Entertainment For Lively Minds
Tubby Bells AFC
Posted by Freddie Owen on 7 January 2009 - 9:11am.
Almost missed the re-showing of the made-for-TV version of Tubular Bells last night. What a delight, and it's on BBC I-Player if you missed it.
Apart from Mike Oldfield, the only musician I recognised was Steve Hillage (I assume that was him under the woolly hat).
Anybody know who the other performers were ?
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Blimey
I remember watching that when it came out.
In 1974................
Lots of soft machine and henry cow alumni, I would wager. Wasn't Mick Taylor, he so eulogised by Heppo in his subs edition letter, in there too?
Some of them.....
The other guitarists were Mick Taylor of the Stones, and I think Fred Frith (who also played some bass). The keyboard player at the back on the right was Mike Ratledge, and I am guessing that the oboe player was Karl Jenkins also of Soft Machine. Anyone know who the percussion players were? On TB is is Steve Broughton on drums if memory serves.
It was fab though wasn't it. Though Mrs. T fell asleep half wat through.
Bu66ery Bo77ocks
Due to a slight oversight (I left the lights on) my car wouldn't start (or even whimper) when I left the office at 5pm yesterday. By the time the RAC had rescued me and a million other dimwits from the arctic wastes of Wiltshire, young mister Oldfield was already at the "Grand Piano" stage.
Thank Zeus for iPlayer.
Ahem!
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/progon-boxtonight#comment-80183
IN TV terms it was bizarre
There were hardly any close-ups. Built for the attention spans of an earlier age.
Agreed
The show was of a different age. The lack of introduction, the sombre ending, the bizarre cut-aways, it was very enjoyable. Interesting to put it against Oldfield's glitzy 1992 premiere of TB2 in front of Edinburgh Castle.
Although wasn't 2nd House an arts magazine show? Had they cut out the front half of the show where the Lauren Laverne of 1974 tells us what's on at the Hayward Gallery?
2nd House was originally presented by...
Melvyn Bargs wasn't it?
Agreed
And note, no viewers poll as to which of the guitarists should be voted off or required to eat insects, a disconcerting ability to actually play their instrument, a main artist whose role in the proceedings was so modest I imagine the younger viewer genuinely wondered which one is Mike, and no one lipsyncing in their underwear. No autocues - these dinosaurs actually KNEW THE CHORDS! Not to mention material clearly not based on a hotchpotch stirring together of the hooks from already successful records. Different times. Sigh.
Plus...
David Bedford was there too, I believe he was the one who sat and wrote the whole thing out for the other instrumentalists.
From what I believe a mostly-unchanged ensemble also performed Tubular Bells at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for several nights, then Mike didn't play another concert for about four years.
Too bad they didn't do Part Two as well.
Am I mistaken...
...but I'm sure I remember seeing Mike O doing Tubular Bells again at (I think) Wembley Arena - maybe late 70's?
Exposed
That was probably the Exposed tour which would have been 1979 or thereabouts. There was an live album (now on CD and DVD) from that tour - it's on youtube as well.
That's the one!
Wasn't that his first tour after his Exegesis-inspired 'coming out'?
I think so
That was part of the explanation for the name of the tour - that and the nude photos.
Despite being a bit of a fan of Mike's stuff I've never actually seen him play live. I wasn't aware of his stuff until after the Tubular Bells 2 premier (which annoyingly took place not that far from where I live).
Sorry James
Didn't look at that thread.
Also agree with David that it was very dated regarding the production. Did someone really think that the audience would turn off unless they livened it up with a few trendy graphics.
Almost as bizarre as the fast edit cutaway stuff on America by The Nice in Prog At The BBC. Arthur Smith was moaning about this technique in Grumpy Old Men last week, decribing it I think as coke editing.
...
So glad it's available on YouTube. I was sat there mouth agape at the fact there were these musicians doing Tubular Bells live....for the first 20 mins until the GLW decided it was time for her piano practice! I turned it off mumbling something about 'sure they'll show it again in another 35 years'....
Finally!
I had watched most of the prog shows over the last few days on BBC4, and during the 'Prog Britannia' docu, I was racking my brain trying to remember who Mike Ratledge (of the Softs) reminded me of. During the TB broadcast last night it came to me - Anne Elk from Python. I couldn't find a photo of Anne, but below is the sketch: