Well, that went well! A celebration of the music of Mike Oldfield with my 11-strong band of friends / musicians. Around £7500 was raised for the Mercury Rising campaign to renovate the Mercury Theatre facilities and surrounding piazza. Find out more here. A great gig with standing ovations for most of the second half! We’re not releasing a DVD or anything as it was to be enjoyed live but we’re hoping to do more in a year or so… Thanks to Nicole Faraday and my trusty band of merry musicians, Henrik Colding Niemann for his photos, and also the staff and crew at the Mercury Theatre for their collaboration and technical skills. It was great to meet up with the audience – friends from the Facebook groups from: Brazil, Spain, Austria, Germany, Denmark, America – and all over the UK including Manchester, Chester, the South Coast and… Clacton!

The online review was shared by Mike Oldfield himself on 12th April! Wow!

Glen Aldershaw, Colchester Gazette (Full review here) “I NEVER thought I would hear the music of Mike Oldfield played live. But here it was, in Colchester, and it was utterly brilliant. But this music should not remain unplayed and I am immensely grateful to composer Phil Toms that I was able to enjoy this wonderful evening. Twelve talented musicians, known collectively as Tubular Bells Live! playing very well chosen pieces from the huge Oldfield back catalogue. This band are just as good and could be just as big. It would be a travesty if this show did not tour.”

From the Mercury Theatre team: “Fantastic! Thanks to Phil and the team and of course to our lovely audience for their support!  #MercuryRising”

Quotes from the audience: 

“Saw TB Live on Sat, absolutely brilliant! Never thought I would hear MO’s music live. Return to O was superb! You must tour!”

“Congratulations, it was a fabulous performance!”

“I thought it was good last time, but this was even better. Thanks and well done to you and all the musicians.”

“Congratulations! A lot of hard work and a fabulous amount of money raised!”

“You’re an inspiration mate!”

“The excerpt of Return to Ommadawn was exceptionally well done”

“What a great weekend in Colchester. So much Mike Oldfield. So many great friends. Hope we can do it all again soon.”

“What a fab show by the most excellent Phil Toms and band. Great set list too!”

“Superb evening so much enthusiasm and hard work paid off”

“What an incredible experience your concert was – it was amazing. My brothers were big Oldfield fans but I wasn’t so hadn’t a clue as to what I was letting myself in for! I’m hooked now. Congratulations”

Here are some of the official clips from the band:  

More official video to follow!

Set list:

Hergest Ridge (Extract)

Incantations Part 4 (Extract)

Moonlight Shadow

Muse

Man on the Rocks

To France

Ommadawn (Extract)

Weightless / Top of the Morning

Man in the Rain

Return to Ommadawn

Tubular Bells part 1

Five Miles Out

Moonshine Finale

Punkadiddle

Guilty

Blue Peter / Portsmouth

 

Band members:

Phil Toms – Musical Director, Keyboard, Vocals – plus Tubular Bells

Mark Pulman – Keyboard (Main Piano)

Jay Stapley – Electric and Acoustic Guitars

Steve Smith – Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Banjo and Bouzouki

James Stirling – Electric and Acoustic Guitars

Hannah Wainwright – Flute, Piccolo, Alto Saxophone

Mark Roberts – Trumpet, Keyboard, Percussion – and Spoons!

Matyas Bacsó – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard

Mike McGibney – Fretted and Fretless Bass Guitars

Adam Morris – Marimba, Vibes, Glock, Tubular Bells and Percussion

Richard Nolan – Drums

 

Special Guests:

Nicole Faraday – Vocals

Nathan Brine – Master of Ceremonies (Associate Producer at the Mercury Theatre)

Steve Mannix – Chief Executive of the Mercury Theatre