Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 69 - Mike Oldfield - The Bell

Nobody writes feel-good music as well as Mike Oldfield.  Today's song is taken from Tubular Bells II, the sequel to his groundbreaking Tubular Bells album released 19 years earlier.

Keeping with the same style as the Finale of Tubular Bells, The Bell replaces Vivian Stanshall with legendary actor Alan Rickman as the master of ceremonies and is a goose-bump-filled seven minutes of pure ecstasy-inducing musical bliss, culminating in the spectacular catharsis sounds of the tubular bells!

The song was released as a single in April 1993 albeit with a slightly shorter runtime and although the single only reached a rather poor number 50 in the UK charts, the album did much better, reaching number one on the UK album charts. 

I guess poor Mike just couldn't convince the younguns of the day to try something different instead of the usual tripe that was beginning to pollute the charts around the early to mid 1990s.

If you've never heard it before, take a listen.  Crank the volume up and blast those bells so that your neighbours start banging on your wall.  It'll be worth it.

And when you're done with that, listen to it from his live concert on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle.  

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 50 - Mike Oldfield (Moonlight Shadow)

If there's one musician who I can always count on to cheer me up with their music, it's Mike Oldfield.   

So, today's song is Moonlight Shadow.  Released in May 1983 as a single from the album Crisis, it spent 19 weeks in the UK Top 40 charts, peaking at an impressive number 4.

Also, another reason why I have picked this song today is because my daughter Kayleigh is working so hard to play it on her own on the keyboard.  Check the video out below of one of her attempts.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 19 - Pictures in the Dark (Mike Oldfield)

A little heard Mike Oldfield rarity from way back in 1985 - Pictures in the Dark.

The song did not do too great in the UK charts where it only reached 50, but it did fair better in Europe, reaching number 5 in Switzerland, 4 in Germany and number 3 in Austria.  I guess the Europeans have good taste in music.  Whatever the UK thought of it, I love it, and that's why it has made my list.

The video features Mikes's then-girlfriend at the time, Anita Hegerland, and the choir boy is none other than Aled Jones.

Also to note - that's not Mike singing but in fact singer Barry Palmer.

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 16 - Taurus II (Mike Oldfield)

The album "Five Miles Out" introduced me to the music of Mike Oldfield long before I first listened to his famous Tubular Bells for the first time, and the one track which stands out for me is the very first one from the album, "Taurus II".  As with most of Mike's earlier work (Tubular Bells, Incantations, Ommadawn etc.), this track is one long, continuous track (24 minutes) made up of several different melodies and styles.

I remember my sister copying it onto an old C90 for me in the mid 1980's...  I still have the tape!  (Shhh.... although I've bought several CD releases since, so that kind of makes up for having a naughty copy when I was a child!)

If you've never heard it before, give it a go...  Modern chart musicians can only dream of producing music of this quality.  As a big fan of Mike Oldfield, I still find this one of his best albums ever.

The copy my sister dd for me in the 80s.  Shhhh, don't tell anyone!