"Mike Oldfield's Single" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Mike Oldfield | ||||
from the album Tubular Bells | ||||
A-side | "Mike Oldfield's Single (Theme from Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells)" | |||
B-side | "Froggy Went a-Courting" | |||
Released | 28 June 1974 | |||
Format | 7" Vinyl | |||
Recorded | 1972 – 1974 | |||
Genre | Folk, progressive rock | |||
Length | 4:36 | |||
Label | Virgin Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Oldfield | |||
Producer(s) | Tom Newman, Mike Oldfield | |||
Mike Oldfield singles chronology | ||||
|
"Mike Oldfield's Single" is the debut authorised single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1974. The A-side is a variation of one of the themes from Oldfield's 1973 debut album, Tubular Bells, and was made in response to an American single containing an excerpt from Tubular Bells which Oldfield did not authorise. After its use in the box office success The Exorcist, "Tubular Bells" (as featured on the American single) reached #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Virgin (dist. Atlantic) VR-55100 (VRS-55100 in Canada), issued in 1973
Side 1 of this single is an excerpt from side 1 of the Tubular Bells album, which contains 2 long pieces, "Tubular Bells" parts 1 and 2. The excerpt was made by staff at Atlantic Records, the American distributors of Oldfield's label, Virgin Records, and was made from bits and pieces of the first 8 minutes of the album, often resulting in abrupt transitions that did not occur in the original version. The abruptness of the edits is a combination of the choice of excerpts, and physical tape splice editing. This version also suffers from a loud hum, which is clearly audible in the quiet opening section, and is not heard on the album. It ends with a return to the opening, which fades out. On the album, there is no return to the opening. This edited version is often referred to as "Now the Original" in reference to the advertising sub-title, which is printed on the label in larger type than the song title itself. This phrase also appeared on stickers attached to the album's shrink wrap in the USA.
Side 2 is an edited excerpt from the end section of the album's side 1, where Vivian Stanshall announces instruments as they appear; it fades out before the original version's conclusion.
Mike Oldfield was displeased when he learned this version had been made without his knowledge or input, and refused its release in the United Kingdom. A UK test pressing of this record exists, with catalogue number VS-101, the number that was eventually used for the single Mike made as a substitution, suggesting the "Now the Original" version was considered for release in the UK at one time.
This version of the single was also issued in Canada, France, New Zealand (first edition), South Africa (first edition), and Chile.