Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Celebration to be released on DVD and Blu-ray

By ( Prog ) published

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's lavish reworking of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells due out in November

artwork for Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells: 50th anniversary celebration
(Image credit: Press)

Pre-orders have now opened for Tubular Bells 50th Anniversary Tour: Live at the Royal Festival Hall – due out on 2DVD and 2Blu-ray via Cleopatra on November 18. The companion CD and vinyl editions are due for release on October 28.

The recording, filmed over three nights in London in August 2021, is presented in 4K HD and includes performances from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Circa Contemporary Circus. Both audio/visual packages also contain a feature-length documentary on the history of Mike Oldfield's iconic piece.

Says Oldfield, "It’s amazing to think that it’s 50 years since I started writing Tubular Bells, and I am touched that my music has reached so many people, all over the world, during that time." 

Oldfield was just 19 when he recorded Tubular Bells. Originally released in 1973, it was the very first album on the Virgin Records imprint and has since became synonymous with the horror movie, The Exorcist. It was also used by director Danny Boyle during the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Meanwhile, Tubular Bells' half-century celebrations will continue across the UK in 2023. Tickets are now on sale for next spring's orchestral performances.

The Tubular Bells The 50th Anniversary Celebration UK Tour dates:
Feb 3: Cardiff St. David’s
Feb 5: Brighton Dome Concert Hall
Feb 8: Bristol Hippodrome
Feb 9: Poole Lighthouse
Feb 10: Guildford G Live
Feb 11: Exeter Great Hall
Feb 13: Birmingham New Alexandra
Feb 14: Buxton Opera House
Feb 15: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Feb 16: Gateshead Sage
Feb 18: Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Feb 19: Leicester De Montford Hall
Feb 24: Basingstoke Anvil
Mar 2: Oxford New Theatre
Mar 3: Portsmouth Guildhall
Mar 4: Torquay Princess Theatre
Mar 6: Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Mar 7: Glasgow King’s Theatre
Mar 8: Perth Concert Hall
Mar 10: Coventry Warwick Arts Centre
Mar 11: Ipswich Regent
Mar 12: High Wycombe Swan
Mar 14: Manchester Palace Theatre
Mar 15: Reading Hexagon
Mar 18: Stockton Globe
Mar 19: Chester Storyhouse
Mar 20: Llandudno Venue Cymru
Mar 24: Swansea Arena
Mar 29: Harrogate Royal Hall
Mar 30: Sheffield City Hall
Mar 31: Bath Forum

Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.