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EXPLAINED: Mike oldfield - The Real Truth

10 bands who peaked with the first song on their first album

Some bands just get it right first time

Louder

“Peter had such a glorious touch thanks to his wonderful simplicity. But then he went off the rails and became a gravedigger”: How 10cc’s Rick Fenn ended up working with David Gilmour, Peter Green, Mike Oldfield, and almost all of his other heroes

The underrated guitar great looks back on the “improbable serendipities” that punctuate his 50-year career, hails the guitar he’s been playing for almost all of it, and reveals the favorite solos in his catalog

Guitar World

“Very accomplished playing that isn’t widely discussed in blues circles”: What we can learn from Mike Oldfield about breaking free of the pentatonic box

In this lesson, we reimagine folk, jazz, blues and Celtic music for a blues roadmap that takes the road less traveled

Guitar World

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“Powerful, extremely versatile and creatively refreshing, it offers a ton of inspiration if you click with it”: LAG HyVibe 10 HV10ACE review

A capable acoustic guitar that’s its own pedalboard and speaker, too

MusicRadar

“I said I’d sing it on the condition that I could record a song of my choice as well. That song flopped and theirs was a big hit!” How a future Mike Oldfield collaborator wound up with a glam rock chart-topper

The dubious accolade didn’t tarnish the achievements of a British singer who was once supported by Supertramp

Louder

The 20 best prog reissues of 2025

Long-awaited cuts from Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rush, Mike Oldfield and many more got the deluxe treatment over the past 12 months. Is your favourite on our list?

Louder

“More like an inspired act of creativity than a raging blow-out”: Mike Oldfield’s Amarok began life as a protest against his label. But it turned out to be one of his most skilful sculptures

Reissued version is split into sections with his blessing. The only flaw is a triggering Margaret Thatcher impersonation

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The story of Porcupine Tree's Deadwing is on the cover of the new gift-packed issue of Prog, which is on sale now

Prog 165 also features Peter Hammill, John Lodge, Cardiacs, Gazpacho, Steve Morse, Solstice, Atomic Rooster, Crown Lands, The Utopia Strong, Barry Palmer, Cate Le Bon, Amorphis and loads more...

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“We knew we were messing with prog royalty. It could have been like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa”: Welsh duo covered Peter Gabriel, Mike Oldfield and others on their latest side-project album. They think they’ve got away with it

Their third release, partly inspired by the album-sleeve scenery around them, features a long list of impressive guests. They’re hoping someone will accuse them of “drowning in a sea of pretentiousness” again

Louder

“It sounded great, but I don’t know if it felt like history was happening”: Richard Branson says he happened to be in the studio when Phil Collins was recording what "might be the most famous drum solo of all time"

The 75-year-old mogul has also been discussing Mike Oldfield, the Sex Pistols and the birth of Virgin Records

MusicRadar

“Most pop music is just rubbish now, but we can get back to the way records were made back in the day, which have dynamics, and are pleasurable listens”: Legendary drummer Simon Phillips on his role as producer for progressive rock supergroup DarWin

“I love the sound of records. Good-sounding records”

MusicRadar

“Flying model planes and covering the phone with a pillow was all I was capable of at the time”: The unexpected triumph of Mike Oldfield’s Hergest Ridge, an album he didn’t want to make

Overwhelmed by the success of Tubular Bells, he found peace in a solitary house on a hill and in playing ancient music in an old mansion. Even when his peace was shattered, he managed to create an uplifting and chart-topping record

Louder

Mike Oldfield producer Tom Newman to release his autobiography, Fine Old Tales

Tibular Bells producer Tom Newman will release his autobiography, Fine Old Tales, in September

Louder

Mike Oldfield announces double-vinyl, half-speed remaster of Amarok reissue for October

Mike Oldfield celebrates the 35th anniversary of Amarok with a newly remastered vinyl reissue

Louder

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“I’ve got 30 years of albums and awards – but they say, ‘He’s just a one-trick pony making money off the back of Mike Oldfield’”: Robert Reed’s struggle to keep a form of music alive

Magenta, Cyan and Chimpan A mastermind went to the effort and expense of bringing three key Oldfield collaborators into his Sanctuary projects. That proves his commitment to creating something genuine, although many people don’t realise it

Louder

It's in the trees. It's coming! We celebrate 40 years of Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love on the cover of the new issue of Prog, which is on sale now

Prog 162 also features Mike Oldfield, Dave Cousins, Bioscope, Peter Giles, Auri, Nosound, Jump, the new Canterbury sound and loads more...

Louder

Mike Oldfield's The Orchestral Hergest Ridge to be released in September

A 1975 performance of Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge from Kelvin Hall in Glasgow is to be released on CD

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“His songs are like a walk through his imagination – they draw you in and use all your senses”: Why Liv Kristine had to cover Mike Oldfield

Former Leaves’ Eyes vocalist admits she pretended to be Maggie Reilly, with a hairbrush for a microphone

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Louder

“New sonic depths and dynamics confer an extra gravitas upon a gleaming collection of winsome melodies”: Mike Oldfield’s personal bravery shines throughout Hergest Ridge: 50th Anniversary

Long overshadowed by illustrious predecessor Tubular Bells, his 1974 hymn to the British landscape has never sounded so brooding or beautiful

Louder

"It's beautiful, pensive and immersive, then turns into doolally dynamite": Mike Oldfield's softly spoken follow-up to Tubular Bells now sounds better than the big beast

Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge was originally received with a shrug, but time has only emphasised its quiet brilliance

Louder

We celebrate 30 years of Marillion's Afraid Of Sunlight on the cover of the new issue of Prog, on sale now

The brand new issue of Prog is on sale now, and also featuring Richard Sinclair, Gentle Giant, Peter Baumann, Katatonia

Louder

The Best of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells I, II & III tour announced for February and March 2026

Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells I, II and III albums will be celebrated with a new live tour in Spring 2026

Louder

“His carefree aesthetic is wonderfully captured – yet for the highs come genuinely frustrating and irritating lows”: Kevin Ayers And The Whole World’s Shooting At The Moon

Canterbury icon’s erratic second album, on vinyl for the first time, shines with the contributions of Mike Oldfield and Lol Coxhill

Louder

50th anniversary reissue of Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge to be released in June

Mike Oldfield's second album, 1974's Hergest Ridge, to be reissued on double vinyl and Blu-ray to celebrate the album's 50th anniversary

Louder

“There are two sides to him – It was totally alien… I learned a lot of things about my voice and how to use it”: What happened when The Struts’ Luke Spiller worked with Mike Oldfield

Luke Spiller and Mike Oldfield collaborated on 2014 album Man On The Rocks, giving the Struts singer a new appreciation for the Tubular Bells mastermind

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