English composer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield began writing Tubular Bells 50 years ago, at the age of 17.The record, released two years later, was the first on Richard Branson’s newly ...

Tubular Bells 2003. With tape manipulation and an insane amount of overdubbing, Mike Oldfield's one-man-band approach to the original "Tubular Bells" taxed the limits of recording technology in 1972.

To produce Tubular Bells, Mike played more than 20 instruments and made more than 2,300 recordings. I was surprised how expensive tubular bells were to buy. '£20 for tubular bells?' I asked.