History Trivia / MikeOldfield

* ChannelHop: Oldfield was originally signed to Creator/VirginRecords as their first artist. Virgin distributed his work worldwide, save for a brief period in 1980-1982 where he was licensed out to Creator/EpicRecords in the US, encompassing ''Music/TubularBells'', ''[=QE2=]'', and ''Music/FiveMilesOut''. Thanks to his relationship with the label growing increasingly strained over the years, Oldfield jumped ship to WEA in Europe and Creator/RepriseRecords in the States as soon as his contract was completed in 1991. He would remain on the labels until 2003, when he moved over to Creator/MercuryRecords, then went back to Virgin in 2014 during its stint as "Virgin EMI," having reconciled with CEO Richard Branson. Oldfield would then be shifted over to Creator/{{EMI}} when the label was revived in 2020.

* CreatorDrivenSuccessor: ''Amarok'' is this to ''Ommadawn'', as Oldfield had started work on ''Amarok'' with this in mind.. And of course the actual successor, ''Return to Ommadawn''.
* ChannelHop: Thanks to his relationship with Creator/VirginRecords growing increasingly strained over the years, Oldfield jumped ship to WEA in Europe and Creator/RepriseRecords in the States as soon as his contract was completed. He would remain on the labels until 2003, when he moved over to Creator/MercuryRecords, then went back to Virgin in 2014 during its stint as "Virgin EMI," having reconciled with CEO Richard Branson. Oldfield would then be shifted over to Creator/{{EMI}} when the label was revived in 2020.

* OneHitWonder: On ''Platinum'', "Punkadiddle" abruptly begins with Oldfield in the middle of a guitar solo, providing a jarring contrast with the previous track, the tranquil "Into Wonderland". This solo is actually meant to be a [[FadingIntoTheNextsong segue]] from "Sally", a track that was replaced by "Into Wonderland" at the last minute due to Creator/VirginRecords CEO Richard Branson's hatred of it.

** ''Incantations'', ''Platinum'', and ''Discovery'' went unreleased in the US until the early '90s when they were given CD releases through Caroline Records and Caroline Blue Plate. Material from the former two were originally cobbled together for the American-oriented compilation ''Airborn'' in 1980, while ''Discovery'' was simply hampered by Oldfield's European comeback not carrying over to the US market.

* BetterExportForYou: The original UK CD of ''Incantations'' truncated Part Three by just over three minutes; the US CD features the full track, which would carry over into subsequent reissues.

** Shortly after the release of ''Return to Ommadawn'', Oldfield expressed his intention to make ''Tubular Bells IV''. When the 50th anniversary edition of ''Tubular Bells'' was announced in 2023, it was revealed that the project had been scrapped and that a demo (billed as “the last-ever recording from Mike”) would be included on the new edition.

** Shortly after the release of ''Return to Ommadawn'', Oldfield expressed his intention to make ''Tubular Bells IV''. When the 50th anniversary edition of ''Tubular Bells'' was announced in 2023, it was revealed that the project had been scrapped that a demo would be included on the new edition.

* ContractualObligationProject: ''Amarok'' and ''Heaven's Open'' were made primarily to fulfil the remainder of his contract with Creator/VirginRecords, as Oldfield's relationship with CEO Richard Branson had grown increasingly strained over the years. To ensure that he would have the last laugh, both albums were loaded with jabs at Branson and Virgin, with the former album being made as uncommercial as possible (following ''Earth Moving'', in which Oldfield adhered to Branson's demands to the letter by making a pop album with no instrumentals).

--->"This got me thinking. If someone like him believes I'm an acoustic musician, then it showed how important that part of my career has been. So with all this overwhelming evidence, I felt it would be very exciting to do a project again along those lines. "

-->"This got me thinking. If someone like him believes I'm an acoustic musician, then it showed how important that part of my career has been. So with all this overwhelming evidence, I felt it would be very exciting to do a project again along those lines. "

** Played with in regards to 1974's ''Hergest Ridge'', which he re-mixed for a 1976 boxed set due to his dissatisfaction with the original mixdown, which was rushed. Oldfield made sure this re-mix was the only one used on future pressings, including [=CDs=], until the 2010 remaster, which included a new master and the original 1974 mix and master.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The North American pressing of ''Crises'', which swapped the side order and added the non-album single "Mistake" to the start of the pop side, never saw wide release outside of original LP & cassette copies and remains unreleased on CD. Ditto for ''Airborn'', the American-oriented compilation that originally stood in for ''Incantations'' until the latter's CD release in the early 90's.

** ''Incantations'', ''Platinum'', and ''Discovery'' went unreleased in the US until the early 90's when they were given CD releases through Caroline Records and Caroline Blue Plate. Material from the former two were originally cobbled together for the American-oriented compilation ''Airborn'' in 1980, while ''Discovery'' was simply hampered by Oldfield's European comeback not carrying over to the US market.

* NoExportForYou: As Oldfield's 90's success translated more spottily to the US market, ''Music/TubularBellsIII'', ''Guitars'', ''The Millennium Bell'', ''[=Tr3s Lunas=]'', ''Light + Shade'', ''Man on the Rocks'', and ''Return to Ommadawn'' all went unreleased in the region.
* OneHitWonder: Despite his clout as one of the only solo prog acts to receive major attention, Oldfield only had one charting single in the US, that being the ''Music/TubularBells'' intro (which wasn't even released with his permission). It went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, largely off of the popularity it gained from ''Film/TheExorcist'', but later single releases failed to crack the American market; the closest he got was Music/DarylHallAndJohnOates' cover of "Family Man" reaching No. 6.

** On that note ,''Music/TubularBells'' (and Oldfield's entire career) wouldn't have been nearly famous as it was if it hadn't been used in the soundtrack for ''Film/TheExorcist''. The single edit for the song was even made without Oldfield's permission by Virgin in order to capitalize on the success of the film. It's likely that the sales bump from ''The Exorcist'' led fans to seek out the Bonzo Dog Band as well.

** On that note ,''Music/TubularBells'' (and Oldfield's entire career) wouldn't have been nearly famous as it was if it hadn't been used in the soundtrack for ''Film/TheExorcist''. The single edit for the song was even made without Oldfield's permission by Virgin in order to capitalize on the success of the film. It's likely that the sales bump from ''The Exorcist'' led fans to seek out The Bonzo Dog Band as well.
** This very page wasn't created until Mike was mentioned in a Website/{{Cracked}} [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19647_the-6-most-elaborate-f-yous-from-musicians-to-industry.html article]].

** Of course, the original case of him receiving one was that
* CreatorBacklash: Notably [[AvertedTrope averted]] for his entire discography. Even ''Music/TubularBells'', which is basically the only thing he's known for outside of Europe at least, is exempt. [[WordOfGod In his words:]] "It's a great song, I don't mind if people know me for it."

** Shortly after Branson heard a rough cut of ''Incantations'' in the late 70s, Virgin began underpromoting Oldfield in their branding change to promote punk rock and New Wave artists over progressive ones. They also began pressuring Oldfield to write commercially viable songs to keep up with the times. This resulted in albums made in compromise such as ''Five Miles Out'' and ''Crises'', with one longer piece and several shorter ones; or in the case of ''Earth Moving'', all pop rock tunes.

** The North American pressing of ''Crises'', which swapped the side order so that the pop songs played first and added non-album single "Mistake", never saw wide release outside of original cassette and vinyl copies.
* OneHitWonder: Despite his clout as one of the only solo prog acts to receive major attention, Oldfield only had one charting single in the US, that being the ''Music/TubularBells'' intro (which wasn't even released with his permission). It went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, largely off of the popularity it gained from ''Film/TheExorcist'', but later single releases failed to crack the American market.
** Musicians Music/HallAndOates covered Oldfield's song "Family Man" on their album ''H₂O'' (which also included their hit "Maneater") and their cover reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. It would be the only other time a composition by Oldfield would chart in the US.