Mike Oldfield The Making of ''Blue Peter''

[@LFOVCF]

The man is a bloody genius. I remember seeing this, and it stuck with me. I now multi-track music myself, and yes, if it's too fast to play, i slow it down lol

[@xandervideo1]

It was seeing this on TV when I was a kid that was one of the elements that inspired me to pursue a 38 year in professional recording. :-)

[@TheKingTubby1]

I remember watching this episode when very first aired

[@22Purplemist]

Me too 😊

[@aliman3229]

And me too.

[@tangerine825]

Genius ! Poland Love Mike Oldfield ;-)

[@androoow]

brought back memories of watching that film in the day.. truly the finest version of the theme blue peter ever had.

[@jodie3229]

This is what a master at work looks like 💖

[@GaryJoo419]

This man is a genius

[@locorojo25]

+Joswick Gilmer who, simon groom? hahaha. agreed. I love MO

[@alm5966]

I feel old now rewatching this, I saw it when it was on originally...I can't even remember the year now. Back in the day when kids tv was worth watching.

[@chopchung]

Frightening to remember it was 1979!!!.

[@tobortine]

Me too. For some reason that inane question _"...why did you record it at half speed..."_ has stuck in my mind for almost 40 years.

[@eyeball226]

tobortine Yeah, pretty stupid question considering he'd literally just said that once it's sped up it sounds somewhat like a recorder.

[@tonymarshall2682]

Me too (I'm an Oldfield fan but my first encounter with his music was this on Blue Peter). Still the best version of their theme....the later ones were crap

[@sirvidia]

you only feel it was worth watching because you were a kid

[@Fedaykin24]

This is when Childrens television didn't insult young peoples minds!

[@terrycharnley]

So THAT'S how its done. Wow. Always found music fascinating and am a massive electronic music fan. Jean Michel Jarre is my hero, have nearly all of his albums I also have a couple of Mike Oldfield's albums and several downloads. Brilliant creative musician.

[@jonvincentmusic]

These days it's all recorded on a computer now, rather than 24 track tape, but fundamentally the same processes apply.

[@slappamathagh]

Jarre was good once but lost it years ago when he began to sound like he was making it up as he went along. Jarre, in truth, isn't even in the same book as Oldfield, never mind on the same page.

[@ZeldaFitz]

I’ve been waiting to see this again ever since it was first broadcast back in 1979, when I was 8. Thanks to YT I finally have. Exactly how I remembered it.

[@alexmacleod3728]

I was 8 when I first saw this

[@22Purplemist]

I was 14 when I watched this when it was first aired but I was already a fan by this time

[@volt9903]

WHAT A GEM I JUST DISCOVERED FROM MIKE OLDFIELD.THANK YOU MIKE OLDFIELD THANK YOU FRANCESCO.

[@22Purplemist]

You're in for a treat when you discover the rest of his discography 😊

[@volt9903]

@@22PurplemistDON'T WORRY I HAVE ALL OF HIS ALBUMS IN VINYL AND CDs. I WAS IN HIS 2 DAYS CONCERT IN ATHENS 16 AND 17 OF JULY 1981.I HAVE HIS ANSWER LETTER FROM 1983.I'M 54 YEARS 40 YEARS LISTENING MIKE OLDFIELD. I SPEAK ONLY FOR THIS VIDEO IN KZbin. SO DON'T BE SILLY when YOU ARE COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

[@Squab1972]

Best version of the Blue Peter theme

[@Vor_Tex_Sun]

Not a bum note in sight ☺️ and been filmed to boot. What a genius Mike is

[@CJJC]

Wait until 4:30.

[@mikehumble1120]

The B side was a cracking track called Woodhenge.... I used to play this more than the A side.

[@Meteotrance]

this guy is a true genius, surprised that some people know only the tubullar bells.

[@maxmeyer]

A TV feature from 40 years ago aimed at children now seems more mature and intelligent than 'grown up' TV of today... sigh

[@saffronfarmer3665]

I remember this well. I am the biggest oldfield fan. he is so original and so brilliant!!!!

[@NickJay]

Thank you for posting this. Wow I remember when this was first shown on Blue Peter and have longed to see it again ever since. I love this tune and seeing it again has brought back many very happy memories. :)

[@MrWidmerpool99]

"electronic gadgets called synthesizers". Aww, bless.

[@winterland2011]

And it was basically a Farfisa organ and a basic string synth ... and monofonic I suppose. But you know where Mike Oldfield went after all the years....

[@LePubPattaya]

I remember seeing this when it was broadcast and when I grew up I ended up working in a recording studio.

[@teddy1066]

Mike Oldfield = genius

[@decka52]

watched this show as a kid and i remember when they did this tune ,best show ever.

[@Ashfaq1999]

The Best Blue Peter Theme.

[@AndyB1286]

This is great to watch. A typical Mike Oldfield take on a tune! The man has his problems, but he’s a musical genius.

[@fretboardmaster70]

Regarding his problems, I Think he had some sort of primal scream therapy in the late 70s. I absolutely rate this man as a true genius.

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

He seemed to be very Chummy with the Film Crew, I was shocked to see him jumping and leading the Joviality. It's work I guess, and his job is to get a good performance, but from what I have heard he would not get himself into that kind of situation where all the focus is on him, or any thing being put to tape not him. A natural leader who does not like leading. I wonder if they got royalties, or if they had to sign consent forms, that could not have been a spur of the moment idea.

[@fretboardmaster70]

And Tubular Bells 💜💜💜💜 absolutely love the way Mike Oldfield works.

[@koksy]

Lovely to see this again. I remember watching it back then too.

[@fraserkatie]

Blimey! That took an effort to ensure that was done properly but I must missed that episode of Blue Peter back in the day so thats interesting to see how it done!

[@kevdarke]

When children's TVs presenters didn't shout all the time.

[@roberth.5938]

What an incredible genius

[@scooba72]

Thanks for posting this. I remember seeing this when I was quite young and been vert excited about the whole process. I noy saying i'm mick Oldfield but I have kinda done this stuff since I was about 12 and this vid had something to do with it.

[@uncletam]

wow thanks for posting! saw this as a kid and loved it!!!

[@robotmad]

24 track tape recorder that would not have been a cheap piece of equipment. You can do all that now digitally on a standard PC. Amazing how technology has moved on.

[@pramaa]

I'm sure that when Mike was rewinding the tape at 7.03, I could distinctly hear "I love Tiswas......"

[@Dudleymiddleton]

I remember this at about 10 or 11 years old and thinking how cutting edge this was at the time

[@trikerj1]

brilliant , never seen this before , thanks for posting this work by a pure genius

[@seoras44]

Hope you're not talking about Simon Groom? Ha ha!

[@trikerj1]

+seoras44 nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[@Squab1972]

A true perfectionist Mike Oldfield is

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

A true musical genius at work.

[@Xupitin]

He's a fucking genius!!!

[@winterland2011]

Love this video!!

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

3:35 Some of those runs now make sense, He was is Fast, especially on Bass.

[@rubyconem]

Who filmed the film crew?

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

@GaryGuevara 😂 That reply cost me a mouthfull of coffee - And some cleaning to do

[@CJJC]

They multitracked themselves.

[@birrastudio3838]

Hello everyone! an absolute great genius, the first pioneer! does anyone know the microphone used in the video? it looks like a neumann um70 but I'm not convinced. All The best

[@jordibp]

thanks for sharing ! this is awesome !

[@ppp7277]

Talent

[@F4LDT-Alain]

Mike Oldfield is a genius. Unmatched composer IMO. So creative. I love all his albums... except "Amarok" which AFAIK is the only one he made under the name "Michael Oldfield".

[@xennelul]

True genius!

[@Gjadgamer]

One of our own #dcfc

[@phillipcleaver7063]

The most fitting tribute to kids T.V. by the only man who could do it right !

[@Syfoll]

What synth was the one he used for the chords? The preset one is probably a Roland SH 1000

[@soepil]

It could be a Solina String Ensemble. He plays that in other videos.

[@Rialas]

Syfoll The preset one is an sh2000.

[@CJJC]

@@soepil They don’t make any comment about him slowing the tape down a tone for the Solina part.

[@neilloughran4437]

I can't believe how influential this clip was on me. I remember him being a bit cross with Simon but watching again now it wasn't too bad. 1979!! Wow... better get ready for Emu's Broadcasting Company then... oh wait...

[@aidenswords5809]

I remember this well

[@gasplut]

i have this on two aparrently similar singles - but the endings on them are different ?i Wonder what version is the real - or did they use two different endings from oldfield

[@johntitor.]

the one that ends suddenly was the original version which i have. but because it ended suddenly radio presenters complained, so oldfield redid the ending and that version was released too. the first version is rareish.

[@electronraygun6346]

Can anyone remember if this was shown again on Blue Peter around 1984? I swear I watched this as a kid on our old Fidelity wood grain TV, particularly the snare drum part. Can't have been 1979 for me as I wasn't born until 1981! And in case you were wondering, no, we didn't own a VCR until late 1985!

[@robalexander8065]

1983, Sarah Greene left that Summer so it couldn't have been 1984.

[@electronraygun6346]

@GaryGuevara Thank you! That's been driving me nuts for years! I have such a vivid memory of it! Finally an explanation! :-)

[@andrewfreeman9437]

You remember watching a TV programme at age 3?!! That's quite a memory.

[@electronraygun6346]

@@andrewfreeman9437 Thanks! :-) I'm assuming no sarcasm intended :-) I can remember further back than that, back to around 1 year old. I wish it was a useful skill but sadly my memories seem to be stored by event, not chronologically so they are more triggered by random things like this video. But as for the video, I remember it was my dad who was watching it as he was/is a Mike Oldfield fan. For some reason it was the snare that stood out to me back then.

[@GiveMeAnOKUsername]

Back when children's TV was like it was when I was a kid.

[@ppp7277]

Wish i was back then x

[@Davidm00sh12]

I want a loop of that acoustic bass.

[@werdlederdle]

This is the version I remember.

[@nonix14]

genius@work

[@horsforthhe]

How many kids got into multitrack recording after seeing this?

[@chopchung]

LOVE this single but am i right in thinking that the version he actually released was Different to what he has come up with here?.The dreamy "Woodhenge" came with it.....ummm lovely.Earlier that year i bought the single "Guilty". The 7" version has a real DEEP bass drum thump, unfortunately the 12" mix is somewhat less effective in that department-a real pity .

[@lrwguitar]

Just found a mint copy of this its only worth a tenner though.

[@Mee98zuidkorea]

Omg! I didn't know this..

[@frankorusso]

Bello, mi risveglia antichi e piacevoli ricordi di registrazione analogica... ;)

[@ianmiller2349]

Does anyone else want to shout "HELLO!!" when the tune finishes?

[@mikebrown-porcelli6696]

...and introducing...Tubular Bells...:)

[@christinetindling5209]

1979 or 1980

[@robalexander8065]

Mike and Simon was filmed in 1979 but the clip is taken from a 1983 edition of Blue Peter.

[@MrJeepsters]

De quelle année est ce titre ?

[@stupossibleify]

I remember watching this, but I was sure it was just a man in his shed :)

[@2j4ez]

His recording studio is probably just a Mac computer now with logic and a few instruments

[@CrossCuntryFranco]

In fact, it's exactly that. :) "Oldfield has self-recorded and produced many of his albums, and played the majority of the featured instruments, largely at his home studios. In the 1990s and 2000s he mainly used DAWs such as Apple Logic, Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo as recording suites.[51] For composing classical music Oldfield has been quoted as using the software notation program Sibelius[27] running on Apple Macintoshes.[52] He also used the FL Studio DAW on his 2005 double album Light + Shade.[53] Among the mixing consoles Oldfield has owned are an AMS Neve Capricorn 33238, a Harrison Series X,[54] and a Euphonix System 5-MC.[55]"

[@davidsimons5944]

The theme kind of sounds a bit like his style anyway.

[@viktor4860]

who the fuck gave this a thumbs down ??

[@vidarloras2754]

Bless you or make the 70s great again

[@FrancescoFusaroFraFusso]

@frankorusso già, ora è tutto troppo facile e di conseguenza più "povero"

[@nigewalker-mead6263]

Barnacle Bill

[@frankorusso]

@ommadawn1976 Ma no, amico mio, i grandi artisti ci sono sempre e si mantengono ad alte quote anche col digitale, però è notevolmente più difficile scovarli tra le orde di mestieranti che intasano tutti i canali di diffusione musicale con le loro schifezzette... Il problema non è la semplicità d'uso del sistema digitale, ma l'idiozia di molti suoi utenti presuntuosi... Poveri noi, piuttosto!! :D:D:D

[@ashterfadgadget817]

When Blue Peter wasn't the culturally diverse, inclusive, gender neutral programme it became.