From: cbenson@cs.strath.ac.uk (Calum F Benson CS90)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Subject: Re: Mike Oldfield
Date: 5 Oct 92 11:12:14 GMT
Organization: Comp. Sci. Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland.

>As a newcomer to ALLMUSIC (and the NET), I was thrilled to see that I'm not the>only Mike Oldfield fan out here. Like Carol, I also saw the Muchmusic special>
>of Oldfield performing "Tubular Bells II" live and loved it. Did anyone else
>notice that the one vocal section of the piece seemed to be pre-taped? Just the>vocals that is...
>
>I adore pretty much everything Mike Oldfield has ever done ...

 Me too ! I was fortunate enough to be at that live performance of
TB II, and it was sensational. It was the first time I had seen Mike live,
and I suppose it could be the last - he doesn't tour much, after all.
Although I'm told he IS planning a tour next year - may just be Europe,
I'm not sure, but keep your eyes on the music press. Alternatively, you
could join one of the unofficial Mike Olfield fan clubs based in the UK -
I could give you the addresses if you like; I guess it would cost you 
about $15 for six, monthly issues of the magazines they produce.

        Incidentally, the only (still available) omission I can see from  
your list is `Boxed', a set of four albums - Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge,
Ommadawn and Collaborations. Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn are just re-mixed
versions of the orignals, as is Tubular Bells, except it has the REAL
ending to it, which was originally considered to risky to market. Rather
than just being a sailor's hornpipe, it consists of Mike and Viv Stanshall
wandering round Mike's house somewhat intoxicated, commenting on various
features and playing a sailor's hornpipe at the same time! Collaborations
is an otherwise unreleased album consisting of a few pieces Mike did with
the likes of David Bedford; it's not too exciting, to be honest, but to
a collector such as yourself, it might be interesting!

        As for `The Complete Mike Oldfield', I say - Go For It! I
hadn't heard most of the songs either (although they were all released
as singles over here), and they're all pretty good, but the highlight
is side 4, which contains live versions of Platinum, Sheba, Mount Teide
and Mirage - they're brilliant, Mount Teide in particular.

        I assume the `pre-taped' vocal you refer to is the 'Piltdown Man'
bit, where John Gordon Sinclair was supposed to be doing the, well, 
grunting is the only word I can think of! This is presumably because
John Gordon Sinclair was merely a guest appearance; he is a sort of
personality in the mildest sense of the word over here, a Scottish actor
who starred in films like 'Gregory's Girl' and `That Sinking Feeling',
and presumably his vocal talents were insufficient! Incidentally, on the
album, the announcer (listed just as 'a travelling player') is actually
Alan Rickman, who played the Sherriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner's
film `Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'. So there you go.


        Happy listening !

                Calum.


+---------------------------------------------+---------------------------+
|"When John Major announced that devolution   |       CALUM BENSON        |
| for Scotland would mean divorcing two great | 4TH YEAR COMPUTER SCIENCE |
| nations, Scots everywhere were left asking  | University of Strathclyde |
| which other great nation he meant."         |    Glasgow, Scotland      |
+---------------------------------------------+---------------------------+
|       cbenson@uk.ac.strath.cs AND cadx609@uk.ac.strath.ccsun            |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU