericarmstrong6540]

I was very young when "The Exorcist" came out. I did not see it during its initial release, but many of my friends did. More than just a few of them would comment on the music and its visceral impact upon them when they were watching the movie. Friedkin's choice of "Tubular Bells" for a sound track was inspired.

[@mauricegallagher9170]

Thanks Andy. It has not lost its glamour over nearly 50 years. He got better, but that doesn't take away from the genius of a teenager. I could barely pick my nose at nineteen...

[@SteveHutton]

I bought Tubular Bells on cassette in 1973 after hearing my sister's boyfriends copy. It was the first album I ever bought and I listened to it constantly for months. I was only 12 at the time. I would suggest to anybody who wants to listen to Tubular Bells on a streaming service that you make sure you listen to the original version. Mike Oldfield has a habit of remixing his albums and, in my opinion, the remixes are not as good as the original. This applies to Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn as well.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn are better really, but history was made here

[@skidmarkjohnson8452]

Tubular Bells was my gateway into progressive rock. Living in America and hearing Mike Oldfield's very British musical influences opened my ears to want to hear more of that unique sound which led to me discovering Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, ELP and Gentle Giant. I'm sure that wasn't just me.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I have mentioned what I call the English Aesthetic many times here and it seems to chime with many, including Anglophiles outside the UK. It's a very interesting phenomenon...

[@paulmichaud7565]

The thing I remember about the record is that it was a word-of-mouth record. The Exorcist put it over the top, definitely. But as a word of mouth phenomenon -- the story always went with it. It was created by a teenager, a multi-instrumentalist playing all the music. Two full sides of instrumental music, composed and executed by an individual. An extraordinary achievement. It was a cultural phenomenon. Everybody who owned it, understood first that it was the product of a single gifted person.

[@jdmresearch]

Another reason for why this album was so important was one thing you said near the end. No TB, no Virgin. And all those Virgins bands from the early-mid 70s -- Gong, Tangerine Dream, Henry Cow, Faust, among others... who knows, perhaps they wouldn't have become well known.

[@SwampEye1]

An important Album to all home trackers who do everything on their own. I remember reading how Oldfield invented controls and triggers in form of footpedals, so he could play guitar and control the tapemachine by Foot. It was important to him, to do it all by himself, obviously he had some communication issues. I wasn t to fond of TB but it promoted new recording technologies and concepts of making music which I acknowledge. Good job Andy

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks Swamp Eye

[@opinion3742]

The album that got me into music. Played by a music teacher at my school when I was 12. I gave up a break time to hear as much of it as that would allow.

[@davestephens6421]

Excellent!! I was never a fan of the album either, but like you I acknowledge the importance of it!!! It established the Virgin label as a real champion of progressive rock...our personal favourites Gong where signed early on. I even went to their offices to meet their A & R with the possibility of a deal with my band of the time...but unfortunately they where going more down the 'commercial road'...hence we didn't get any further.... But TB and (early) Virginia records are very important....Excellent video Andy!!

[@DwainDwight]

fantastic video. thank you.

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

Christian Vander (Magma) claims the theme of Tubular Bells was taken from his own La Dawotsin, which he played in Oldfield's presence at the time. The themes are not identical but certainly similar, so much that it is very possible that one morphed into the other unconsciously in the composer's mind.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

yES...JUST LISTENED...VERY SIMILAR

[@DrOz-007]

The TB opening theme is from Bach's Toccata and Fugue, but played backwards.

[@garanceadrosehn9691]

Personally I prefer _"Ommadawn"_ over _"Tubular Bells",_ but I certainly agree that _"Tubular Bells"_ is an amazing landmark album. Wikipedia claims: "Tubular Bells has sold more than 2.63 million copies in the UK, and an estimated 15 million worldwide." Note that "No Virgin Records" might also mean "No Tangerine Dream". The guy who wrote music for _"Spartacus":_ would that be Jeff Wayne?

[@adammancrief4705]

Used to scare the shit out of me as a kid but I now proudly own my dad's original vinyl copy circa 1973 and the CD 25th anniversary edition. Still one of the best acoustic experiences anyone can have 👍

[@CharlesAustin]

It’s great to hear your thoughts on Tubular Bells..I haven’t heard it for 50? Years., but thanks to you I will listen again with your perspective in mind. Thank you again !!

[@Palmpilotusmc29]

Fantastic video. I can’t get enough of your and Rick Beato’s commentary!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Beato Shmeato....

[@Palmpilotusmc29]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer ha ha ha!!

[@user-tr4ns4yi2e]

16:05 man, please make a video on the exorcist. Would love your take on it

[@iansteel5569]

It's a great album, I remember listening to it when it came out, it was different form other prog at the time, I still listen to it now.

[@dlsamson]

I initially wrote a comment (below) while 1/2 way through your discussion. It should be considered in that context. The second 1/2 of your discussion, considering the larger impact of the album on society (not the least of it being to start Branson's path & his influence) was quite intriguing & I enjoyed it. I've written several essays on the subject & have yet to get it in front of a wide audience but I'm going to throw it at you here because TB is a great example of the more obvious influences of art: Why Art & Artists are Essential to Civilization The most essential element in any civilization is a shared image of the civilization & what it means to be a member. Without that shared image we are just animals struggling for survival. That image is derived from the notable storytellers of the civilization. We have another name for storytellers. We call them artists. Without art, civilization doesn’t exist. This is why we must support and encourage our artists. Not every artist will articulate what it means to be a member of a civilization in a way that resonates with the people but almost every artist will share with & impact other artists & it is from this group that the image of our dynamic civilization will evolve. In order to know who we are becoming, we must acknowledge & appreciate our artists, in particular the artists whose work resonates with the voice in your soul depicting who you want to become. If you really want to dig deep into this concept of just how important artists really are, I might direct you to a Quora post I recently made: qr.ae/pvoMZH Because you see, ultimately, while I might agree that there is such a thing as an objective reality, none of us will ever experience it because we largely live in a mythic reality that is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves - which, for the most part, outside of the neurosis we developed as children, were created by artists. Just like the old adage; "choose your enemies wisely because you will become like them," I could add; "choose your artists wisely because they will help to create your dreams."

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks for posting this

[@drummusicinc4027]

Excellent analysis, Andy. I bought the album a few years back because it was always mentioned as one you MUST have in your collection if you are a progressive rock fan. I put it on, and instantly recognized and remembered the theme from the Excorcist. One of my favorite, and one of the scariest movies of all time. I play it occasionally, but always enjoy it. You must respect the musical genius, especially of someone so young. Great video. Thanks 👍🎶🥁

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Oldfield really a one of a kind musician. He would be a KZbinr nowadays...

[@devereauxclandestine1272]

Released in the same year as Dark Side Of The Moon - a bit of an epic year for prog hitting the mainstream. At the time it seemed like every household in the UK had a copy of Tubular Bells and it was heard incessantly! I don't think I've actually heard it since then - must give it a listen for old times sake. Oh and Alex North composed the Spartacus score.

[@deanjonasson6776]

Another unique aspect about the making of TUBULAR BELLS is how Branson allowed Oldfield nearly unlimited studio time (as well as access to exotic instruments) to experiment and record. Oldfield's initial ideas were put on a tape recorder that Kevin Ayers had gift him (after the guitarist left his band). Taking those rudimentary lo-fi ideas and being allowed to flesh them out without interference let these ideas grow. Oldfield was a ground-breaker in that, nowadays, anyone with a computer can create in this manner. Although I prefer OMMADAWN as a listening experience, I think TB still sounds fresh and charming. (Note that the inclusion of Viv Stanshall satisfies your Prog definition by the puncturing of pretension!)

[@Pwecko]

I used to read the NME, Sounds and Melody Maker as a youth, so I knew about Tubular Bells before it came out, but the first time I heard any of it was when the Exorcist part was played on The Old Grey Whistle Test in June 1973, with old black and white film of skiers rushing down mountains. It worked very well. Tubular Bells was the first record on Virgin Records, so Richard Branson took quite a big chance financing its recording and promotion. Its success helped him to become very rich indeed. In 1974, Branson also released Camembert Electrique by Gong, The Faust Tapes by Faust, Limited Edition by Can and The Civil Surface by Egg, all of which I bought. They were all weird in their own way and great for getting people to go home at the end of a party. It's a shame Branson became a twat.

[@martinbroten9467]

I remember when this came out. Both it and the movie were huge. Of course, even though I had read the book, I was too young to see the movie. Go figure. The album was released right in one of prog's "sweet spots". I think I bought this album, Yes "Relayer", the first Genesis "Live" album, Tull "War Child", KC "Starless..." all within a few months of each other. You're right, there are hooks all over side 1. Just goes to show that you can get a song in 15 to the top of the charts.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

It occupies it's own place in music history and is a remarkable album

[@scoop1178]

Bravo.You provide a very good overview about the early seventies. Very good and important details. And Mike Oldfield with the making of TB (in this age and the circumstances) a very special case and - yes - an example for progress. Without doubts your headline is right "Unique" and "Masterpiece" Also for people like me who were not interested in this/his music.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stuartraybould6433]

I remember back in 1975, my cousins boyfriend introduced her to Tubular Bells but hadn't heard anything else, while I had all three. They came to our house one night and after arguing that both Hergest Ridge and especially Ommadawn were much better, I played Ommadawn to prove my point, or so I thought but they wouldn't have it? I noted that Tubular Bells was the only record of this quality they had, so I gave up and just said 'You obviously have no idea' I continued to collect interesting experimental music to this day, while my cousin knows nothing outside of the pop singles charts and thinks I'm weird, as for her boyfriend of the time I have no idea. I think they fell in with the 'in crowd' of the time that just brought Tubular Bells because they'd been told it was great and it had been a hit especially when The Exorcist came out. She hasn't got it herself and probably hasn't heard it since those days. The album was very successful on release only knocked off number one by his second Hergest Ridge. The difference back in the day is the charts were only on physical sales, so it took a week or two before albums got to their chart position, now, an album will be number one the day of release and gone from the charts the next week, they are now irrelevant. The Exorcist definitely had an effect but the album had already been a big hit anyway. Ommadawn is definitely much better, my view on that as never changed, my favourite though is Incantations. Amarok is also wonderful, his short form songs are very hit and miss, mostly miss unfortunately. Ommadawn 2 unfortunately is nowhere near the quality of the original or any of the first four. 👍 Just to add, Oldfield was actually only 17 when he wrote the initial introduction of Tubular Bells, then a bass and guitar player with Kevin Ayers and still performing with his sister as a folk duo. A lot of the rest of it got developed on tapes during his time with Ayer and David Bedford until eventually being released by Virgin, at the time a business selling other people's records who having heard the tapes couldn't get anyone else to release it, so thought they'd release it themselves, the rest as they say his history.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Great comment!!!

[@terryjohnson5275]

Although I got into progressive rock from the age of 11 back in 73/74 I never got a copy of TB until I found a second hand copy of Boxed in a local shop, by which time he'd also done Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn, both of which were in Boxed. So my version is the one with the Sailor's Hornpipe being done as they drunkenly traipsed around the Manor with Viv Stanshall commentating. I think I bought it because for a lover of progressive rock, at the time TB was THE record to have, however I never really played it that much, nor the rest of the set apart from the fourth record 'Collaborations' that had his version of In Dulci Jubilo, Portsmouth and stuff he did with David Bedford. Over the last twenty years though I will occasionally pull out all the records and subsequent ones like Incantations, Platinum, QE2 and Crises and really enjoy just taking a moment to sit back and listen to them, as that's what they are for (for me at elast). Although none of them would probably make my favourite twenty, or even fifty albums, they remain a great body of work.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I think Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn are better albums

[@neilloughran4437]

I was a big Mike Oldfield fan as a teenager.... Was never that big on TB but Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Incantations are among my all time top 100 I suspect... Strangely I always felt there were minimalist elements on the title track Funkadelic's 1971 LP Maggot Brain which have a Mike Oldfield vibe (in fact listening now its almost identical in chord structure to Incantations IV)... For sure he totally influenced a generation of us in a myriad of ways.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

That is an incredible observation if true...perhaps I should have a deep dive into Maggot Brain next...

[@neilloughran4437]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I just did a google and it seems I'm not the only one... some people are saying it's more like Ommadawn though... :D

[@neilloughran4437]

also very similar to side 2 of Tubular Bells maybe!

[@AlmostEthical]

I think the band that came closest to this was Sky, although they somehow managed to usually be less than the sum of their parts.

[@markcapofari8419]

True story - my girlfriend listened to Tubular Bells while reading the Exorcist-when we went to the movie and it started with the theme song added to the bizarre freakiness of the flic

[@John-K638]

About Vivian Stanshall's role as the MC, as well as sounding like something from Britten it also harks back to this old Bonzos track from a few years before kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX7UlaqqmZ2HqLM

[@dlsamson]

I've always enjoyed this album. It does strike me that the descriptors that you are using also fit Todd Rundgren's A Wizard / A True Star. The big difference is that Mike Oldfield was largely unknown & Tubular Bells is what made him famous. In Todd Rundgren's case it was the opposite. He had just presented a very popular album; Something?/Anything? which had people comparing him to the genius of Carole King. AWATS had the opposite effect of Tubular Bells. Tubular Bells is what put M.O. on the map. AWATS arguably took TR off of the map (at least for a lot of people). However, artistically, TB & AWATS are very similar in that they are fairly pure artistic expressions w/o any consideration of audience. In the case of TB, the audience was found because of it's being used as a movie soundtrack. In the case of AWATS, the audience was largely lost because the previous audience had established expectations because of the success of Something?/Anything? and listening to AWATS while expecting a record like Something?/Anything? would certainly qualify as a jarring experience. This singular act of artistic tyranny is part of what made me fall in love with TR. His income from producing records gave him the freedom to publish what he wanted w/o much consideration for sales. As a result, he has arguably never had to pander for an audience. You may not always like what he produced but an awful lot of it was very interesting. I've always felt that the arc from S?/A? to AWATS to his next album; Todd is a singularly great creative arc & I think it would be a great topic for discussion, particularly given that, while TR is hard to pigeonhole in to any particular category, he has arguably done quite a bit of prog (AWATS & Todd (& Initiation) & the early Utopia albums are all arguably prog)

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I am not that well versed in Todd but I nearly did a video on A Wizard just because it is so progressive and bonkers

[@gratmatassa5432]

he re-recorded some of the instruments in 2009 & put the whole album on a compilation titled The Collection just wondering if you've heard it & think he has improved upon it, myself i still prefer the original.

[@ziegunerweiser]

The scariest movies to me have always been about the supernatural and possession the exorcist, evil dead, sinister, and to a lesser extent amityville, the conjuring, and blair witch.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I didn't think I would be talking about The Exorcist so I caught myself out!

[@ziegunerweiser]

well it's certainly an important element of the music considering 1 - the possibility this music would not have been as well known and possibly could have gone un-noticed and fade into obscurity 2 - the artist's reaction for the music being selected for a horror move all of which I did not know I did pick up on the minimalist type of vibes contained within

[@stuffupthecracks]

Sorry to spoil the party but it sounds like a teenager noodling in his bedroom which is essentially what it is. The litmus test for me was when I gave it a relisten & my then primary school age son who had happily listened to so called difficult albums such as Coltrane's Intersteller Space without a squeak of protest begged me to turn it off. I was happy to oblige.

[@guillaumechabason3165]

Possibly inspired by la Dawotsin by Magma who were rehearsing in the same moment in the same studios than Mike Olfield

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Maybe...and by Kevin Ayers too perhaps?

[@RogerMelodicMusic]

Mike Oldfield is a multi instrumental genius he is without any doubt mega talented and this album made him a household name, But although it is a very good album it kind of pigeon holed him and some people don’t realize how much other wonderful music he as made over the years since this album, shame really because he has made some fine albums in his long career.