Mike Oldfield gained strength as a portion of his Tubular Bells debut was featured in The Exorcist back in 1973. Creating a uniquely eerie but beautifully atmospheric essence with the album, eventually Tubular Bells became a worldwide phenomena. To this day, and after multiple revisits, Tubular Bells is still as large an art-piece as it’s ever been. This year presents the 50th Anniversary of the classic. And it stands to reason why we should, once again, find ourselves with a new presentation of the original Tubular Bells.
On May 26, Tubular Bells will be reissued in new mixes that will include Dolby Atmos, hi-resolution Stereo and 5.1 mixes, as well as a scrapped Tubular Bells 4 demo. Unfortunately for many, the Blu-ray Audio is an exclusive Limited Edition release that could become costly for those living in places other than the UK. But if you want it, get to it.
The 2LP collection will be issued in a 2023 Half-Speed Master that includes the entire new master on LP1, and LP2 with the demo, the opening 2012 ceremony piece from the London Olympic Games, Tubular X, the YORK remix, and the original Tubular Bells single. The CD will provide the new 2023 master, and fill with the TBIV demo, the Olympic opener, and the YORK remix.
The 50th Anniversary of Tubular Bells will be celebrated by CD, DD, 2LP, and the previously mentioned BD-Audio collection that is packed with the 2023 Dolby Atmos mix, the 2009 5.1 mix, and the Quad mix. For Stereo, there will be hi-resolution mixes from 2023, and 1973. This will include a hi-resolution Stereo mix of the TB – IV demo also on the exclusive BD-Audio.