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Olivier Group: Super Admins Posts: 1868 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Dec. 15 2001, 22:24 The new book Ginger Geezer - The Life of Vivian Stanshall contains some mention of Mike with Vivian's involvement in Tubular Bells I, plus this story: Mike wanted Vivian to do the same reading of intruments for Tubular Bells II. He did agree to it, but on the day of recording, he did'nt turn up, so Tom Newman went to his house and Vivian was there blind drunk and when Tom asked if he was going to do it, he went to get dressed,and fell asleep. He later told Tom that he did not attend the recording on purpose because he was still annoyed at missing out on royalties from Tubular Bells I. (Thanks, James Questari) Back to top

Nacho Group: Members Posts: 230 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Dec. 16 2001, 12:02 But he finally managed to record it, as he can be seen on the splendid video of The Bell, and heard on some cd single remixed versions, later included in the XXV compilation !!! Back to top

Blue Dolphin Group: Members Posts: 1232 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Dec. 17 2001, 17:13 Heh. That's something new. I recall reading in a interview with Mike Oldfield that Mike said Vivian was in a other room of the Manor, watching tv with other residents and drinking, and Tom asked if he could come. And Vivian just walked in and recorded. But oke, we know Mike, he always tells a different story about the same subject in every interview. -------------- -The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it- Mike Oldfield - 1980 Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Dec. 17 2001, 17:23 Was the drunken Sailor's Hornpipe recorded at this time, or was that the result of another excursion? -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Dec. 17 2001, 20:17 How Vivian got onto the original Tubular Bells, is probably one of those stories half lost in the mists of time... Viv was around at The Manor, certainly, as he was recording there with The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. I would actually think Mike's reason for having him on the record may have something to do with a track done by The Bonzos a little while before, called (if I remember right) 'The Intro and the Outro', where Viv introduces a series of increasingly ridiculous 'musicians' ("...and looking very cool over there...Adolf Hitler on vibes..."). It would seem to me like Mike had heard this track and, on seeing Viv, thought that having him introducing instruments in a similar way would be the perfect touch for Tubular Bells... It could have been the other way round of course - maybe it was Viv's idea, or of course the suggestion of Tom Newman or Simon Heyworth. I can quite believe the story about how he was about the recording of The Bell for Tubular Bells II, though like Nacho says, he did record a version in the end. Mike did try a lot of different people before deciding on Alan Rickman, I believe. Viv had a lot of trouble with drink and drugs, so it's certainly believable that he was in that state when Tom Newman went to fetch him... I think the Sailor's Hornpipe was recorded at a different time to the introduction of the instruments - it seems to have been one of the many drunken moments during the making of Tubular Bells. Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Dec. 19 2001, 16:51 Thanks, Korg, for such an informative response generated in part due to the third-stupidest question I've ever asked! BTW, in checking OCLC--a bibliographic database listing the book, periodicals, and non-print holdings of thousands of libraries around the world--so far the only library listed for Ginger Geezer....(co-authored by Lucian Randall & Chris Welchis, bbtw)is the British Library. (Most libraries do not lend brand new books to other libraries, anyway...) But...I wonder if more libraries will be purchasing? FWIW and in that I've never read The Making of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, thinking that I could borrow a copy through interlibrary loan, I checked on its availability in libraries, and there are only seven OCLC libraries that seem to own: Harvard, the British Library, New York Public, Trinity College in Dublin, Oxford, Sabinet, and the U of South Africa. I was surprised by that: I'd have thought that it would have been more widely held (not that I'd expect to find in on the local library's shelf!). TTFN..... -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

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