Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English musician, songwriter, and producer best known for his debut studio album Tubular Bells (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield plays a range of instruments, which includes keyboards and percussion, as well as vocals. He has adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, world, folk, classical, electronic, ambient, and new age music.
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield
15 May 1953
Reading, Berkshire, England
- Musician
- songwriter
- record producer
- video game designer
- Guitar
- bass
- keyboards
- percussion
- vocals
1967–present
-
Diana Fuller(m. 1978; div. 1978)
-
Sally Cooper(m. 1979; div. 1986)
-
Fanny Vandekerckhove(m. 2002; div. 2013)
Oldfield took up the guitar at age ten and left school in his teens to embark on a music career. From 1967 to 1970, he and his sister Sally Oldfield were a folk duo the Sallyangie, after which he performed with Kevin Ayers. In 1971, Oldfield started work on Tubular Bells which caught the attention of Richard Branson, who agreed to release it on his new label, Virgin Records. Its opening was used in the horror film The Exorcist and the album went on to sell over 2.7 million copies in the UK. Oldfield followed it with Hergest Ridge (1974), Ommadawn (1975), and Incantations (1978), all of which feature longform and mostly instrumental pieces.
In the late 1970s, Oldfield began to tour and release more commercial and song-based music, beginning with Platinum (1979), QE2 (1980), and Five Miles Out (1982). His most successful album of this period was Crises (1983), which features the worldwide hit single "Moonlight Shadow" with vocalist Maggie Reilly. After signing with WEA in the early 1990s, Oldfield's most significant album of the decade was Tubular Bells II (1992) and he experimented with virtual reality and gaming content with his MusicVR project. In 2012, he performed at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. Oldfield's discography includes 26 studio albums, nine of which have reached the UK top-ten. His final album, Return to Ommadawn was released in 2017. Oldfield's label announced his retirement in 2023.[1]
Early life[edit]
Childhood[edit]
Oldfield was born on 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire, to Raymond Henry Oldfield (1923–2016),[2] an English general practitioner, and Maureen (née Liston), an Irish nurse.[3][4][5]
His mother, originally from Charleville, County Cork, Ireland, emigrated to England to enter the nursing profession.[6] He has two elder siblings, sister Sally and brother Terence.[7] When Oldfield was seven, his mother gave birth to a younger brother, David, who had Down syndrome and died in infancy. His mother was prescribed barbiturates, to which she became addicted. She had mental health problems and would spend much of the rest of her life in mental institutions, dying in early 1975, shortly after Oldfield had started writing Ommadawn.[8][9]
His childhood was a complex blend of solitary interests and familial challenges, all under the roof of his family home at 35 Western Elms Avenue in Reading. Oldfield's early years were marked by his mother's recurring health issues, which cast a shadow over the family. Amidst this, there were brief moments of joy, such as when his father gifted him a Bob Dylan album, sparking an interest in music. However, the family also faced tragedy with the birth of Oldfield's brother David, who had Down syndrome and a heart condition, leading to a short and hidden life away from the family.[10]
Music became a solace and a point of connection for Oldfield. He was introduced to the guitar by his sister Sally's boyfriend, and his fascination with the instrument grew. Every Christmas, his father would play a guitar that knew only three chords, igniting Oldfield's passion for the instrument. He also found an affinity for the piano, tinkering and creating tunes on a small, white grand piano in their living room.[10]
Sally's record player was a gateway to the modern music world for Oldfield, where he discovered the sounds of Elvis and bands including the Shadows. Despite these musical influences, Oldfield often felt isolated, a feeling that was exacerbated by his experiences at a Catholic convent school, St Joseph’s on Upper Redlands Road, where he felt like a fish out of water.[10]
At Western Elms Avenue, the attic workshop was a haven for young Oldfield, where he and his father bonded over building model aeroplanes. This shared activity was a respite from his usual solitude and an early indicator of his meticulous nature. Oldfield’s adventurous spirit was evident in his homemade parachute jump off the roof, a testament to his fearless character.[10]
Despite the idyllic setting, life at Western Elms Avenue had its share of childhood antics and learning experiences. Oldfield would lay pennies on the nearby railway to be flattened by passing trains, a simple pleasure that brought him a sense of wonder. He also built a camp by the railway with friends, which was destroyed by other boys, an incident that stayed with him over the years.[10]
A poignant memory from this period was the golf club incident at Western Elms Avenue, where a well-intended swing during a playful moment resulted in an accident with a young friend, an event that led to a lasting estrangement.[10]
Oldfield’s education continued at a junior school called Highlands, which was a gentler environment compared to St Joseph’s. It was here, amidst the natural setting, that he could enjoy lessons outdoors and where his creativity was nurtured. Church visits introduced him to the solemn beauty of Latin mass music, which he appreciated despite the sense of obligation that accompanied these family outings.[10]
The social isolation Oldfield felt was a constant thread throughout his youth. His mother, in an attempt to integrate him with his peers, would organize birthday parties. Yet, these events only highlighted his discomfort as he felt disconnected from the other children. The isolation was further compounded by a significant age gap between Oldfield and his siblings, which left him feeling distant from family play.[10]
Through the blend of music, ingenuity, and the challenges of growing up at Western Elms Avenue, Oldfield's childhood laid the foundations for the introspective and innovative artist he would become.[10]
Teenage years[edit]
Oldfield attended Highlands Junior School, St. Edward's Preparatory School (still located in Tilehurst Road)[10] and Presentation College (Bath Road), all in Reading. When he was thirteen, the family moved to Harold Wood, then in Essex, and Oldfield attended Hornchurch Grammar School where, having already displayed musical talent, he earned one GCE qualification in English.[11]
Oldfield took up the guitar aged ten, first learning on a 6-string acoustic instrument which his father had given to him.[12] He learned technique by copying parts from songs, by folk guitarists Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, that he played on a portable record player. He tried to learn musical notation but was a "very, very slow" learner, saying: "If I have to, I can write things down. But I don't like to."[13] By the time he was 12, Oldfield played the electric guitar and performed in local folk and youth clubs and dances, earning as much as £4 (equivalent to £82 in 2021) per gig.[12][13][14] During a six-month break from music that Oldfield had around this time, he took up painting. In May 1968, when Oldfield turned fifteen, his school headmaster requested that he cut his long hair. Oldfield refused and left abruptly. He then decided to pursue music on a full-time, professional basis.[11][12]
Career[edit]
1968–1972: Early career[edit]
After leaving school Oldfield accepted an invitation from his sister Sally to form a folk duo the Sallyangie, taking its name from her name and Oldfield's favourite Jansch tune, "Angie".[15] They toured England and Paris and struck a deal with Transatlantic Records, for which they recorded one album, Children of the Sun (1969). After they split in the following year Oldfield had a nervous breakdown. He auditioned as bassist for Family in 1969 following the departure of Ric Grech, but the group did not share Roger Chapman's enthusiasm towards Oldfield's performance.[16] Oldfield spent much of the next year living off his father and performing in an electric rock band named Barefoot that included his brother Terry on flute, until the group disbanded in early 1970.[17][18]
In February 1970, Oldfield auditioned as the bassist in the Whole World, a new backing band that former Soft Machine vocalist Kevin Ayers was putting together. He landed the position despite the bass being a new instrument for him, but he also played occasional lead guitar and later looked back on this time as providing valuable training on the bass.[19][13] Oldfield went on to play on Ayers's albums Shooting at the Moon (1970) and Whatevershebringswesing (1971), and played mandolin on Edgar Broughton Band (1971).[18] All three albums were recorded at Abbey Road Studios, where Oldfield familiarised himself with a variety of instruments, such as orchestral percussion, piano, Mellotron, and harpsichord, and started to write and put down musical ideas of his own.[13] While doing so Oldfield took up work as a reserve guitarist in a stage production of Hair at the Shaftesbury Theatre, where he played and gigged with Alex Harvey. After ten performances Oldfield grew bored of the job and was fired after he decided to play his part for "Let the Sunshine In" in 7/8 time.[13][14]
Personal life[edit]
Family[edit]
In 1978, Oldfield married Diana Fuller, a relative of the Exegesis group leader. The marriage lasted for three months.[71][72] Oldfield recalled that he phoned Branson the day after the ceremony and said he had made a mistake.[73] From 1979 to 1986, Oldfield was in a relationship with Sally Cooper, whom he met through Virgin. They had three children.[74] In 2015, his son Dougal died after collapsing while working at a film production company in London.[75][76] By the time of birth of their third child, in 1986, the relationship had broken down and they amicably split. Oldfield entered a relationship with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland, that lasted until 1991.[77] The pair met backstage at one of Oldfield's gigs while touring Germany in 1984.[74] They lived in Switzerland, France, and England. They have two children.[74]
In the late 1990s, Oldfield posted in a lonely hearts column in a local Ibiza newspaper. It was answered by Amy Lauer; the pair dated, but the relationship was troubled by Oldfield's bouts of alcohol and substance abuse and it ended after two months.[78] In 2001, Oldfield began counselling and psychotherapy.[73] Between 2002 and 2013, Oldfield was married to Fanny Vandekerckhove, whom he met while living in Ibiza. They have two sons.[79]
Other[edit]
Oldfield and his siblings were raised as Catholic, their mother's faith.[80]
In June 1978, during the recording of Incantations, Oldfield and his siblings completed a three-day Exegesis seminar, a controversial self-assertiveness programme based on Werner Erhard's EST training programme. The experience had a significant effect on Oldfield's personality, who recalled that he underwent a "rebirth experience" by reliving past fears. "It was like opening some huge cathedral doors and facing the monster, and I saw that the monster was myself as a newborn infant, because I'd started life in a panic."[18][81] Following the Exegesis seminar, the formerly reclusive Oldfield granted press interviews, posed nude for a promotional photo shoot for Incantations, and went drinking with news reporters. He had also conquered his fear of flying, gained a pilot's licence, and bought his own plane.[34]
He used drugs in his early life, including LSD, which he said affected his mental health.[10] In the early 1990s, Oldfield set up Tonic, a foundation that sponsored people to receive counselling and therapy.[10]
In 1980, Oldfield, a longtime fan of model aircraft, acquired his pilot's licence.[3][82] He later became a motorcycle enthusiast and has been inspired to write songs from riding them. He has owned various models, including a BMW R1200GS, Suzuki GSX-R750, Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a Yamaha R1.[83]
Oldfield has lived in Nassau, Bahamas, since 2009 and is a Bahamian citizen.[84][85] He has also lived in Spain, Los Angeles and Monaco. In 2012, Oldfield stated that he had decided to leave England after feeling that the country had become a "nanny state" with too much surveillance and state control.[86] Oldfield has remarked that while he is close to other celebrity residents in the Bahamas, he chose not to live within a wealthy gated community with staff and described his lifestyle as "austere."[87]
In 2017, Oldfield expressed support for then US President Donald Trump and said he would have played at Trump's inauguration if he had been invited to do so. In the same interview, he also stated that he was in favour of Brexit.[87][88]
Sources
