Tubular Bells

Released in May 1973, Tubular Bells has been dubbed “the biggest-selling instrumental album of all time”. It was the culmination of several years' work by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield who, at the age of 20, wrote and even performed most of the music on the album.

The first ever release by Virgin Records, the acclaim received by Tubular Bells brought overnight attention and credibility to the new label. This is often cited as the starting point for the success of the Virgin business empire and its founder, Sir Richard Branson.

In 2013, on the album’s 40th anniversary, Oldfield told The Guardian about the album’s recording process.