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In 1975, Ommadawn (a nonsense word, although similar to the Gaelic for 'idiot') showed Oldfield combining the best elements of both its predecessors to create an album hailed as a masterpiece of the Century. This time, Mike allowed other musicians to assist in the composition and arrangement. After the release of "Ommadawn", the somewhat introverted artist retired to his home to evade the constant pressures of the hard - sell music business and to work out for himself the meaning and effects of his sudden success. Until 1978, Mike didn't bother much with interviews or public appearances and he dreaded the idea of live shows... he would much rather dig out the duck pond on his country estate! |
 Apart
from the Boxed 4-LP set (containing new mixes of "Tubular Bells"
and "Hergest Ridge", a special album "Collaborations",
featuring his work with other musicians, and the new original "Ommadawn")
no further albums appeared until the double album Incantations in
1978. It
was in 1978 that Mike surprised the music press by coming out into
the open, with short hair and an earring in his right ear. Mike Oldfield
had become more aggressive.The change was due to Mike's participation in the radical and controversial "Exegesis" programme, which helped him to lose his inhibitions. Also around this time, Mike briefly married Diana Fuller (the daughter of the man who ran Exegesis) in Kensington, although a month or so later the newlyweds were separated. Mr. Oldfield had changed, and went on tour in 1979 to prove it, together with an entourage of almost 100! Despite almost all the concerts selling out, the tour had been very expensive to put on and did not cover its costs; the tour came to an abrupt end with a debt of a million pounds, despite enthusiastic audiences. Excerpts from this tour were released on the double album Exposed. The debts were then written off by the hurried release of Platinum, which was generally described by the press as "Oldfield for beginners". The album presented a new concept for Oldfield, alongside one long piece on side one were 4 songs on the B-side. What also stands out is Mike's covers of other artists' material: Philip Glass' "North Star" and Gershwin's "I Got Rythm", featuring the soft voice of Wendy Roberts. Then came the "Platinum-Tour" in 1980 - this time an eleven piece band was enough!
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"Tubular
Bells" was a front runner in the UK charts for several months,
toppled only in 1974 by its successor, Hergest Ridge. "Hergest
Ridge" proved that Mike Oldfield was no mere flash in the pan.
A more serene piece of music, with gently shifting moods, "Hergest
Ridge" also suggested, affinity with the composers of the contemporary
event garde, such as Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass.
There then followed an orchestral version of "Tubular Bells",
which further boosted its popularity.
