Shadow on the wall - Mike Oldfield

'Shadow in the wall' by Mike Oldfield was taken from his 1983 album 'Crises'. Vocals on this track were performed by Roger Chapman, formerly from the band Streetwalkers. The single had an aggressive sound, very different from the biggest hit from the same album, 'Moonlight shadow'.

The single was a number 1 hit in Austria, reached number 10 in the Netherlands and stalled at number 95 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 218
Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Shadow on the wall' / 'Taurus 3'

Heaven's open - Michael Oldfield

In 1991, Mike Oldfield suddenly called himself Michael Oldfield and released his final album for Virgin Records, 'Heaven's open'. At a time of friction with his record company, Oldfield included some veiled attacks on Richard Branson on the album.

The single 'Heaven's open' featured lead vocals from Oldfield himself for the first time. The single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3970
Found: Record Exchange, London, August 5, 2009
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Heaven's open' / 'Excerpt I from Amarok'

Guilty (live) - Mike Oldfield

It's a wellknown fact that Mike Oldfield reached his artistic peak right at the beginning of his career when he composed 'Tubular bells' in 1971, the debut album released two years later would be the career-defining work that is still celebrated nowadays - most recently with a luxury 'ultimate edition' comprising a cd with demos, a surround sound mix and a hardback book. Oldfield has milked it a bit too, releasing a 'Tubular Bells 2' and 'Tubular Bells 3', a 'Millennium bell' and a seemingly endless array of cd and dvd releases.

This single is a lesser known Tubular Bells rarity. This live version of 'Guilty' is taken from Oldfield's 1979 live album 'Exposed' and contains a short Tubular Bells theme within the song. What's more, the B-side is an abridged version of the live performance of Tubular Bells which is found on 'Exposed'. I was really happy to find this single, because at the time I was making my own cd compilation of Tubular Bells rare tracks, the so-called 'Tubular best'. Now why didn't any record company come up with that idea?

My collection: 7" single no. 3034
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 26, 1998
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Guilty (live)' / 'Extract from Tubular bells (live)'

Moonlight shadow - Mike Oldfield

An early version of 'Moonlight shadow' was entitled 'Midnight passion' with vocals performed by British singer Hazel O'Connor. When Oldfield re-recorded the song with Maggie Reilly, a girlfriend of one of the roadies when he was on tour, Virgin Records were immediately happy with the song and wanted more pieces similar to it.

There was a long running urban myth (largely fuelled by the tabloid press) that the lyrics are a reference to the murder of John Lennon. Oldfield responded in a 1995 interview: 'It was originally inspired by a film I loved - Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism'.

The single was one of Oldfield's biggest hits, reaching number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Netherlands. Over the past few years, the song has been wrongly attributed to Kim Wilde on various filesharing networks.

My collection: 7" single no. 1894
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, May 2, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Moonlight shadow' / 'Rite of man'

To France - Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield enjoyed a commercial peak with his singles in the first half of the Eighties. He employed different singles to add vocals to his tracks, one of the most successful being 'Moonlight shadow' in 1983 with Maggie Reilly. He did a kind of reprise in 1984 with the single 'To France', also sung by Reilly.

The single was less successful in the UK, but in the Netherlands it peaked at number 3. Maggie Reilly reinterpreted the song in 1996 on her solo album 'Elena'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3783

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 20, 2009

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'To France' / 'In the pool (instrumental)'

Arrival - Mike Oldfield

'Arrival' was composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus from Abba, and recorded on their album of the same name. Mike Oldfield covered the track for his 1980 album 'QE2'. When 'Arrival' was released as a single, Oldfield created a parody of the Abba album sleeve, posing in his own Agusta Bell 47G helicopter.

Oldfield is good at making music, but unfortunately his opinions are less gifted. In 2007 he criticized Britain for being too controlling and overprotective, specifically concentrating on the smoking ban which England and Wales introduced that year. As if the world should make way for an addiction.

My collection: 7" single no. 3203

Found: Record fair, September 30, 2000

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Arrival' / 'Polka (live)'

Download: here

Guilty - Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield will be remembered forever as the man who created 'Tubular bells', the epic instrumental piece that was bought by millions. But since that debut album, he's released dozens of albums and a large quantity of singles. Most of his tracks are instrumental, although sometimes vocalists are hired in to sing along. On 'Guilty' the lyric is limited to the words: 'I'm guilty'.

I found this 12" single in a shop in Kensington, London, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw it was pressed on lightblue vinyl. It made the record extra attractive. Come to think of it, I might never have bought it if it were a regular black record... Mind you, the long version of 'Guilty' was worth it though.

My collection: 12" single no. 432

Found: Big Company Records, London, 2004

Cost: 2,5 pounds

Tracks: 'Guilty' / 'Guilty (long version)'

Download: here