The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.

As with the band's previous three studio albums, The Wall is a concept album and deals largely with themes of abandonment and personal isolation. It was first conceived during the band's 1977 In the Flesh Tour, when bassist and lyricist Roger Waters's frustration with the spectators' perceived boorishness became so acute that he imagined building a wall between the performers and audience. The album is a rock opera that centres on Pink, a character Waters modelled after himself, with some aspects based on the band's original leader, Syd Barrett. Pink's life experiences begin with the loss of his father during the Second World War, and continue with ridicule and abuse from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother and finally, the breakdown of his marriage. All contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall.

The Wall features a notably harsher and more theatrical style than Pink Floyd's previous releases. Keyboardist Richard Wright left the band during the album's production but remained as a salaried musician, performing with Pink Floyd during The Wall Tour. Commercially successful upon its release, the album was one of the best selling of 1980, and as of 1999, it had sold over 23 million RIAA certified units (11.5 million albums) in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine placed The Wall at number 87 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Background[link]

Pink Floyd's In the Flesh Tour was their first playing in large stadiums, and in July 1977—on the final date at the Montreal Olympic Stadium—a small group of noisy and excited fans near the stage irritated Waters to such an extent that he spat at one of them.^[1] He was not the only band member who felt disaffected at the show, as guitarist David Gilmour refused to perform the band's usual twelve-bar blues encore.^[2] Later that night, while returning from hospital to treat an injury sustained to his foot while play-fighting backstage with manager Steve O'Rourke, Waters spoke with music producer Bob Ezrin, and a friend of Ezrin's, a psychiatrist sharing their car, about the feelings of alienation he was experiencing on the tour. He articulated his desire to isolate himself by constructing a wall across the stage between the performers and the audience.^[3] He later said, "I loathed playing in stadiums ... I kept saying to people on that tour, 'I'm not really enjoying this ... there is something very wrong with this.'"^[4] While Gilmour and Wright were in France recording solo albums, and Nick Mason was busy producing Steve Hillage's Green, Waters began to write new material.^[5] The spitting incident became the starting point for a new concept, which explored the protagonist's self-imposed isolation after years of traumatic interactions with authority figures and the loss of his father as a young child. To execute The Wall concept was to attempt to analyse the performer's psychological separation from the audience, using a physical structure as a metaphorical and theatrical device.^[2]

In July 1978 the band reconvened at Britannia Row Studios, where Waters presented two new ideas for concept albums. The first was a 90-minute demo with the working title Bricks in the Wall.^[6] The second, a project about a man's dreams across one night that dealt with marriage, sex, and the pros and cons of monogamy and family life versus promiscuity.^[7] The first option was chosen by the group for the new Pink Floyd project and the second idea eventually became Waters's first solo effort, a concept album titled, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.^[6]

By September, the band were experiencing financial difficulties.^[8] Financial planners Norton Warburg Group (NWG) had invested £1.3–3.3 million (up to £14.1 million in contemporary value^[9]) of the group's money in high-risk venture capital to reduce their tax liabilities. The strategy failed as many of the businesses NWG invested in lost money, leaving the band facing tax rates potentially as high as 83 per cent. Pink Floyd terminated their relationship with NWG, demanding the return of uninvested funds.^{[10][nb 1]} The band thus urgently needed to produce an album to make money. Because the project's 26 tracks presented a challenge greater than the band's previous albums, "Waters decided to bring in an outside producer and collaborator."^[6] He later said, "I needed a collaborator who was musically and intellectually in a similar place to where I was." ^[11]

At the suggestion of Waters's then girlfriend, Carolyne Christie, who had worked as Ezrin's secretary, the band hired him to co-produce the album.^[8] He had worked with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Kiss and he produced Peter Gabriel's debut solo album.^[12] From the start, Waters left Ezrin in no doubt as to who was in charge: "You can write anything you want. Just don't expect any credit".^[13] Ezrin, Waters, and Gilmour read Waters's concept, keeping what they liked, and discarding what they thought was not good enough. Waters and Ezrin worked mostly on the story, improving the concept.^[14] His 40-page script was presented to the rest of the band, with positive results: "The next day at the studio, we had a table read, like you would with a play, but with the whole of the band, and their eyes all twinkled, because then they could see the album."^[11] He broadened the storyline, distancing it from the autobiographical work Waters had written, and instead basing it on a composite, or gestalt character named Pink.^[15] Engineer Nick Griffiths later said of the Canadian producer: "Ezrin was very good in The Wall, because he did manage to pull the whole thing together. He's a very forceful guy. There was a lot of argument about how it should sound between Roger and Dave, and he bridged the gap between them."^[16] Waters wrote most of the album's material, with Gilmour sharing credit on "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell", and "Young Lust",^[17] and Ezrin co-writing "The Trial".^[14]

Concept and storyline[link]

The Wall is a rock opera^[18] that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolised by a metaphorical wall. The songs create an approximate storyline of events in the life of the protagonist, Pink, a character based on Waters,^[19] whose father was killed during the Second World War. Pink is oppressed by his overprotective mother, and tormented at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers. Each of these traumas become metaphorical "bricks in the wall". The protagonist eventually becomes a rock star, his relationships marred by infidelity, drug use, and outbursts of violence. As his marriage crumbles, he finishes building his wall, completing his isolation from human contact.^[15][20]

Hidden behind his wall, Pink's crisis escalates, culminating in an hallucinatory on-stage performance where he believes that he is a fascist dictator performing at concerts similar to Neo-Nazi rallies, at which he sets men on fans he considers unworthy.^[20] Tormented with guilt, he places himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall", opening Pink to the outside world. The album turns full circle with its closing words "Isn't this where...", the first words of the phrase that begins the album, "...we came in?", with a continuation of the melody of the last song hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters' theme.^[21]

The album includes several references to former band member Syd Barrett, including "Nobody Home", which hints at his condition during Pink Floyd's abortive US tour of 1967, with lyrics such as "wild, staring eyes", "Hendrix perm" and "Gohills Boots". "Comfortably Numb" was inspired by Waters's injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour.^[22]

Recording[link]

The album was recorded in several locations. In France, Super Bear Studios was used between January and July 1979, with Waters recording his vocals at the nearby Studio Miraval. Michael Kamen supervised the orchestral arrangements at CBS Studios in New York, in September. Over the next two months the band used Cherokee Studios and The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. A plan to work with the Beach Boys at the Sundance Productions studio in Los Angeles was cancelled. For a week in November they worked at the Producers Workshop, also in Los Angeles.^[23]

James Guthrie, recommended by previous Floyd collaborator Alan Parsons, arrived early in the production process.^[24] He replaced engineer Brian Humphries, emotionally drained by his five years with the band.^[25] Guthrie was hired as a co-producer, but was initially unaware of Ezrin's role: "I saw myself as a hot young producer ... When we arrived, I think we both felt we'd been booked to do the same job."^[26] The early sessions at Britannia Row were emotionally charged, as Ezrin, Guthrie and Waters each had strong ideas about the direction the album would take. Relations within the band were at a low ebb, and Ezrin's role expanded to that of an intermediary between Waters and the rest of the band.^[27] As Britannia Row was initially regarded as inadequate for The Wall the band upgraded much of its equipment,^[28] and by March another set of demos were complete. However, their former relationship with NWG placed them at risk of bankruptcy, and they were advised to leave the UK by no later than 6 April 1979, for a minimum of one year. As non-residents they would pay no UK taxes during that time, and within a month all four members and their families had left. Waters moved to Switzerland, Mason to France, and Gilmour and Wright to the Greek Islands. Some equipment from Britannia Row was relocated in Super Bear Studios near Nice.^[16][29] Gilmour and Wright were each familiar with the studio and enjoyed its atmosphere, having recorded there during the production of their solo albums. While Wright and Mason lived at the studio, Waters and Gilmour stayed in nearby houses. Mason later moved into Waters's villa near Vence, while Ezrin stayed in Nice.^[30]

Ezrin's poor punctuality caused problems with the tight schedule dictated by Waters.^[32] Mason found the producer's behaviour "erratic", but used his elaborate and unlikely excuses for his lateness as ammunition for "tongue-in-cheek resentment".^[30] Ezrin's share of the royalties was less than the rest of the band and he viewed Waters as a "bully", especially when the bassist mocked him by having badges made that read NOPE (No Points Ezrin), alluding to his lesser share of the album's royalties.^[32] Ezrin later admitted that he had marital problems and was not "in the best shape emotionally".^[32]

More problems became apparent when Waters's relationship with Wright broke down. The band were rarely in the studio together. Ezrin and Guthrie spliced Mason's previously recorded drum tracks together, and Guthrie also worked with Waters and Gilmour during the day, returning at night to record Wright's contributions. Wright, worried about the effect that the introduction of Ezrin would have on the band's internal relationships, was keen to have a producer's credit on the album (their albums up to that point had always stated "Produced by Pink Floyd").^[33] Waters agreed to a trial period with Wright producing, after which he was to be given a producer's credit, but after a few weeks he and Ezrin expressed dissatisfaction with the keyboardist's methods. A confrontation with Ezrin led to Wright working only at nights. Gilmour also expressed his annoyance, complaining that Wright's lack of input was "driving us all mad",^[34] and Ezrin later reflected "… it sometimes felt that Roger was setting him up to fail. Rick gets performance anxiety. You have to leave him alone to freeform, to create …"^[34] Wright had his own problems, a failing marriage and the onset of depression, exacerbated by his non-residency. The band's holidays were booked for August, after which they were to reconvene at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, but Columbia offered the band a better deal in exchange for a Christmas release of the album. Waters therefore increased the band's workload accordingly; booking time at the nearby Studio Miraval.^[35] He also suggested recording in Los Angeles ten days earlier than agreed, and hiring another keyboardist to work alongside Wright, whose keyboard parts had not yet been recorded. Wright, however, refused to cut short his family holiday in Rhodes.^[36]

Accounts of Wright's subsequent departure from the band differ. In his autobiography, Inside Out, Mason says that Waters called O'Rourke, who was travelling to the US on the QE2, and told him to have Wright out of the band by the time Waters arrived in LA to mix the album.^[37] In another version recorded by a later historian of the band, Waters called O'Rourke and asked him to tell Wright about the new recording arrangements, to which Wright allegedly responded "Tell Roger to fuck off …".^[31] Wright disagreed with this recollection, stating that the band had agreed to record only through the spring and early summer, and that he had no idea they were so far behind schedule. Mason later wrote that Waters was "stunned and furious",^[35] and felt that Wright was not doing enough to help complete the album.^[35] Gilmour was on holiday in Dublin when he learnt of Waters's ultimatum, and tried to calm the situation. He later spoke with Wright and gave him his support, but reminded him about his minimal contribution to the album.^[38] Waters, however, insisted that Wright leave, else he would refuse to release The Wall. Several days later, worried about their financial situation, and the failing interpersonal relationships within the band, Wright quit. News of his departure was kept from the music press.^[39] Although his name did not appear anywhere on the original album,^[40][41] he was employed as a session musician on the band's subsequent The Wall tour.^[42]

By August 1979 the running order was largely complete. Wright completed his duties at Cherokee Studios aided by session musicians Peter Wood and Fred Mandel, and Jeff Porcaro played drums in Mason's stead on "Mother".^[41] His duties complete, Mason left the final mix to Waters, Gilmour, Ezrin and Guthrie, and travelled to New York to record his début solo album, Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports.^[43] In advance of its release, technical constraints led to some changes being made to the running order and content of The Wall, with "What Shall We Do Now?" being replaced by the similar but shorter "Empty Spaces", and "Hey You" being moved from its original place at the end of side three, to the beginning. With the November 1979 deadline approaching, the band left the now-incorrect inner sleeves of the album unchanged.^[44]

Instrumentation[link]

	Comfortably Numb noicon Planet Rock listeners voted "Comfortably Numb"'s two guitar solos the greatest of all time.[45]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Mason's early drum sessions were performed in an open space on the top floor of Britannia Row Studios. The 16-track recordings from these sessions were mixed down and copied onto a 24-track master, as guide tracks for the rest of the band to play to. This gave the engineers greater flexibility,^{[nb 2]} but also improved the audio quality of the final mix as the original 16-track drum recordings were finally synced to the 24-track master, and the duplicated guide tracks removed.^[46] Ezrin later related the band's alarm at this method of working—they apparently viewed the erasure of material from the 24-track master as "witchcraft".^[27]

While at Super Bear studios Waters had agreed to Ezrin's suggestion that several tracks, including "Nobody Home", "The Trial" and "Comfortably Numb", should have an orchestral accompaniment. Michael Kamen, who had previously worked with David Bowie, was booked to oversee these arrangements, which were performed by musicians from the New York Philharmonic and New York Symphony Orchestras, and a choir from the New York City Opera.^[47] Their sessions were recorded at CBS Studios in New York, although Pink Floyd were not present. Kamen eventually met the band once recording was complete.^[48]

"Comfortably Numb" has its origins in Gilmour's debut solo album, and was the source of much argument between Waters and Gilmour.^[16] Ezrin claimed that the song initially started life as "…Roger's record, about Roger, for Roger", although he thought that it needed further work. Waters re-wrote the song and added more lyrics for the chorus, but his "stripped-down and harder" recording was not to Gilmour's liking. The guitarist preferred Ezrin's "…grander Technicolor, orchestral version", although Ezrin preferred Waters's version. Following a full-scale argument in a North Hollywood restaurant, the two compromised; the song's body eventually included the orchestral arrangement, with Gilmour's second and final guitar solo standing alone.^[49]

Sound effects and voices[link]

Ezrin and Waters oversaw the capture of the various sound effects used on the album. Waters recorded the phone call used on the original demo for "Young Lust", but neglected to inform its recipient; Mason assumed it was a prank call and replaced the receiver in anger.^[50] The call is a direct reference to an incident on the band's In The Flesh Tour, when Waters's call to his wife Judy was answered by a man's voice. Waters also recorded ambient sounds along Hollywood Boulevard, by hanging a microphone from a studio window. Engineer Phil Taylor recorded some of the screeching tyre noises on "Run Like Hell" from a studio car park, and a television set being destroyed was used on "One of My Turns". Back in the UK at Britannia Row Studios, Nick Griffiths recorded the smashing of crockery for the same song.^[51] Various television broadcasts were used on the album and one actor, recognising his own voice, accepted a financial settlement from the group in lieu of legal action against them.^[52]

Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 noicon The disco beat used in "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" presented a marked change from Pink Floyd's previous releases.

The maniacal schoolmaster present throughout the album was voiced by Waters, and actress Trudy Young supplied the groupie's voice.^[51] Backing vocals were performed by a range of artists, although a planned appearance by the Beach Boys on "The Show Must Go On" and "Waiting for the Worms" was cancelled by Waters, who instead settled for Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille.^[53] Ezrin's suggestion of releasing "Another Brick in the Wall part II" as a single with a disco-style beat did not initially find favour with Gilmour, although Mason and Waters were more enthusiastic. The bassist was originally opposed to the idea of releasing a single at all, but became more receptive once he listened to Ezrin and Guthrie's mix of the song. With two identical verses the song was felt to be lacking, and so a copy was sent to Griffiths in London, along with a request for him to find groups of children to perform several versions of the lyrics.^[47] Griffiths contacted Alun Renshaw, head of music at the nearby Islington Green school, who was more than enthusiastic about the idea:

I wanted to make music relevant to the kids—not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great—"We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control …" I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids.^[54]

Griffiths at first recorded small groups of pupils and then invited more in, telling them to affect a Cockney accent, and to shout rather than sing. He multitracked the voices, making the groups sound much larger than they were, before sending his recordings back to Los Angeles. The result was that Waters was "beaming", and the song was released, becoming a Christmas number one hit.^[55] There was some controversy when the British press reported that the children hadn't been paid for their efforts; they were eventually given copies of the album, and the school received a £1,000 donation (£3,000 in contemporary value^[9]).^[56]

Packaging[link]

The cover design is one of Pink Floyd's most minimal—a white brick wall and no text (the logo and band name is presented on a sticker). Waters had fallen out with Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgerson several years earlier, when the latter had included the cover of Animals in his book Walk Away Rene, and The Wall is therefore the first Pink Floyd album cover since The Piper at the Gates of Dawn not created by the design group.^[57] The LP's sleeve art and custom picture labels by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe tied in with the album's concept, with each of the four sides showing the eponymous wall in various stages of construction, accompanied by characters from the story.^[58]

Release[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[59]
Blender	[60][dead link]
Robert Christgau	B− [61]
Rolling Stone	(favourable) [62]

The Trial noicon The album culminates with Pink's internal trial, leading to the collapse of his 'wall'

When the completed album was played for an assembled group of executives at Columbia's headquarters in California, several were reportedly unimpressed by what they heard.^[63] Matters had not been helped when Columbia Records offered Waters smaller publishing rights on the grounds that The Wall was a double album, a position he did not accept. When one executive offered to settle the dispute with a coin toss, Waters asked why he should gamble on something he owned. He eventually prevailed.^[43] The record company's concerns were alleviated when "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" reached number one in the UK, US, Norway, Portugal, Israel, West Germany and South Africa.^[63] It was certified platinum in the UK in December 1979, and platinum in the US three months later.^[64]

The Wall was released in the UK on 30 November 1979,^{[nb 3]} and about a week later in the US.^{[nb 4][65]} Coinciding with its release Waters was interviewed by veteran DJ Tommy Vance, who played the album in its entirety on BBC Radio 1.^[57] Critical opinion of its content ranged from Robert Christgau's "too-kitschy minimal maximalism with sound effects and speech fragments"^[61] and Rolling Stone writer Kurt Loder's "a stunning synthesis of Waters's by now familiar thematic obsessions",^[62] to Melody Maker's "I'm not sure whether it's brilliant or terrible, but I find it utterly compelling."^[65] Nevertheless the album topped the Billboard charts for 15 weeks,^[66] and in 1999 was certified 23x platinum.^{[nb 5][67]} It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time in the US,^[64][67] between 1979 and 1990 selling over 19 million copies worldwide.^[68] In this sense The Wall is second only to 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon. Engineer James Guthrie's efforts were rewarded in 1980 with a Grammy award for Best Engineered Recording (non-classical).^[69] Rolling Stone Magazine placed The Wall 87th on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.^[70]

Reissues[link]

The album was originally released as a double LP, but was re-issued in the UK as a double CD in 1985.^{[nb 6]} A remastered version with new artwork was issued in 1994,^{[nb 7]} followed in 1997 by a digitally remastered double-LP.^{[nb 8]} A half-speed master vinyl double-LP was released in the US in 1981,^{[nb 9]} and a double-CD followed in 1983.^{[nb 10]} Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released the album on their Ultradisc format in 1990.^{[nb 11]} The album was re-issued as a double-CD for its 20th anniversary by Columbia in 1997,^{[nb 12]} and reissued by Columbia in 2000.^{[nb 13][64]}

Following the end of SonyBMG's rights to most of the band's catalogue, EMI released its own version in 2000.^{[nb 14]} The album was reissued in three versions as part of the Why Pink Floyd...? campaign, which featured a massive restoration of the band's catalogue with remasterings by producer James Guthrie: in 2011, a "Discovery" edition, featuring the remastered version with no extras; and in 2012, both the "Experience" edition, which adds a bonus disc of unreleased material and other supplementary items, and the "Immersion" version, a seven-disc collection that also adds video materials.^[71][72]

Covers[link]

The Wall has been covered by several acts, including Canadian alternative country band Luther Wright and the Wrongs, who recorded a bluegrass cover of the entire album titled Rebuild the Wall.^[73] Celebrating The Wall's 20th anniversary, as part of his "Out of Phase" project producer and artist Peter Mossman released The Wall 2000, an ambient electronic version of the album.^[74]

Tour[link]

During each performance of the band's subsequent The Wall Tour, a 40-foot (12 m) high wall of cardboard bricks was gradually built between the band and audience. Gaps allowed the spectators to view various scenes in the story, as Scarfe's animations were projected onto the completed parts of the wall. Several characters from the story were realised as giant inflatables, including a pig, replete with a crossed hammers logo. The tour opened at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 7 February 1980.^[75] One of its more notable elements was the band's performance of "Comfortably Numb". While Waters sang his opening verse in front of the wall, Gilmour waited in darkness at the top of the wall, for his cue. When it came, bright blue and white lights would suddenly illuminate him, astonishing the audience. Gilmour stood on a flight case on castors, held steady by a technician, both precariously balanced atop a tall hydraulic platform.^[76] At the end of the concert, the wall was made to collapse, once again revealing the band.^[77] Along with the songs in the album, the tour featured an instrumental medley, "The Last Few Bricks", which was played before "Goodbye Cruel World" to allow the construction crew to complete the scenographic wall.^[78]

Scarfe was employed to produce a series of animations for The Wall. At his studio in London he employed a team of 40 animators to create a series of nightmarish visions of the future, including a dove of peace exploding to reveal an eagle, a schoolmaster, and Pink's mother.^[79] During the tour relationships within the band were at an all-time low; four Winnebagos were parked in a circle, with the doors facing away from the centre. Waters remained isolated, using his own vehicle to arrive at the venue, and stayed in separate hotels from the rest of the band. Wright, returning to perform his duties as a salaried musician, was the only member of the band to profit from the venture, which lost about £400,000.^[42]

Scarfe's animations were also to have been used in the film based on the album, accompanied by live concert footage, but the latter proved too impractical to film. Alan Parker agreed to direct the film, which kept the animated sequences but also used professional actors in each scene, with no dialogue. Bob Geldof took the role of Pink. A modified soundtrack was also created for some of the film's songs.^[80] Pink Floyd The Wall was released in July 1982.^[27]

In 1990 Waters and producer Tony Hollingsworth created The Wall – Live in Berlin, staged for charity at a site once occupied by part of the Berlin Wall.^[81] Between 2010 and 2012, Waters performed the album worldwide on his tour, The Wall Live,^[82]. This had a much wider wall, updated higher quality projected content and leading-edge projection technology. Gilmour and Mason played at one show in London at The O2 Arena.^[83]

Track listing[link]

All songs written and composed by Roger Waters, except where noted. 

Personnel[link]

Pink Floyd^[84]

• David Gilmour – guitars, vocals, synthesisers, clavinet, sound effects
• Nick Mason – percussion
• Roger Waters – vocals, guitars, synthesiser, sound effects
• Richard Wright – organ, piano, Rhodes electric piano, synthesisers, bass pedals

Additional musicians (credited)

• Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
• Toni Tennille – backing vocals
• Joe Chemay – backing vocals
• Jon Joyce – backing vocals
• Islington Green School – children’s choir
• Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangement
• Bob Ezrin – orchestral arrangement

Sales chart performance[link]

Album

Singles

Selected album sales[link]

References[link]

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links[link]

• Analysis of the Film adaptation
• Pink Floyd The Wall at the Internet Movie Database

Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield, December 2006, at the Night of the Proms
Background information
Birth name	Michael Gordon Oldfield
Born	(1953-05-15) 15 May 1953 (age 59) Reading, Berkshire, England
Genres	Progressive rock, pop, Celtic fusion, world, new age, Neoclassical, Ambient, classical, experimental, minimalist
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, game designer
Instruments	Guitar, keyboards, Percussion, vocals, bass, glockenspiel, mandolin, banjo, tubular bells, Chapman stick
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Virgin (1972–1991) Warner Bros. (1992–2003) Mercury (2005–present)
Associated acts	Maggie Reilly, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, David Bedford, Anita Hegerland, Pekka Pohjola
Website	www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com

Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album Tubular Bells, which launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow".^[1] He is also well known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece, "In Dulci Jubilo".

Biography[link]

Oldfield's parents are Raymond Oldfield, a general practitioner, and his wife Maureen Liston, a nurse.^[2] His sister Sally and brother Terry are successful musicians in their own right and have appeared on several of his albums. Mike Oldfield was born in the Battle Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, and he attended St Joseph's Convent School, Highlands Junior School in Tilehurst, St Edward's Preparatory School,^[3] and Presentation College in Reading. When he was 13 he moved with his parents to Harold Wood in northeast London, where he attended Hornchurch Grammar School. He only stayed there long enough to take one GCE examination, in English, as he had already begun his music career.^[3]

Early career[link]

Oldfield's career began fairly early, playing acoustic guitar in local folk clubs. At this time, he already had two fifteen-minute instrumental pieces in which he would "go through all sorts of moods", precursors to his landmark 1970s' compositions. In his early teens, Oldfield was involved in a 'beat group' playing Shadows-style music (he has often cited Hank Marvin as a major influence, and would later cover The Shadows' song "Wonderful Land"). In 1967 he and his sister Sally formed the folk duo The Sallyangie and were signed to Transatlantic Records after exposure in the local folk scene. An album, Children of the Sun, was issued in 1968. After Sallyangie disbanded, he formed another duo with his brother Terry, called Barefoot, which took him back to rock music.^[4]

In 1970 he joined The Whole World – backing group to vocalist Kevin Ayers, formerly of the Soft Machine – playing bass guitar and occasionally lead guitar. The band also included keyboardist and composer David Bedford, who quickly befriended Oldfield, and encouraged him in his composition of an early version of Tubular Bells. Bedford would later arrange and conduct an orchestral version of that album. Oldfield is featured on two Ayers albums, Whatevershebringswesing and Shooting at the Moon.

Having recorded a number of demo pieces of music, which would later turn into Tubular Bells, Oldfield attempted to persuade record labels to take the project on with no success. In September 1971 Oldfield went to the Manor Studio, owned by the young Richard Branson and run by engineers Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth, to record as bass guitarist in the Arthur Louis Band. Branson already had a number of business ventures and was about to start his own record label, Virgin Records. After Newman and Heyworth heard Oldfield's demo they took it to Branson and Simon Draper. They eventually gave Oldfield one week to record at the Manor, during which Oldfield completed "Part One" of Tubular Bells. "Part Two" was then completed over a number of months.^[5]

Virgin years (1973–1991)[link]

Tubular Bells became Oldfield's most famous work. The instrumental composition was recorded in 1972 and launched on 25 May 1973 as the inaugural album of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label. The album was groundbreaking, as Oldfield played more than twenty different instruments in the multi-layered recording made in Branson's Manor Studio, and its style moved through many diverse musical genres. Its 2,630,000 UK sales put it at No.34 on the list of the best selling albums in the UK. In the US, it received attention with the opening theme appearing in the soundtrack to The Exorcist. The title track subsequently became a Top 10 hit single in the US as well and is today considered to be a forerunner of the New Age movement.^[6] In 1974, Oldfield played guitar on the critically acclaimed album Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt. In the autumn of 1974, the follow-up LP, Hergest Ridge, was No.1 in the UK for three weeks before being dethroned by Tubular Bells. Although Hergest Ridge was released over a year after Tubular Bells, it reached No.1 first. Tubular Bells spent 11 weeks (10 of them consecutive) at No.2 before its one week at the top. In 1979, Oldfield's music was used as the musical score for The Space Movie, a Virgin movie that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.^[7]

Like Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge is a two-movement instrumental piece, this time evoking scenes from Oldfield's Herefordshire country retreat. It was followed in 1975 by the pioneering world music piece Ommadawn, and 1978's Incantations which introduced more diverse choral performances from Sally Oldfield, Maddy Prior, and the Queen's College Girls Choir. In 1975 Oldfield recorded a version of the Christmas piece "In Dulci Jubilo" which charted at number four in the UK. Oldfield's 1976 rendition of "Portsmouth" remains his highest charting single on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number three.^[8]

In 1976 Oldfield and his sister Sally joined his friend and band member Pekka Pohjola to play on his album Mathematician's Air Display, which was released in 1977. The album was recorded and edited at Oldfield's Througham Slad Manor in Gloucestershire by Oldfield and Paul Lindsay.^[9]

Around the time of Incantations, Oldfield underwent a controversial self-assertiveness therapy course known as Exegesis.^[10] Possibly as a result, the formerly reclusive musician staged a major European tour to promote the album, chronicled in his live album Exposed, much of which was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham.

In 1975, Oldfield received a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition in "Tubular Bells – Theme from The Exorcist". In 1979, he recorded a version of the signature tune of the popular British Children's Television programme, Blue Peter, which was used by the show for 10 years.^[11]

The early 1980s saw Oldfield make a transition to mainstream pop music, beginning with the inclusion of shorter instrumental tracks and contemporary cover versions on Platinum and QE2 (the latter named after the ocean liner). Soon afterwards he turned to songwriting, with a string of collaborations featuring various lead vocalists alongside his characteristic searing guitar solos. The best known of these is "Moonlight Shadow", his 1983 hit with Maggie Reilly. The most successful Oldfield composition on the US pop charts during this period was actually a cover version — Hall & Oates's remake of Oldfield's "Family Man" for their 1982 album H₂O. Released as the album's third single, it hit the Top 10 during the spring of 1983 and was a hugely popular MTV music video.

Oldfield later turned to film and video, writing the score for Roland Joffé's acclaimed film The Killing Fields and producing substantial video footage for his album Islands. Islands continued what Oldfield had been doing on the past couple of albums, with an instrumental piece on one side and rock/pop singles on the other. Of these, "Islands", sung by Bonnie Tyler and "Magic Touch", with vocals by Max Bacon (in the U.S. version) and Glasgow vocalist Southside Jimmy (in other versions),^[12] were the major hits. In the U.S., the Virgin America airline promoted the song "Magic Touch" to a large extent, making it a success, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard album rock charts. During the 1980s, Oldfield's then-wife, Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland, contributed vocals to many songs including "Pictures in the Dark".

Earth Moving was released in July 1989, and was a moderate success. The album was the first to exclusively feature rock/pop songs, several of which were released: "Innocent" and "Holy" in Europe, and "Hostage" in the USA for album rock stations. This was, however, a time of much friction with his record label. Virgin Records reportedly insisted that any future instrumental album should be billed as Tubular Bells 2. Oldfield's rebellious response was Amarok, an hour-long work featuring rapidly changing themes (supposedly devised to make cutting a single from the album impossible), unpredictable bursts of noise, and a very cleverly hidden Morse code insult directed at Richard Branson. Although regarded by many fans as his greatest work, it was not a commercial success. His parting shot from the Virgin label was Heaven's Open, which continued the veiled attacks on Branson but was notable for being the first time Oldfield had contributed all the lead vocals himself. It was the only album he released under the name 'Michael Oldfield'.

Warner years (1992–2003)[link]

The very first thing Oldfield did when arriving at his new label, Warner Bros., was to write and release Tubular Bells II, the sequel to his first record on Virgin, as his final insult to his former label. It was premiered at a live concert at Edinburgh Castle. He then continued to embrace new musical styles, with The Songs of Distant Earth (based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name) exhibiting a softer "New Age" sound. In 1994 he also had an asteroid named after him, 5656 Oldfield.^[13][14]

In 1995 Oldfield further continued to embrace new musical styles by producing a Celtic-themed album, Voyager. In 1992 Oldfield met Luar na Lubre, a Galician Celtic-folk band (from A Coruña, Spain). The band's popularity grew after Oldfield covered their song "O son do ar" ("The sound of the air") on his Voyager album.

In 1998 he produced the third Tubular Bells album (also premiered at a concert, this time in Horse Guards Parade, London), drawing from the dance music scene at his then new home on the island of Ibiza. This album was still inspired by themes from Tubular Bells, but differed in lacking a clear two-part layout.

During 1999 Oldfield released two albums. The first, Guitars, used guitars as the source for all the sounds on the album, including percussion. The second, The Millennium Bell, consisted of pastiches of a number of styles of music that represented various historical periods over the past millennium. The work was performed live in Berlin for the city's millennium celebrations in 1999–2000.

He added to his repertoire the MusicVR project, combining his music with a virtual reality-based computer game. His first work on this project is Tr3s Lunas launched in 2002, a virtual game where the player can interact with a world full of new music. This project appeared as a double CD, one with the music, and the other with the game.

In 2003 he released Tubular Bells 2003, a re-recording of the original Tubular Bells, on CD, and DVD-Audio. This was done to "fix" many "imperfections" in the original due to the recording technologies of the early 1970s and limitations in time that he could spend in the recording studio. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of Tubular Bells, Oldfield's 50th birthday and his marriage to Fanny in the same year. At around the same time Virgin released an SACD version containing both the original stereo album and the 1975 quadraphonic mix by Phil Newell. In the 2003 version, the original voice of the 'Master of Ceremonies' (Viv Stanshall) was replaced by the voice of John Cleese, Stanshall having died in the interim.

Mercury years (since 2004)[link]

Mike Oldfield playing a PRS Custom 24 guitar at the Night of the Proms in December 2006.

On 12 April 2004 Oldfield launched his next virtual reality project, Maestro, which contains music from the Tubular Bells 2003 album and also some new chillout melodies. The games have since been made available free of charge on Tubular.net. A double album, Light + Shade, was released on Mercury Records in 2005, with whom Mike had recently signed a three-album deal. The two discs contain music of contrasting moods, one relaxed (Light) and the other more edgy and moody (Shade). Oldfield headlined the German Night of the Proms tour, consisting of 18 concerts in December 2006.^[15]

His autobiography Changeling was published in May 2007 by Virgin Books.^[16] In March 2008 Oldfield released his first classical album, Music of the Spheres; Karl Jenkins assisted with the orchestration.^[17] In the first week of release the album topped the UK Classical chart and reached number 9 on the main UK Album Chart. A single, "Spheres", featuring a demo version of pieces from the album was released digitally. The album was nominated for a Classical Brit Award, the NS&I Best Album of 2009.

In 2008 Oldfield contributed an exclusive song ("Song for Survival") to a charity album called Songs for Survival, in support of the Survival International.^[18] Oldfield's daughter, Molly, played a large part in the project.^[19]

In 2008 when Oldfield's original 35-year deal with Virgin Records ended, the rights to Tubular Bells and his other Virgin releases were returned to him,^[20] and then they were transferred to Mercury Records.^[21] Mercury issued a press release on 15 April 2009, noting that Oldfield's Virgin albums would be re-released, starting 8 June 2009. These releases include special features from the archives.^[22] On 6 June 2009, an International Bell Ringing day took place, to promote the reissue of his first album, Tubular Bells.^[22] The next two albums were reissued in June 2010 along with the launch of a new official web site.^[23] Incantations was reissued in July 2011.^[24]

In March 2010 Music Week reported that publishing company Stage Three Music (now a part of BMG) had acquired a 50% stake in the songs of Oldfield's entire recorded output in a seven-figure deal.^[25][26][27]

In 2010 lyricist Don Black said in an interview with Music Week that he had been working with Oldfield.^[28] According to German producer Torsten Stenzel, he was in a studio with Oldfield collaborating on a chill-out track for a forthcoming album by Stenzel's York project. In 2012 Oldfield was featured on Terry Oldfield's Journey into Space album.

Personal life[link]

Oldfield and his siblings were raised Roman Catholic, the faith of their Irish mother.^[29] In the late 1970s, Oldfield briefly married Diana D'Aubigny (the sister of the Exegesis group leader), but this lasted just a few weeks.

Mike Oldfield has seven children. In the early 1980s, he had three children with Sally Cooper (Molly, Dougal and Luke). In the late 1980s, he had two children (Greta and Noah) with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland. In the 2000s, he married Fanny Vandekerckhove (born 1977), whom he met during his time in Ibiza; they have two sons together (Jake and Eugene).^[30]

Oldfield is a motorcycle fan and has five bikes. These include a BMW R1200GS, a Suzuki GSX-R750, a Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a Yamaha R1. He also says that some of his inspiration for composing comes from riding them.^[31] Throughout his life Oldfield has also had a passion for aircraft and building model aircraft.^[2] Since 1980 he has also been a licensed pilot^[32] and has flown fixed wing aircraft, the first of which was a Beechcraft Sierra and helicopters including the Agusta Bell 47G which featured on the sleeve of his cover version of the ABBA song "Arrival" as a parody of their album artwork. He is also interested in cars and has owned a Ferrari and a Bentley which was a gift from Richard Branson as an incentive for him to give his first live performance of Tubular Bells.^[33] He has endorsed the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the Mercedes UK magazine. Oldfield also considers himself to be a Trekkie (fan of the popular science fiction television series Star Trek).^[34] He also noted in an interview in 2008 that he had two boats.^[34]

In November 2006, musician Noel Gallagher won a Spanish court case against Oldfield. Gallagher had bought an Ibiza villa for £2.5 million from Oldfield in 1999, but quickly discovered that part of the cliff-top property was falling into the sea. According to The Sun, the resulting court case awarded Gallagher a six-figure sum in compensation. Suspicion abounds in the music industry that the law-suit was initiated because of embarrassment that Gallagher brought on himself by not having a proper survey done on the property before buying it. This included making an immediate and noisy complaint about someone's yacht tied up at the villa's jetty before it was pointed out that the yacht came with the villa and was, in fact, his.^[35]

In 2007 Oldfield caused a minor stir in the British press by criticizing Britain for being too controlling and protective, specifically concentrating on the smoking ban which England and Wales had introduced that year. Oldfield then moved from his Gloucestershire home to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.^[36][37] He has lived outside the UK in the past, including living in Los Angeles and Ibiza in the 1990s, and Switzerland in the mid-1980s, for tax reasons. He also currently has a home in Monaco. In 2009 he decided to move to the Bahamas, and put his home in Mallorca up for sale; the asking price was around €3.5 million, but has since been lowered, and as of April 2012 is still listed as available for sale by a major international real estate agency.^[38][39]

Instruments[link]

Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist; however he considers himself to be predominantly a guitarist.^[40]

Guitars[link]

Over the years Oldfield has used a various selection of guitars, some of the most noted being:

• A 1963 (also quoted as 1961 and 1962) salmon pink (fiesta red) Fender Stratocaster serial no.L08044 – used by Oldfield from 1984 (Discovery album) until 2006 (Night of the Proms, rehearsals in Antwerp) – Sold for £30,000 at Chandler Guitars.
• A 1989 amber PRS Artist Custom 24 – used by Oldfield from the late 1980s to the present day.
• A 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster serial no. 180728 – the only electric guitar used on Tubular Bells and also previously owned by Marc Bolan.^[41] Oldfield has since sold the guitar and donated the money to the SANE charity. This guitar had been put up for auction a number of times by Bonhams in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with estimates of £25,000 – 35,000, £10,000 – 15,000 and £8,000 – 12,000 respectively.^[42][43][44]
• Various Gibson Les Paul and SGs – used by Oldfield extensively in the 1970s and 80s.

Oldfield used a modified Roland GP8 effects processor in conjunction with his PRS Artist to get many of his heavily overdriven guitar sounds from the Earth Moving album onwards.^[41] Oldfield has also been using Guitar synthesizers since the mid-1980s, using a 1980s Roland GR-300/G-808 type system, then a 1990s Roland GK2 equipped red PRS Custom 24 (sold in 2006) with a Roland VG8,^[41] and most recently a Line 6 Variax.

Oldfield has an unusual playing style, using both fingers and fingernails and several ways of creating vibrato: a "very fast side-to-side vibrato" or "violinist's vibrato".^[45] Oldfield has also stated that his playing style originates from his musical roots playing folk music and the bass guitar.^[3]

Recording[link]

Oldfield has self-recorded and produced many of his albums, and played the majority of the instruments that feature on them, largely at his home studios. In the 1990s and 2000s he has been mainly using DAWs such as Apple Logic, Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo as recording suites.^[46] For composing classical music Oldfield has been quoted as using the software notation program, Sibelius,^[16] combined with Apple Macintoshes.^[47] He also used the FL Studio DAW on his 2005 double album Light + Shade.^[48] Among the mixing consoles Oldfield has owned are an AMS Neve Capricorn 33238, a Harrison Series X,^[49] and a Euphonix System 5-MC.^[50]

Keyboards[link]

Over the years Oldfield has owned and used a vast number of synthesizers and other keyboard instruments. In the 1980s he composed the score for the film The Killing Fields on a Fairlight CMI.^[41] Some examples of keyboard and synthesized instruments which Oldfield has made use of includes Sequential Circuits Prophets (notably on Platinum), Roland JV-1080/JV-2080 units (in the 1990s), a Korg M1 (as seen in the "Innocent" video), a Clavia Nord Lead, and Steinway pianos among an almost endless list of others. In recent years Oldfield has also made use of software synthesis, such as Native Instruments products, notably on his Light + Shade album.^[51]

Discography[link]

Oldfield has had more than 30 charting albums and 25 charting singles on the British charts, and many more around the world.

Main albums[link]

Quotation[link]

NME – April 1979^[52]

See also[link]

• Sally Oldfield
• Terry Oldfield
• Kevin Ayers
• Maggie Reilly
• Rick Fenn
• Maddy Prior
• Anita Hegerland
• New Age music
• Electronic music
• Virgin Records

Bibliography[link]

• Moraghan, Sean. A Man and his Music (Biography). BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4196-4926-4. 
• Evans, Peter (1994). Music from the Darkness – Mike Oldfield, 1953–1993. http://www.mikeoldfield.org/info/features/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
• Branson, Richard (1998). Losing My Virginity. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-0648-6. 
• Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-1-85227-381-1. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mike Oldfield

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Oldfield

Official sites

• MikeOldfieldOfficial.com – The official Mike Oldfield website
  • Mike Oldfield official Universal store
• MikeOldfield.org – The official Mike Oldfield information service

Fan-based sites

• Tubular.net – The largest and most well-established Mike Oldfield website, for news and information.

Other sites

• Mike Oldfield at the Internet Movie Database
• Mike Oldfield at Allmusic
• Mike Oldfield on Myspace

Roger Chapman
Chapman in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Roger Maxwell Chapman
Also known as	Chappo
Born	(1942-04-08) 8 April 1942 (age 70) Leicester, England
Origin	English
Genres	Rock, Blues-rock, Art rock
Occupations	Musician Singer Guitarist
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Liberty Vertigo Reprise Windsong Mystic Records (UK) Castle
Associated acts	Family Streetwalkers Charlie Whitney Bobby Tench Jim Cregan
Notable instruments
Vocals

Roger Chapman (born Roger Maxwell Chapman on 8 April 1942 in Leicester), also known as Chappo, is an English rock vocalist.^[1] He is best known as a member of the progressive rock band Family, which he joined along with Charlie Whitney, in 1966 and also the rock, R&B band Streetwalkers formed in 1974. His idiosyncratic brand of showmanship when performing and vocal vibrato led him to become a cult figure on the British rock scene. Chapman is claimed to have said that he was trying to sing like both Little Richard and his idol Ray Charles. Since the early 1980s he has spent much of his time in Germany and has made occasional appearances there and elsewhere. He has an Artist of the Year award and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

History[link]

Chapman was originally the vocalist for Farinas, who released the single "You'd Better Stop" b/w "I like it like that" in August 1964. (However, lead vocals on that single were performed by Jim King.) He moved on to join The Roaring Sixties and were later re-named Family in 1966. In 1967 the first single was released, "Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens", something of a psychedelic classic. Chapman wrote most of Family's songs with Charlie Whitney and their debut album Music in a Doll's House was released in 1968. Their bluesy, experimental rock music gained them a reputation as a progressive underground band.

The release of A Song For Me (1970) and Anyway (1971) established Family as a fast and loud rock band also capable of producing the most intense acoustic music, in the British underground music scene, at that time. On 28 August in 1970 they appeared at the third Isle of Wight Festival. Although the band was popular in UK and Europe, success in the US eluded them and in 1973 they broke up.^[2]

Roger Chapman (1974)

Chapman formed Chapman-Whitney with Whitney, late in 1973. They signed to the Vertigo label and recorded an album Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers (1974), with a line-up including other members of Family and King Crimson, as well as Nicko McBrain, now with Iron Maiden. Chapman and Whitney morphed their band into Streetwalkers, who were a polished album-oriented rock band who used more white soul than Family had. They released Downtown Flyers (1975), moving on to record the groove heavy album Red Card (1976)^[3] which was released in the UK in 1976 and remains a much respected album by music fans and the music press.^[4] Two more albums followed before the band broke up in 1977, ending eleven years of the Whitney-Chapman musical partnership.

In 1979 Chapman began a solo career and recorded his first solo album Chappo.^[5] His backing band became known as The Shortlist at this time and he toured Europe extensively, during this period. Chapman's song "Shadow On The Wall" was recorded by Mike Oldfield, who used Chapman's vocals and included it on his album Crises (1983).^[6] He appeared as a guest artist on the second Box of Frogs album Strange Land (1986) singing lead vocals on two songs. Chapman went on to record Walking the Cat (1989) and Hybrid and Low Down (1990).