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Marky Group: Members Posts: 390 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: May 14 2007, 06:59 Changeling confirms the story that Richard Branson wanted to call Amarok Tubular Bells II. Mike attributes his lack of willingness to comply with that request to Virgin's decision not to promote it. He describes how muich fun it was to make and that he regarded it as one of the best things he has done. We as fans know that it has a very positive reception among the devoted, too. So my thoughts are these: What if Amarok had been called Tubular Bells II? (a) How would it have sold? (b) What would reviews have been like? © If it had done well (which seems guaranteed) how would Mike's career have developed after? I think, on reflection, that calling the album TBII would have been wrong musically but right commercially. And ultimately, I think it could have completely turned Mike's career back on. For example: now a wide audience would have heard his astonishing creativity instead of TBII which was a sophisticated and pleasantly developed echo of the original. Mike may have felt like following the same spontaneous and natural recording process for his next album - and thus we may not have got the sort of music he did on Heaven's Open. We may never have got Tubular Bells III in that form either. Could Mike have adapted Amarok to play in Edinburgh? Would it have kept him in long instrumentals? Would the audience for them have flocked back? At the very least, looking back, I think Virgin should have re-released Amarok in 1993 after TBII was successful using some bell motif.  That would have caught the crest of the wave. If EMI owns the back catalogue to Amarok and Mike's next album is successful, I would still do that if I were them. After all, they never spent the promotion budget on it - if there was one! I regret Mike decided against re-naming the album - even though I cannot think of it as anything other than Amarok in my mind now. I would have accepted it as TBII at the time, albeit sounding totally different and unique. I wish he'd follow the same process as Amarok for more of his music! Back to top

clotty Group: Members. Posts: 237 Joined: Mar. 2006 Posted: May 14 2007, 08:16 Interesting discussion point Marky... Personally I'm glad that Amarok was not entitled Tubular Bells II. I loved the way the actual TB II turned out to be an updated representation of the original with enough new material to make it a new album, but enough reference to the original to justify its title. In contrast Amarok, to me at least, is so NOT Tubular Bells the sequel, that it would have been blatant commercialism to have named it TB II.  (Incidentally, I think it is a shame that TB III is so named.  My guess is that when releasing this album someone reflected on the old adage that someone once stated: A Mike Oldfield album with Tubular Bells in the title sells; one without, doesn't). Would Amarok have been more successful than TBII - I doubt it. If we measure success by chart position, then TB II was already successful reaching number 1 in the UK. I also think that Amarok is too much of an acquired taste to have been more successful. What do others think? -------------- Clotty Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: May 15 2007, 04:12 I agree with Marky, I think Amarok would have sold had it been called Tubular Bells II,  however I feel artistically that Mike was right not to call Amarok Tubular Bells II.  I think Amarok has more in common with TB than Ommadawn, but to me they're all different musically    . To me Amarok is Amarok, yes I'd love to like it but  no matter how I try I can't seem to really get into it.     Mike unfortunately seems to have become a "victim" of the success of Tubular Bells, that's to say an album of his doesn't seem to sell unless it has a reference to a Tubular Bell somewhere in the title. That said I'd be intereseted in seeing sales figures for Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn, as these are Mike's biggest selling albums apart from anything Tubular Bell related.     From what I've heard /read Mike was hot stuff ie indemand after the realease of TB 1973, It would have been interesting to see what could've happened had Mike taken Tubular Bells  out on the road   , just a thought. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Moz Group: Musicians Posts: 600 Joined: July 2005 Posted: May 15 2007, 06:52 Sometimes I wish that TB had not been Mike's first album but without losing any of the success it has achieved. I wonder what would have happened if Ommadawn was released first and TB was third?  Would Ommadawn have been as successful? Or, to keep to the original discussion... what if Amarok had been Mike's first album, and Tubular Bells his 2nd?  What might have happened then? -------------- Twitter: @benbarden Back to top

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