The Tubular Bells concert show will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Mike Oldfield’s iconic composition at Prague’s O2 universum

october 13, 2023

The Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary concert show is heading to Europe and won’t miss Prague! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its release, Mike Oldfield’s iconic Tubular Bells will be performed at the O2 universum on 28 February 2024, conducted by Robin Smith. The Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary concert show will also include other Mike Oldfield songs such as Moonlight Shadow, Summit Day, Family Man and Ommadawn.

The best-selling instrumental album of all time, Tubular Bells was first released as the debut of the then fledgling Mike Oldfield on 25 May 1973. He had composed it two years earlier and recorded all the instruments himself. The Tubular Bells album also gained worldwide popularity thanks to the movie The Exorcist, in which the first part of this album was used. The album sold almost 3 million in the UK alone.

Mike Oldfield is a British composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical visionary who laid the foundations of world electronic music. He became famous as a composer and producer with his debut studio album Tubular Bells, which was praised by critics and loved by listeners. Although Oldfield is primarily a guitarist, he plays a number of other instruments such as keyboards and percussion, including tubular bells, i.e. 12 chrome tube bells, whose monumental sound gave the album a unique sound. During his career, Mike Oldfield has gone across many musical styles and genres from progressive rock to world music, folk, and especially electronic, ambient and new age music.

Conductor and composer Robin Smith, who conducts the Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Concert Show, is thrilled to be conducting the work he has loved since he first heard it in 1973. He collaborated with Mike Oldfield on Tubular Bells 2 and 3, including live performances at Edinburgh Castle, Horseguards Parade in London, The Millennium Bell in Berlin or 2012 in London.

 

“The Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary show premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London in August 2021 to great success. It’s a celebration and tribute to Mike Oldfield, who in my opinion is one of the greatest English composers of the last century. For me personally, together with the musicians, it is a real privilege to play this extraordinary work. It’s as fresh today as when Mike created it in 1971. And I love the opportunity to introduce it to new audiences as well as those who, like me, are completely captivated every time they hear this song,” Robin Smith enthuses about the Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary concert show.

“Tubular Bells never seem to get old, and that’s amazing. It takes you on a journey through progressive rock and electronica, blues, folk, jazz and classical, evoking both melodic beauty and drama. We’ve had a lot of tears of emotion from our audience and so many amazing stories since the first Tubular Bells shows,” adds Robin Smith about a song that was perhaps destined to send waves of emotion through people.

The Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Music Show also features other Mike Oldfield works including Moonlight Shadow, Summit Day, Family Man and Ommadawn. For Czech audiences, the show will be presented in the popular venue O2 universum on February 28, 2024.

 

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