One of the best ways to pass the time is to watch a ball game, whether it is basketball or football or whatever kind of ball game, but what better way to watch it than to be there in the stadium along with 2 million fans and spectators enjoying the game, yelling and cheering along!

Watching a sports event live at the stadium is totally different than watching it on the television. When you are witnessing a game in which giants are involved, you are not only witnessing history, but are being a part of it. Whether it is MLB, NBA or NHL events, the excitement and fun that you can witness at the event is indescribable.

To get a Nba, Nhl, Nba Tickets or Concert Tickets for the desired  event is a big problem. There are many websites and companies out there which provide you the tickets of all the events with ease.

If you are pondering where to look for tickets to the next WWF match, or the upcoming Britney Spears concert or Slipknot’s tour,  the world wide web is the right resource for you.

Even with a wide arrays of ways that music is shared and transcribed today, nothing compares to the experience of seeing your favorite band or artist perform live. Be there for all of their live performances with the help of online ticket vendors. With the internet, you have access to concert tickets to every performance in the country.

With a variety of ways of obtaining music and useful information about each singer, such as internet, cable television, and newspapers, magazines, there are lots of  kinds of music to choose from than ever before. Whether you are looking for tickets to John Mayer, DMX, Eminem, or anything and everything in between, the internet has the tickets to what you want. With such a wide variety of music out there to choose from, there is bound to be a performer out there for everyone.

There are a lot of directories and search engines on the net which can help you find a good website/ online vendor from where you can buy the tickets and be a part of history.

ACT 1 This is part 4 of the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert At The Royal Albert Hall in London. Cast: Jean Valjean – Colm Wilkinson Javert – Philip Quast Fantine – Ruthie Henshall Madame Thenardier – Jenny Galloway Thenardier – Alun Armstrong Eponine – Lea Salonga Marius – Michael Ball Enjolras – Michael Maguire Cosette – Judy Kuhn Grantaire – Anthony Crivello Gavroche – Adam Searles Young Cosette – Hannah Chick **I DO NOT OWN ANY CONTENT OF THIS FOOTAGE THIS IS A DVD RIP**

Related In Concert Articles

If you discover that your favorite band or artist is going on tour then there are several ways in which you could get tickets to see them live. Once upon a time you may have had to stand in line for hours just to be in with the chance of getting a ticket, but nowadays buying online is much simpler.

Firstly you should find out about the event – where it is and when it will take place. Many websites will update you with this information, and it is a good idea to look often to know when tickets go on sale.

Many tickets are hard to get hold of due to the fact they are so popular and can sell out within hours. To stay on top of the game you could join your band’s fan club which may give you access to presales before the general public. This will be more necessary with the most popular bands. You could also join the clubs of the venues themselves, but check the price of doing so in advance. Buying season tickets is a great way to get tickets to high profile events, though season tickets can cost a lot of money due to the potential of owning them.

Of course you can always try your luck when tickets go on sale to the general public. To be in with the best chance find out the date and time the tickets will be released, which should be detailed on a ticket or band website. Then as soon as it is time, phone up, queue up or go online and purchase tickets as quickly as you can.

If you still didn’t manage to get hold of the tickets then it is still possible you can get tickets in the future. Firstly you could try a website such as Stubhub which allows users to trade and sell tickets, though there is an added service fee for this. You can also try auctions on eBay, or local newspaper ads. Note that ticket prices may be higher than they would have originally cost.

Probably the best way to get your tickets are ticket brokers such as PerfectSeats, Ticket Bulldog or Bluefish Tickets. They will usually let you know of several events, artists and venues to help you choose the best deals and get the most out of your experience.

Whatever you do, try not to buy the tickets from outside the event as they could be counterfeit, stolen or at the very least will cost way over the odds. They may even be worthless if you are refused entry to the venue.

In short, the best way to buy your concert tickets is to book them as soon as they go on sale and to order online from a reputable retailer. If you do this then you know your tickets will be genuine and that they will arrive in time for the event. Now all you need to do is find out when your favorite artist is going on tour!

Find More In Concert Articles

To get a ticket for concerts, events, theatre, seasons and event especially at last minute is nearly to impossible and you will realize this to a great extend. Those events which are very popular and famous then their tickets get sold out before anyone could even think of buying. So those who cannot get the ticket will find to get it through other sources until they find one.

Well if you are one of them who are trying out to get the tickets from anywhere possible then you can try out getting one from online. There is always a chance of you to get a last minute sold out ticket be it for a concert, event, sports or a theater. But before going into this you must first keep few things in mind in order to be aware when buying sold out or hard to find tickets as it contains some complications.

Therefore I will let you some ways by which you will not only be able to save your time and money but it will also keep you away from being scammed.

While purchasing tickets online you must carefully take a look around the ticket website and the ordering section to check for online security in order to be sure that the ordering process is secure. If you are to enter your credit card information directly into the form when doing the payment for the tickets then you must check that the order page should be a secure page. You will get to know if the page is secured or not by seeing at the top of the page. If the page has a web address that begins with ‘https://’ then the letter‘s’ there means it is secure.

If you see that the ticket company that you have used is using a third party ordering service then you must check that the company is well known as well as trustworthy. You must check the contact information given in the site to see whether they have given their contact information and take a note of that so that you can call them later if needed. Now if you see that the company did not proper contact information or it doesn’t have contact information at all then be aware of these kind of companies since it can deduct your money without giving you the ticket. Check out Tickets at www.ticketfront.com

If you have some doubt regarding the company and you don’t know whether to trust them or not then you can always contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or visit it online. In this site you can find out that if there is any complain registered in the company’s name or not, how long is the company into this business etc.

When selecting a company check out that if it has any hidden fees or not. The companies who have these kinds of hidden charges generally camouflage the whole thing so that people do not go deep into it. On the other hand if they have any shipping charges then they are fine as long as they are reasonable.

When buying the ticket do look for the buyer guarantee because if due to any reason the event is cancelled then you will have a guarantee to get your money back. The company from whom you thought of buying the ticket should state their policy clearly and if it does not caters the customers needs then do not go for this company.

If you want to attend the sports, theatres, concerts and event desperately the buy the tickets before hand and not in the last minute sine there is no guarantee whether you will get the tickets at the last moment or not. But if there are times when you have to buy the tickets at the last moment then use the above guidelines so that you will have a peace of mind that you can also get a last minute or hard to find concert, sport, theatre, season and event tickets.

Related In Concert Articles

To get a ticket for concerts, events, theatre, seasons and event especially at last minute is nearly to impossible and you will realize this to a great extend. Those events which are very popular and famous then their tickets get sold out before anyone could even think of buying. So those who cannot get the ticket will find to get it through other sources until they find one.

Well if you are one of them who are trying out to get the tickets from anywhere possible then you can try out getting one from online. There is always a chance of you to get a last minute sold out ticket be it for a concert, event, sports or a theater. But before going into this you must first keep few things in mind in order to be aware when buying sold out or hard to find tickets as it contains some complications.

Therefore I will let you some ways by which you will not only be able to save your time and money but it will also keep you away from being scammed.

While purchasing tickets online you must carefully take a look around the ticket website and the ordering section to check for online security in order to be sure that the ordering process is secure. If you are to enter your credit card information directly into the form when doing the payment for the tickets then you must check that the order page should be a secure page. You will get to know if the page is secured or not by seeing at the top of the page. If the page has a web address that begins with ‘https://’ then the letter‘s’ there means it is secure.

If you see that the ticket company that you have used is using a third party ordering service then you must check that the company is well known as well as trustworthy. You must check the contact information given in the site to see whether they have given their contact information and take a note of that so that you can call them later if needed. Now if you see that the company did not proper contact information or it doesn’t have contact information at all then be aware of these kind of companies since it can deduct your money without giving you the ticket. Check out Tickets at www.ticketfront.com

If you have some doubt regarding the company and you don’t know whether to trust them or not then you can always contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or visit it online. In this site you can find out that if there is any complain registered in the company’s name or not, how long is the company into this business etc.

When selecting a company check out that if it has any hidden fees or not. The companies who have these kinds of hidden charges generally camouflage the whole thing so that people do not go deep into it. On the other hand if they have any shipping charges then they are fine as long as they are reasonable.

When buying the ticket do look for the buyer guarantee because if due to any reason the event is cancelled then you will have a guarantee to get your money back. The company from whom you thought of buying the ticket should state their policy clearly and if it does not caters the customers needs then do not go for this company.

If you want to attend the sports, theatres, concerts and event desperately the buy the tickets before hand and not in the last minute sine there is no guarantee whether you will get the tickets at the last moment or not. But if there are times when you have to buy the tickets at the last moment then use the above guidelines so that you will have a peace of mind that you can also get a last minute or hard to find concert, sport, theatre, season and event tickets.

The 3 tenors in concert 1994

Buying concert tickets online isn’t scary. In fact, it’s as easy as visiting Google and typing in the event you are looking for and follow with the word “tickets”. However, a couple of questions may come to mind when browsing for sports or concert tickets.

Why are tickets so expensive on the internet? On Ticketmaster the tickets are so much cheaper. Why should I pay twice as much for tickets?
Does the ticket broker website I am visiting really have this many tickets in their inventory?
How do I know the website I am visiting is offering the lowest prices on these tickets?

First, concert tickets are more expensive because you are not buying them off of the primary market but the secondary market. Brokers are buying the tickets before the fans can get them and selling them on the secondary market. The brokers make their money off of the arbitrage.

If you want decent seats to a hot event you are pretty much going to have to buy tickets through a broker. eBay has a decent inventory of tickets. Also, sites like http://www.ticketspot.com hundreds of thousands of tickets in their inventory which you can browse and purchase. Second, ticket broker websites don’t have the concert ticket inventory on hand that they are displaying on their website. Rather, they are displaying inventory from a central database of brokers which reads out on many brokerage websites. The websites mark up the tickets accordingly while acting as a “retailer” for the tickets.

Finally, the vast majority of the concert ticket brokerage websites have the exact same inventory. Because of this, the only decision you need to make is choosing which one to buy from. I recommend shopping around a couple of the websites to see what kind of markup they have on the tickets. Keep in mind, you are looking at the exact same pair of tickets, but the markup of the different websites is going to be different.

With the now permanent foundation of selling that is EBay—ticket scalping—or more kindly, ticket brokering, has become a mainstay in the secondary market of ticketing. While once a simple side project to make a few bucks, this periodic gamble has become the livelihood of many people.

Sounds good doesn’t it? I’m going to give you the 2 minute inside scoop on how to start selling concert tickets online.

First and foremost there are generally 2 types of sales for concert tickets, a general public sale, available to everyone, and a presale. A presale will take place anywhere from a week to a day before the public sale. To give an example of how this works, let’s say a concert has 1000 tickets to sell, they might have 200 tickets available through a presale and the rest will be available through the public sale. Why go for the 200 instead of the 800? Well for a big show, one that’s going to sell out, there will be thousands of people bidding for the same tickets come the public sale, but the presale is going to be password protected, so only a limited number of people are going to be bidding for these concert tickets.

Now all you need to do is be lucky, and get a good set of tickets. Once you get these tickets you need somewhere to sell them, like EBay for a lot of people. But also, for serious brokers, there are companies out there that will try and sell your concert tickets for you though third-party brokering sites like http://www.TicketSpot.com. These companies let you set your own prices, so you control your profits, and you won’t have to do any work after that, just sit back and wait for the sale.

Barbra Streisand Concert Tickets

Today Barbra Streisand concert tickets go for as much as eight hundred dollars. She was born Barbara Joan Streisand to a Jewish family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York then moved to another area in Brooklyn. Her father, Emanuel Streisand, a grammar teacher, died when she was only 15 months old, and she had a lifelong turbulent relationship with her stepfather, Louis Kind. Her well-intentioned mother, Diana Ida Rosen, did not encourage her daughter to pursue a show business career, opining that Barbara was not attractive enough. This criticism, many speculate, led to a lifelong insecurity about her appearance, despite enormous success in every facet of show business.

Many consider that her success in The Way we Were will always dwarf any success she has from Barbra Streisand concert tickets. The Way we Were the proverbial chick flick of two women who meet in childhood whose relationship goes through crisis and tumult while remaining friends.

Her music career spanning over five decades, began in her teens singing at a gay nightclub in Greenwhich Village in 1960. At this time she shortened her last name to Barbra Streisand moving the r and dropping the last a. In 1962 after the musical “Can Get it for You Wholesale” she signed with Columbia Records, her first score The Barbra Streisand Album won her two Grammy Awards in 1963. Her success continues to the point where she had three albums on the Billboards pop albums top ten.

Barbra Streisand concert tickets currently on sale for her fall tour beginning October 4th, 06 indicators from presale purchases estimate tour gross to be in the hundred twenty million mark making it the highest grossing tour.

Although an American Express presale for Barbra Streisand concert tickets is hardly a surefire calculation of tour gross considering ticket brokering, it is a professional estimation by ticket brokers of her possible success.

A sneek peek from Martina McBride’s “Live In Concert” DVD. In Stores and Online April 29th.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Track listing
All songs written and composed by Mike Oldfield, except “The Sailor’s Hornpipe” (traditional, arranged by Mike Oldfield) Side one
“Tubular Bells, Part 1″ 25:36 Side two
“Tubular Bells, Part 2″ 23:20 Personnel Mike Oldfield
Acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, Farfisa, Hammond, and Lowrey organs; flageolet, fuzz guitars, glockenspiel, “honky tonk” piano (piano with detuned strings), mandolin, piano, “Piltdown Man”, percussion, Spanish guitar, “double speed guitar”, producer, “taped motor drive amplifier organ chord”, timpani, violin, vocals and tubular bells. Additional personnel
Steve Broughton percussion
Lindsay L. Cooper string basses
Mundy Ellis vocals
Jon Field flutes
Sally Oldfield vocals
Vivian Stanshall Master of Ceremonies
Nasal Choir
Manor Choir (Simon Heyworth, Tom Newman, Mike Oldfield)
Simon Heyworth – producer
Tom Newman – producer
Trevor Key – artwork Album artwork
Tubular Bells picture disc.
The cover design was by Trevor Key, who would go on to create the covers of many Oldfield albums, and was inspired by Magritte’s “Castle in the Pyrenees”.[citation needed]
The concept for the triangular bell on the album cover art originally came from the idea of a bell which had been destroyed. Oldfield had come up with this when he had dented the set of Tubular bells used to record the album when playing them.
The “bent bell” image on the cover is also associated with Oldfield, even being used for the logo of his personal music company, Oldfield Music, Ltd. The image was also the main focus for the cover art of the successive Tubular Bells albums. Tubular Bells has also been issued as a vinyl picture disc, showing the bent bell on a skyscape.
The album cover for Tubular Bells was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of “Classic Album Cover” postage stamps issued on 7 January 2010. Significance Virgin
Oldfield approached (and was rejected by) many other established record labels. Some of the rejections were because they believed the piece to be unmarketable. Oldfield then played his demos to some of the Engineers at The Manor; they along with their boss, Richard Branson decided to give Oldfield a chance. Virgin Records released Oldfield’s debut album Tubular Bells as its first album; hence the catalogue number V2001 (although V2002 and V2003 were released on the same date).
The significance of this album to the Virgin empire is not lost on Richard Branson, who named one of his first Virgin America aircraft, an Airbus A319-112, N527VA Tubular Belle,. Prior to this Virgin Atlantic had named a Boeing 747-4Q8 , G-VHOT Tubular Belle, in 1994.
Virgin reissued the album a number of times including in 2000 for a HDCD release, and in 2001 for a SACD release. The HDCD release contained liner notes by David Laing, and the SACD release notes were by Phil Newell and Simon Heyworth.
The 50th Anniversary edition of the music magazine Music Week features the album in the official Top-Selling UK albums 19592009 at No. 35, noting it as the only entry that did not yield a hit single. In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #9 in its list of “40 Cosmic Rock Albums”. The Mail on Sunday free edition
On 22 April 2007 a British newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, gave away 2.25 million free copies of the full original Tubular Bells to its readers; this came in a card packet displaying the original artwork.
EMI (owners of the Virgin Records label) earned between 200,000 and 500,000 from the promotion. The Mail on Sunday claimed that their promotion increased sales of the album by 30%; however industry sources noted that this was not a significant rise for the title at the time. This cover-mount deal came prior to the album’s transfer from Virgin/EMI back to Oldfield.
Oldfield attacked EMI in the press for agreeing this deal with The Mail on Sunday, not having been consulted about it. He also stated that he felt that it devalued the work. In a poll conducted by Music Week, to whom Oldfield wrote a letter about the situation, 89.9% of people supported Oldfield’s view that EMI and The Mail on Sunday should have at least asked him about the cover-mount promotion. Mercury reissue
In 2008 when Oldfield’s original 35 year deal with Virgin Records ended, the rights to the piece were returned to him, and were transferred to Mercury Records On 15 April 2009, Mercury announced the transfer of Oldfield’s Virgin albums to the label, and the first album, Tubular Bells, was re-released in June 2009. Tubular Bells was released on various formats, which include an original vinyl, a new remix, a 2CD edition and DVD. There were also bell ringing events on 6 June 2009 at 6pm (a reference to 666, the Number of the Beast). Overdubbing
Mike Oldfield played most of the instruments on the album (see below), recording them one at a time and layering the recordings to create the finished work. Many of his subsequent albums feature this technique. Though fairly common in the music industry now, at the time of the production of Tubular Bells not many musicians made use of it, preferring multi-musician “session” recordings. Reference in other Oldfield works
Tubular Bells is the album most identified with Oldfield, and the reverse may be true as well, as he has frequently returned to it in later works. The opening passage of the title track on the album Crises and the piece “Harbinger” on the album Music of the Spheres are clearly derived from the opening of Tubular Bells. The opening is also quoted directly in the song “Five Miles Out” from the album of the same name, and the song also features his “trademark” instrument, “Piltdown Man” (referring to his singing like a caveman, first heard on Tubular Bells). Charts and awards
Tubular Bells stayed in the British charts for 279 weeks. It climbed the charts slowly but steadily, and did not reach number one for over a year. In doing so it displaced Oldfield’s second album, Hergest Ridge, which had been at number one for three weeks. This made Oldfield one of only three artists in the UK to beat himself to the top of the album charts.
The album sold more than 2,630,000 copies in the UK alone (making it the all-time 34th best seller in the UK), and according to some reports 15 to 17 million copies worldwide. The album went gold in the USA and Mike Oldfield received a Grammy Award for the best Instrumental Composition in 1975. In popular culture
The opening theme, which was eventually chosen for the 1973 film The Exorcist, gained the record considerable publicity and is how many people have probably first heard the work. Along with a number of other Oldfield pieces it was used in the 1979 NASA movie, The Space Movie. The opening theme has been sampled by many other artists such as Janet Jackson on her song “The Velvet Rope”. The opening theme has also gained cultural significance as a ‘haunting theme’; partly due to the association with The Exorcist.
In television it was also used in several episodes of the Dutch children’s series Bassie en Adriaan, an episode (“Ghosts”) of the BBC series My Family and an episode (“Poltergeist III – Dipesto Nothing”) of Moonlighting. It was also used in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf Diesel in 2002. It has also been used in other films such as 1974′s Black Christmas, 1985′s Weird Science, 2001′s Scary Movie 2, 2002′s The Master of Disguise and 2004′s Saved!.
The intro theme is frequently used during news segments around the time of Halloween. One such example is that during the 31 October 2008 edition of the WEAR ABC 3 show, In The Morning News the theme was used in the spirit of Halloween. Album progression Progression of part one
Part one opens with a soft minor key piano line in 15/8 eventually played verbatim by organ and glockenspiel. This riff is made up of two bars; the first bar is in 7/8, the second bar is in 8/8. These are later joined by a different line in bass guitar. An occasional punchy organ chord, first heard at about 1:02 in, accents this piece, harmonised by variations of the anchor line and a later incorporated 3/4 chord sequence, both in piano. At around 3:38, a gentle flute line appears, which segues into a section of 4/4-7/8-7/8-4/4, and at 3:40 an electric guitar line, the latter entirely in 4/4.
After the electric guitar line ends, a softer, fast guitar line (“speed guitar,” as listed in the liner notes) takes over, only to be interrupted by an acoustic guitar line overlaying the original piano phrase in major key. A gentle glockenspiel/piano piece takes over, but is later replaced with a fast piano section, occasionally accented with organ chords.
The mood of the first 6 minutes is soon replaced by edgy electric guitar and, afterward, a sinister organ chord, with various changes in pitch and duration. But, once again, a more refined, carefree section ensues, dominated by acoustic guitar and piano, eventually returning to the soft riff first heard just past four minutes into the piece.
A 3/4 variation of the original theme comes next, followed by eerie bass and organ playing, segueing into a bluesy shuffle on electric guitar. Once again, when it looks like the piece will be serene (when the nasal choir intervenes), another edgy guitar line ensues, with Oldfield incorporating both 4/4 and 7/8.
After that, a more folky acoustic line plays (with background tambourine), but is suddenly cut off by the tolling of bells. A weary acoustic guitar line follows, breaking into the eight-and-a-half minute “Finale” section, commencing with a double bass line in 5/4, polyrhythmically played with a 4/4 acoustic line. After the bass and guitar unite into the 4/4 line, the acoustic guitar tacets and is eventually replaced by soft pipe organ notes (usually lasting four or eight full beats) while the bass line plays.
After the 10-bar bass phrase is repeated several times, Stanshall introduces many of the instruments appearing in part one up to then, beginning with the keyboards, followed by glockenspiel and all guitars before the tubular bells are announced, the ensemble becoming more dynamic and full as more instruments are said. Finally, after the tubular bells enter, a wordless feminine chorus starts to sing. Farther down, the Finale ensemble fades out to an acoustic guitar solo, which takes up the remainder of part one. Progression of part two
Part two begins where part one left off; a soft, simple piece, this time, beginning with bass guitar and working up with other guitars and keyboards. The opening time signature is 6/8, but a later line plays a similar melody in 3/4 on various instruments, beginning with guitar. The opening section builds for five minutes before the second section starts, another 3/4 section at half tempo on acoustic guitar, with accompaniment on organ, mandolin and female chorus.
At around 8:48, the piece becomes edgy and surreal again, as the “bagpipe guitars” enter the piece (electric guitars with added effects to give it the bagpipe-esque sound), playing a 12/8 piece of sorts. About 11 minutes in, the intensity of the section builds as the guitar pitches increase and a heavy piano “roll” plays, climaxed by a sudden ascending glissando on the piano.
What comes next is one of the more unusual parts of the entire album. Tympani rolls and drum kit commence this part, highlighted by unintelligible “lyrical” utterances, growls, and screams by Oldfield (who, according to rumours, was then intoxicated), in rebellion against Richard Branson’s desire to include at least one part with lyrics to release as a single (at the time, Oldfield was not interested in adding lyrics to his music). This is listed in the liner notes as the “Piltdown Man”. Oldfield’s yelling is countered by various phrases on piano, guitars, and the “Moribund chorus,” with this piece abruptly ending on one loud shout exactly 16:29 in.
As expected, another quiet section ensues, a 12/8 piece mostly dominated by guitars and organ. This section gives an excellent insight into the psychedelic, spacey side of Oldfield (a similar sound to that of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour), which would also be present in his third album, Ommadawn. After about five minutes, an optimistic organ line plays, segueing into a climactic arrangement of “Sailor’s Hornpipe”.
“Sailor’s Hornpipe” begins with just one guitar playing at a moderately slow tempo, but quickly mutates into a gradually accented piece with multiple instruments (including an unlisted violin), ending with two loud, accented notes. In live performances, Oldfield would reach incredible tempos and “Sailor’s Hornpipe” alone became a staple of his concerts in the 1970s and 1980s. The recording sessions
Part one was recorded in just one week at The Manor Studio, owned by the founder of Virgin Records, Richard Branson. Oldfield used this studio immediately after John Cale’s sessions and just before the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band began recording.
Oldfield’s working title for Tubular Bells was Opus One; Richard Branson thought to call it Breakfast in Bed. One of the possible album covers for Breakfast in Bed included a boiled egg with blood pouring out of it. This cover was edited and used as the artwork for Oldfield’s final album with Virgin, Heaven’s Open.
Mike Oldfield had been performing “The Sailor’s Hornpipe” for years before including it on Tubular Bells, when he was the bass player with Kevin Ayers and The Whole World.
The only electric guitar to be used on the album was a 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster (serial no. 180728) which used to belong to Marc Bolan. Oldfield had added an extra Bill Lawrence pickup and has since sold the guitar and donated the money to the SANE charity.
According to Oldfield the “Piltdown Man” shouting sequence came about when he had practically finished recording the instruments for the section, but felt that it needed something else. The whiskey-fueled idea to create the “Piltdown Man” effect was to shout and scream into a microphone while running the tape at a higher speed. Upon playback the tape ran at normal speed, thus dropping the pitch of the voice track.
The album was recorded on an Ampex 2″ 16 track tape recorder, which was The Manor’s main recording equipment at the time.
To create the double speed guitar, the tape was simply run at half speed during recording. Oldfield also used a custom effects unit, named the Glorfindel box, to create the ‘fuzz’ or ‘bagpipe’ distortion on some guitar pieces on the album. The Glorfindel box was given to David Bedford at a party, who then subsequently gave it to Oldfield. Tom Newman criticised the wooden cased unit in a 2001 interview with Q magazine noting that it rarely gave the same result twice.
The set of tubular bells that were used on the album had been left by an instrument hire company after John Cale’s sessions at the Manor, at the request of Oldfield.
According to Phil Newell the Bass guitar used on the album was one of his Fender Telecaster Basses.
Vivian Stanshall, who was staying at the Manor at the time, was asked to introduce the instruments for the finale of part one. It was the way in which Stanshall had said plus… tubular bells which gave Oldfield the idea to call the album Tubular Bells.. “Sailor’s Hornpipe” and the original ending
When recorded in 1973, the coda at the end of Part Two, the “Sailor’s Hornpipe”, was originally preceded by a longer slightly bizarre rendition of the piece. Loud marching footsteps trot around the sound channels as the “Sailor’s Hornpipe” is played on acoustic instruments, whilst announcer Vivian Stanshall gives an obviously-inebriated, improvised tour of the Manor. According to the liner notes for the Boxed vinyl set, this session occurred at four in the morning after Oldfield, engineer Tom Newman and Stanshall had been drinking heavily. They placed microphones in the rooms of the Manor, hit record and set off on an unplanned tour of the house.
It was cut from the final version, though it can be heard “in all its magnificent foolishness” (from the liner notes) on Boxed. The Boxed set reinstates the section at the end of side two of Tubular Bells. It can also be heard on the SACD (multi-channel track only) This rendition of “Sailor’s Hornpipe” was included in the 2009 Mercury reissue of Tubular Bells.
In addition, a version of Tubular Bells was originally released on the Spanish Boxed compilation such that Part Two ended with the “Ambient Guitars” movement without the “Sailor’s Hornpipe” finale. Stereo record joke
The album cover contains humorous statements about the record being in stereo. Under the label’s logo on the back, there is the statement, “In Glorious Stereophonic Sound”, followed by the line: “Can also be played on mono-equipment at a pinch”. Another statement appears at the lower left of the back cover, a spoof on the warnings about compatibility between stereo records and mono equipment (or vice versa) as found on older albums:
This stereo record cannot be played on old tin boxes no matter what they are fitted with. If you are in possession of such equipment please hand it into the nearest police station.
The use of record vs. equipment warnings re-appeared on album covers when quadraphonic albums were marketed in the early to mid 1970s, and when Tubular Bells was later issued in quad, the American pressing removed the “tin boxes” statement. British and Australian quad pressings retained the statement, and most quad editions modified the top-right statements to read: “In Glorious Quadraphonic Sound; Can also be played on stereo and mono equipment at a pinch”. Some British editions also had a sticker on the front declaring the quad edition to be “for people with four ears”.
A small essay about the restoration and remastering of the album, included with the 25th Anniversary limited edition CD, concludes with: “…but (it) still can’t be played on old tin boxes”. Similarly, the re-recorded album Tubular Bells 2003 reprints the original warning with the word “still” (in italics) added.
A similar humorous “health warning” appeared on Oldfield’s Amarok album, which cautioned:
This record could be hazardous to the health of cloth-eared nincompoops. If you suffer from this condition, consult your Doctor immediately. Sound mixes Vinyl
There are four known variations of the vinyl edition of Tubular Bells:
The standard stereo black vinyl version catalogue number V2001 (white label with twins image)
A stereo black vinyl version catalogue number VR 13-105 (white label with color twins image)
A quadrophonic version, black vinyl catalogue number QV2001. The first 40,000 copies of this are not true quadrophonic but doctored versions of the stereo issue, thereafter the subsequent copies are true quadrophonic. Unfortunately there is no indication on the record label that this substitution was made.
The Picture Disc, catalogue number VP2001. This is a stereo remix of the quadrophonic version. The only difference being in the sound of the “Reed and Pipe Organ” during the ceremony of instruments. This version appears in the Boxed compilation. CD/DVD
There are a number of different mixes and masters of the album available on CD. Some of the known ones are:
Some CDs contain the original stereo mix.
The Boxed CD release contains a stereo remix of the quadrophonic version.
The 2000 reissue (HDCD) contains a remaster of the album.
The SACD edition contains the remaster and the Boxed quad mix.
In 2009 two new mixes were released, one a CD stereo mix and one a DVD (Dolby Digital) 5.1 surround sound mix. Chart positions
Year
Chart
Position
1974
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart
1
UK Albums Chart Single
“Mike Oldfield’s Single” was the first 7-inch single released by Mike Oldfield, in June 1974. In the UK it featured a re-recorded extract from part two of Tubular Bells as the A-side, while “Froggy Went A-Courting” was the B-side. The single was produced in response to an American single containing an excerpt from Tubular Bells which Oldfield did not authorise. This was included in the 2009 Mercury reissue of Tubular Bells. Demo version
Oldfield recorded the demo pieces of Tubular Bells in his flat in Tottenham, London in 1971. Oldfield recorded the demos on a Bang & Olufsen Beocord 1/4″ tape machine which he had borrowed from Kevin Ayers. Oldfield was able to overdub his playing by blocking off the erase head of the tape machine. The demos titled, “Tubular Bells Long”, “Caveman Lead-In”, “Caveman”, “Peace Demo A” and “Peace Demo B” appeared on the DVD-Audio version of the rerecording of Tubular Bells, Tubular Bells 2003.
Pieces from Oldfield’s 1971 demos appear on the 2009 Ultimate Edition Mercury reissue of Tubular Bells; also included on this release is a scrapped mix of the album from Spring 1973. Tubular Bells series
Tubular Bells can be seen as the first of a “series” of albums continuing with Tubular Bells II (1992), Tubular Bells III (1998) and The Millennium Bell (1999). Finally in 2003 Oldfield released Tubular Bells 2003, a re-recording of the original Tubular Bells with updated digital technology and several “corrections” to what he saw as flaws in the first album’s production. This version is notable for replacing the late Vivian Stanshall’s narration with a newly recorded narration by John Cleese. There is also a new mix of the original album on the 2009 Mercury reissue.
Other versions include a quadrophonic version in 1975 (“For people with four ears”, as the sleeve said; the quad mix was later used for the multi-channel part of the SACD release), an orchestral version in the same year (The Orchestral Tubular Bells with David Bedford), and different live recordings; a complete one can be found on the double live album Exposed from 1979.
Tubular Bells (1973)
The Orchestral Tubular Bells (orchestral version; 1975)
Exposed (live version; 1979)
Tubular Bells II (1992)
Tubular Bells III (1998)
The Millennium Bell (1999)
Tubular Bells 2003 (2003) 2000/2001 Re-issues
Personnel
Simon Heyworth – remastered at Chop Em’ Out Mastering, London March/April 2000
David Glasser, Airshow Mastering, Boulder, Colorado, USA March 2000 – master
Gus Skinas – DSD SACD
Ed Meitner – A2D and D2A Converters
Arbernaut/Rina Cheung @ Public Art Creative Consultants Limited – artwork
Jason Day – Remastered series co-ordinator 2009 Re-issue
In 2008 when Oldfield’s original 35 year deal with Virgin Records ended, the rights to the piece were returned to him, and were transferred to Mercury Records. Oldfield’s Virgin albums were transferred to the label, and re-released, starting 8 June 2009. Tubular Bells was released in four physical variations, and two digital variations in the UK and Ireland, and as five physical editions elsewhere. In April 2009 a new official website, TubularBells2009.com, was unveiled.
The new releases contain a new 2009 stereo mix of the album, which Oldfield created at his home in the Bahamas in March 2009. The “Deluxe Edition” contains a 5.1 mix, and the “Ultimate Edition” box set contains a 60 page hardback book, a poster, plectrums and other pieces such as rough mixes and demo versions of the album. There is also a vinyl version released as part of the Back to Black series.
The liner notes include photos from the time and text written by Mark Powell about Oldfield and the album. The DVD also states on its label that it features the “Tubular Bells film” from The Old Grey Whistle Test as visual content, however this appears not to be on the DVD and is also not listed on the outer cover of the album.
The Digital Edition contains the same audio content as the Ultimate Edition. The Vinyl Edition is part of the Back to Black series, and contains the original 1973 mix of the album. Downloads are also available from Back to Black website. The Vinyl Edition carries the original seascape artwork. Track listings Tubular Bells Standard Edition (1CD)
The Standard Edition carries the original artwork, and features the new mix, and two bonus tracks. UK release code number 060252735055.
“Tubular Bells Part One” (New stereo mix) – 25:58
“Tubular Bells Part Two” (New stereo mix) – 23:20
“Mike Oldfield’s Single” – 3:53
“Sailor’s Hornpipe” (Vivian Stanshall version) – 2:48 Tubular Bells / The Mike Oldfield Collection 19741983
Main article: The Mike Oldfield Collection 19741983
The Mike Oldfield Collection 19741983 carries a black cover with the Tubular Bells logo. It contains the same first disc as the Standard Edition as well as a compilation of some of Oldfield’s work from Ommadawn to Crises. Tubular Bells Deluxe Edition (2CD & 1DVD)
The Deluxe Edition carries the original seascape artwork with a “Deluxe Edition” white banner at the bottom. The DVD is incorrectly labelled as “Disc 4″, even though there are only three discs in this version. This is due to the same DVD disc being the fourth disc in the Ultimate Edition. UK release code number 270 354-1. CD one
As standard edition CD two
“Tubular Bells Part One” (Original stereo mix)
“Tubular Bells Part Two” (Original stereo mix) DVD
Audio
“Tubular Bells Part One” (5.1 surround mix)
“Tubular Bells Part Two” (5.1 surround mix)
“Mike Oldfield’s Single” (5.1 surround mix)
“Sailor’s Hornpipe” (Vivian Stanshall version)
Visual
“BBC TV 2nd House Performance” Tubular Bells – The Ultimate Edition
The Ultimate Edition comes complete with 60-page hardback book forwarded by Mike Oldfield, plectrums, poster, copy of manor studios recording brochure, concert ticket, postcard and recording information. The Ultimate Edition carries the white artwork, with the bell logo. UK release code number 270 353-9 (04).
CD one – (As Standard edition)
CD two – (As Deluxe edition)
DVD – (As Deluxe edition)
Vinyl – (As Vinyl edition)
Bonus CD
“Tubular Bells (long)” (demo) – 22:55
“Caveman Lead-in” (demo) – 2:44
“Caveman” (demo) – 5:06
“Peace Demo A” (1971 demo) – 7:01
“Peace Demo B” (1971 demo) – 4:22
“Tubular Bells, Part One” (scrapped first mix Spring 1973) – 25:13 Personnel
Mike Oldfield – Stereo and 5.1 mixes, project director
Adam Barker – project director
Daryl Easlea – project director
Joe Black – product manager
Mark Powell – master tape research, artist liaison
Pashal Byrne, The Audio Archiving Company, London – 24-bit digital remastering
Phil Smee, Waldo’s Design & Dream Emporium – artwork package and design
Trevor Key – original artwork
Rupert and Alex Smee – New Bell 3D image
Tom Newman – Recording engineer
Simon Heyworth – Recording engineer, Photographs
Barry Plumber – Photographs
Getty Images – Photographs
Ben Wiseman and Craig Thompson, Audio Archiving Company – Analogue to Digital Transfers
Emma Sutcliffe – Numbers Artwork
Where the original artwork has been used, the photographs have been digitally enhanced, and the bell logo has been replaced with a computer generated version. Interestingly the shapes of some of the clouds have changed, the image is a richer blue, the detail on the bell, including reflections, has been simplified, and what appear to be birds have been removed from the front cover image.
New artwork has also been used, such as the bell on a white background, which was used for the Ultimate Edition, and the bell on a black background, which was used for The Collection. Promotion
The 2 CD version, The Mike Oldfield Collection 19741983, containing the album and a disc of Oldfield’s tracks from 1974 to 1983 was advertised on television during the run up to Father’s Day. The actor Tom Baker, known for his role as the Doctor in Doctor Who, provides his voice-over for the advert. Baker also did the voice-over for the advert for The Best of Tubular Bells in 2000. The Collection charted at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart.
Some stores, such as audio/video retailer Richer Sounds, ran promotions for the album. The Richer Sounds promotion was a prize draw, where first prize was a Cambridge Audio Hi-Fi system and a signed copy of the Ultimate edition of Tubular Bells. Oldfield has also endorsed Cambridge Audio products. Single
The 2009 promo single cover.
A short old mix of the introduction piece was released as a promotional single, and was first played on BBC Radio 2′s Radcliffe & Maconie show on 26 May 2009. The single begins with the “Introduction” piece, then moves into the “Fast Guitars” and “Basses” pieces, before returning to the “Introduction” piano part.
Oldfield was interviewed on the Radcliffe & Maconie show on 23 June 2009, and he was also interviewed on Johnnie Walker’s Sounds of the 70s on BBC Radio 2 on 14 June 2009. The Crown Records cover of the finale of part one was played at the end of the Sounds of the 70s interview; Oldfield’s version was played on Walker’s show the following week. Post-release bonus material
When the album is inserted into a computer, and the user goes to the URL mikeoldfield.com/bonus, additional material is available, such as an interview with Mike Oldfield which was filmed on a rainy day in the Bahamas in May 2009. Since the creation of the releases more material has been unearthed, such as another alternate version (second take) of “Caveman”; these may be released on the website at a later date. Online store
The online store was opened to those who registered in advance on 15 May, and was publicly opened on 18 May. All editions of the album, an art canvas, and t-shirts displaying the Tubular Bells logo are available.
There was also a special limited edition of 500 signed and numbered copies of the “Ultimate Edition”, available from Oldfield’s website, but which sold out in under 24 hours. The signed element is a numbered certificate. Bell ringing events
On 6 June at 6pm (a reference to 666) there was a worldwide bell ringing event; Bells were rung in Milan (on MTV), Berlin (Siegessule), Brussels (Atomium), Paris (the George Pompidou centre), Sydney (Opera House), Japan/Narita (at a Japanese Temple) and London. Official footage has been shown on a YouTube video, linked from Oldfield’s website.
One of the events in London was at the British Music Experience at The O2. It featured the 29 piece Handbell Ringers of Great Britain and an Orbular Bells DJ set by The Orb. There was also bell ringing workshops and competitions. The Orb had previously remixed “Sentinel” from Tubular Bells II.
Photos from the London event were posted on the official website on 8 June. An official video of the events was uploaded to YouTube on 9 June. Equipment
For the 2009 remix, the following equipment was utilised. A screenshot of the session in Steinberg Nuendo was included in the Ultimate Edition book.
Steinberg Nuendo 4.2.2
Apple Mac Pro, 2 x Quad 3 GHz
24 Channel Euphonix MC Mix System and one MC Control
Digidesign 003 + audio interface
Dynaudio Acoustic Air Series networking 5.1 loudspeaker system
Solid State Logic Duende
TCC Electronic Powercore
DVR 2 digital vintage reverb
Coffee machine Live performances
There have been a number of live performances of the work. It is typically one of the pieces that Oldfield plays at the majority of his concerts, due to its popularity. BBC Second House performance
Footage exists of a live-in-the-studio performance for the BBC, filmed on 30 November 1973, originally broadcast on BBC2 on 1 December, with a cast including Oldfield, his brother Terry (flute), Fred Frith (and other members of Henry Cow), Steve Hillage, Pierre Moerlen, Tom Newman, Mike Ratledge, Mick Taylor, Karl Jenkins and others. It includes a new part for oboe. This has been released on the Elements DVD and is on the 2009 reissue of Tubular Bells. Live releases
Live video performances are available on the following releases:
Exposed
The Essential Live
Live at Montreux 1981
Elements (BBC 2nd House, part one)
Tubular Bells (2009 reissue, Deluxe/Ultimate Edition, BBC 2nd House, part one)
The Art in Heaven Concert (only an excerpt from part one)
Live audio releases are on the following albums:
The Orchestral Tubular Bells (orchestral arrangement)
Exposed
Airborn
Night of the Proms 2006/Best of, Volume 2 (CD, excerpt from part one) Cover versions
Various sections of Tubular Bells have been covered by many artists, with the most used part being the introduction piano piece.
Lol Coxhill recorded a very short track of “doubled and echoed flexatones” (a flexatone is a hand percussion instrument consisting of two balls striking a piece of metal, which makes a “spooky” sound effect), titled “Tubercular Balls” on his 1974 Caroline Records half-album, …Oh Really? (the other side being The Story So Far… by Stephen Miller, a.k.a. Steve Miller, ex Caravan; the album is often referred to by a combination of its two titles: The Story So Far … Oh Really?).
The Champs Boys Orchestra released a short rendition of Tubular Bells in 1976.
Thrash metal band Possessed played the intro in the first song of the record Seven Churches (in 1985), which is titled “The Exorcist”.
Paul Hardcastle based his 1985 single “19″ around the piano theme of Tubular Bells.
Another thrash metal band called Death Angel played the main theme in the title track of the album The Ultra-Violence in 1987.
Book of Love opened their 1988 album Lullaby with a cover version, stretched to 4/4 time by adding stretching a note to make it danceable.
Ed Starink made an abridged cover for an album Synthesizer Greatest (the first album in a multi-volume series) that was released in 1989. Tubular Bells appears only on the CD-version as a “bonus track”. Other tracks on the album are cover versions of famous synthesizer songs but the original Tubular Bells features no synthesizer.
Italian Keyboarder Claudio Simonetti covered the song on his Days of Confusion album in 1992.
American artist Tori Amos has frequently been using the opening Tubular Bells theme in her live shows. It began during the 1996 Dew Drop Inn Tour where she would let “Father Lucifer” segue into Tubular Bells on the piano while singing words from Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” as well as playing it on the harpsichord during songs “Love Song” (a Cure cover) and “Bells for Her” (from the album Under the Pink), usually while mixing in lyrics from a third song such as Bjrk’s “Hyperballad” or “Blue Skies”. It appeared again in 2005 as part of “Yes, Anastasia” and on the current 2007 tour promoting her album American Doll Posse it is being performed with full band as an intro to “Devils and Gods”.
Forma Tadre use the intro guitars from the second part of Tubular Bells in their song “Automate” on the 1998 album of the same name. Their version is done with synth and only repeats the first two bars.
Therapy? jokingly covered the opening theme live in 1998 as part of a medley, which opened with “Tubular Bells”, segued into Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law”, and ended with their own “Nowhere”.
Duo Sonare, a German classical guitar duo, made a complete rerecording of Tubular Bells for two guitars in 2000.
Rapper Tech N9ne used a version of the intro in the song “Be Warned” in 2002, only he moved it to 4/4 time.
Interactivo, lead by bandleader Roberto Carcasss, based their 2005 Cuban jazz-funk arrangement entitled Escriba y Lea Con las Tubular Bells on themes from late in the second half of Tubular Bells, Part One.
Finnish a cappella performer Paska recorded an abridged version for his 2005 album Women Are From Venus, Men From Anus. Paska has also performed the song at his live performances. In a concert on 1 October 2007, before performing it, Ari Peltonen gave a speech about his hatred towards the song and progressive rock.
Crown Records – iTunes download – A cover of Tubular Bells by the Crown Star Records studio musicians.
Marcel Bergmann made two arrangements of Tubular Bells “Part One”, in 2005 (for two pianos and two synthesizers as well as four pianos); A CD with both versions was released by Brilliant Classics in 2008.
California Guitar Trio covers most of the first side of the original album on their album Echoes released in late March 2008.
Tubular Bells for Two – in April and July 2009, in association with Universal Music Australia, two multi-instrumentalists Aidan Roberts and Daniel Holdsworth performed the work live in its entirety, in two exclusive performances in Sydney. Holdsworth and Roberts had spent 9 months arranging and rehearsing the work, and in order to represent Oldfield’s complex original arrangements they utitilised loop pedals, multiple percussion and keyboard setups, various guitars and a custom-made set of abstract tubular bells. Holdsworth and Roberts made a recorded version of their arrangement but for copyright reasons it has not been released.
Furthermore, many dance acts and other artists have used the intro to Tubular Bells as the basis for their songs. A long list can be found at Rainer Muenz’ discography. Computer games Commodore 64
With the aid of the software house CRL and distributor Nu Wave, Mike Oldfield released an interactive Commodore 64 version of the album in 1986, which utilised the computer’s SID sound chip to play back a simplified re-arrangement of the album, accompanied by some simple 2D visual effects.
The “interactivity” offered by the album/program was limited to controlling the speed and quantity of the visual effects, tuning the sound’s volume and filtering, and skipping to any part of the album. Maestro
In 2004 Oldfield launched a virtual reality project called Maestro which contains music from the re-recorded Tubular Bells album (Tubular Bells 2003). The original title of the game was The Tube World. This was the second game which was released under the MusicVR banner, the first being Tres Lunas. MusicVR set out to be a real-time virtual reality experience combining imagery and music, as a non-violent and essentially a non-goal driven game. References
^ “Tubular Bells ring out across world at 666″. The Evening Standard. 2009-06-02. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23702477-details/Tubular+Bells+ring+out+across+world+at+666/article.do. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
^ “Orb, bellringers to play Tubular Bells”. Digitalspy. 2009-06-03. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a158051/orb-bellringers-to-play-tubular-bells.html. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
^ “The Orb To Perform Tubular Bells”. Undercover.com.au. 2009-05-31. http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=8412. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
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^ Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling – Autobiography of Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books. pp. 128, 140. ISBN 978-1852273811. 
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^ Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling – Autobiography of Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books. pp. 111. ISBN 978-1852273811. 
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^ “About”. Tubular Bells 2009.com. http://tubularbells2009.com/about.php. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
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^ International Bell Day 6 June 2009 at YouTube
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^ “Echoes”. Acoustic Guitar Central. http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=24174. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
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^ “GamEnd”. Vaz Comics. http://www.vazcomics.org/mamend/gamend/endless5.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-05. 
^ “Tubular Bells game”. Gamerbase64. http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=9745&d=18&h=0. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
^ “Talk time: Mike Oldfield”. The Guardian. 2003-07-31. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1008870,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-05.  Further reading
Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield (Music score for piano or guitar, analysis by David Bedford, text by Karl Dallas, photos by David Bailey and others). New York, London, Sydney: Wise Publications. ISBN 0860012492.  External links
TubularBells2009.com
Tubular Bells store at Band Stores
Mike Oldfield Discography – Tubular Bells at Tubular.net
Preceded by
Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield
UK number one album
5 October 1974 11 October 1974
Succeeded by
Rollin’ by Bay City Rollers
Preceded by
Band on the Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
20 May 16 June 1974
Succeeded by
The Sting (soundtrack) by Various artists
v  d  e
Mike Oldfield
Albums
Studio albums: Tubular Bells  Hergest Ridge  Ommadawn  Incantations  Platinum  QE2  Five Miles Out  Crises  Discovery  The Killing Fields  Islands  Earth Moving  Amarok  Heaven’s Open  Tubular Bells II  The Songs of Distant Earth  Voyager  Tubular Bells III  Guitars  The Millennium Bell  Tr3s Lunas  Tubular Bells 2003  Light + Shade
Orchestral albums: The Orchestral Tubular Bells  Music of the Spheres
Live albums: Exposed
Singles
“Mike Oldfield’s Single”  “Don Alfonso”  “In Dulci Jubilo”  “Portsmouth”  “William Tell Overture”  “Cuckoo Song”  “Guilty”  “Blue Peter”  “Arrival”  “Sheba / Wonderful Land”  “Five Miles Out”  “Family Man”  “Mistake”  “Moonlight Shadow”  “Shadow on the Wall”  “Crime of Passion”  “To France”  “Tricks of the Light”  “tude”  “Pictures in the Dark”  “Shine”  “In High Places”  “Islands”  “The Time Has Come”  “Magic Touch”  “Flying Start”  “Earth Moving”  “Innocent”  “(One Glance Is) Holy”  “Heaven’s Open”  “Gimme Back”  “Sentinel”  “Tattoo”  “The Bell”  “Hibernaculum”  “Let There Be Light”  “Women of Ireland XXV”  “Man in the Rain”  “Far Above the Clouds”  “To Be Free”  “Thou Art in Heaven”  “Spheres”
EPs and other songs
“Two Ships”  “Child of Allah”  “Take Four”  “The Singles”  “The Mike Oldfield EP”  “Foreign Affair”  “The X-Files Theme”  “Introduction 2003″  “Surfing”
Video albums
The Space Movie  Exposed  The Essential Live  Live at Montreux 1981  The Wind Chimes  Tubular Bells II Live  Elements  Tubular Bells III Live  The Art in Heaven Concert
Compilation albums
Boxed  Music Wonderland  The Complete Mike Oldfield  Elements 4 CD Boxset  Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield  XXV: The Essential  The Best of Tubular Bells  Collection  The Complete Tubular Bells  The Platinum Collection  The Mike Oldfield Collection 19741983
Other media
Changeling  MusicVR  Tres Lunas  Maestro
Tours
Tour of Europe  In Concert  European Adventure Tour  Five Miles Out World Tour  Crises Tour  Discovery Tour  Tubular Bells II 20th Anniversary Tour  Live Then & Now 1999
Related content
Virgin Records  Richard Branson  Sally Oldfield  Terry Oldfield  Anita Hegerland  Maggie Reilly  The Sallyangie (Children of the Sun) Categories: Debut albums | Instrumental albums | Concept album series | Progressive rock songs | Mike Oldfield songs | Mike Oldfield albums | Albums produced by Tom Newman | Universal Deluxe Editions | Albums released in Super Audio | Mercury Records albums | Virgin Records albums | 1973 albumsHidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from January 2010 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from May 2007

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Irtouring proud to offer tours to iran, cultural tours, iran tour and Online Informations about travel to Iran.

The tower stands 324 m (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-story building. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world from its completion until the Chrysler Building in New York City was built in 1930. Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France after the 2004 Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by lift. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

History

Stages of construction of the Eiffel Tower

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World’s Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower were Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre. The risk of accident was great as, unlike modern skyscrapers, the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May.

The tower was much criticised by the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One is quoted extensively in William Watson’s US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture: “And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates.”Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas.

Novelist Guy de Maupassant—who claimed to hate the  tower supposedly ate lunch in the Tower’s restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure. Today, the Tower is widely considered

 to be a striking piece of structural art.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only a very few of the taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne.

Timeline of events
10 September 1889Thomas Edison visited the tower. He signed the guestbook with the following message—

To M Eiffel the Engineer the brave builder of so gigantic and original specimen of modern Engineering from one who has the greatest respect and admiration for all Engineers including the Great Engineer the Bon Dieu, Thomas Edison.

1910Father Theodor Wulf measured radiant energy at the top and bottom of the tower, discovering at the top more than was expected, and thereby detecting what are today known as cosmic rays.4 February 1912Austrian tailor Franz Reichelt died after jumping 60 metres from the first deck of Eiffel tower with his home-made parachute.1914a radio transmitter located in the tower jammed german radio communications during the lead-up to the First Battle of the Marne1925The con artist Victor Lustig “sold” the tower for scrap metal on two separate, but related occasions.1930The tower lost the title of the world’s tallest structure when the Chrysler Building was completed in New York City.1925 to 1934Illuminated signs for Citroën adorned three of the tower’s four sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time.1940-1944Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. In 1940 German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.3 January 1956A fire damaged the top of the tower.1957The present radio antenna was added to the top.1980sA restaurant and its supporting iron scaffolding midway up the tower was dismantled; it was purchased and reconstructed on St. Charles Avenue and Joesphine Street in Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana, by entrepreneurs John Onorio and Daniel Bonnot, originally as the Tour Eiffel Restaurant, later as the Red Room and now as the Cricket Club (owned by the New Orleans Culinary Institute). The restaurant was re-assembled from 11,000 pieces that crossed the Atlantic in a 40-foot (12 m) cargo container.31 March 1984Robert Moriarty flew a Beechcraft Bonanza through the arches of the tower1987A.J. Hackett made one of his first bungee jumps from the top of the Eiffel Tower, using a special cord he had helped develop. Hackett was arrested by the Paris police upon reaching the ground14 July 1995Bastille Day, French synthesiser musician Jean Michel Jarre performed Concert For Tolerance at the tower in aid of UNESCO. The free concert was attended by an estimated 1.5 million people, filling the Champ de Mars. The concert featured lighting and projection effects on the tower, and a huge fireworks display throughout. Three years later he returned to the same spot for a more dance music-oriented show, Electronic Night.New Year’s Eve 1999The Eiffel Tower played host to Paris’ Millennium Celebration. Fireworks were set off all over the tower. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event.2000Flashing lights and four high-power searchlights were installed on the tower. Since then the light show has become a nightly event. The searchlights on top of the tower make it a beacon in Paris’ night sky.2002The tower received its 200,000,000th guest22 July 2003At 19:20, a fire occurred at the top of the tower in the broadcasting equipment room. The entire tower was evacuated; the fire was extinguished after 40 minutes, and there were no reports of injuries.2004The Eiffel Tower began hosting an ice skating rink on the first floor each winter.2008At the start of the French presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008, the twelve golden stars of the European flag were mounted on the base, and whole tower bathed in blue light. In addition, every hour on the hour, 20,000 flash bulbs give the tower a sparkly appearance.2009An explosion happens at the tower.
Engraved names
Main article: The 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and other notable people. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century but restored in 1986–1987 by the Société Nouvelle d’exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to

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Buffett began his official musical career in Nashville during the late 1960s as a country artist and recorded his first album, Down to Earth, in 1970. During this time Buffett could be frequently found Busking in for the tourists in New Orleans. In fact it was Jerry Jeff Walker who took him to Key West on a busking expedition. He then moved to Key West and began establishing the easy-going beach bum persona for which he is known.

Buffett’s third album was A White sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, now acclaimed as his best though it achieved only moderate sales. Havana Daydreamin appeared in 1976, followed by 1977s Changes in Latitudes, Chagines in Attitudes, which featured the breakthrough hit song “Margaritaville” .

During the 1980′s Buffett made far more money off his tours than albums and became known as a popular concert draw. He released a series of albums during the following twenty years, primarily to his devoted audience, and also branched into writing and merchandising. In 1985, Buffett opened the first of the “Margaritaville” restaurants in Key West, bringing new visibility and life to the Margaritaville name.

Two of the more unusual albums were Christmas Island, a collection of holiday songs, and Parakeets, a collection of Buffett songs sung by children and containing “cleaned-up” lyrics (like “a cold root beer” instead of “a cold draft beer”).

In 1997, Buffett collaborated with novelist Herman Wouk to create a short-lived musical based on Wouk’s novel, Don’t Stop the Carnival. Broadway showed little interest for the play, so it was instead run for six weeks in Miami. He released the soundtrack for the musical in 1998.

In 2003, he partnered in a partial duet with Alan Jackson for the country hit ” It’s Fice O’clock Somewhere,” a number one hit on the country charts.

Buffett’s most recent album, License to Chill, released on July 13, 2004, sold 238,600 copies in its first week of release according to Nielsen SoundScan. With this, Buffett topped the U.S pop albums chart for the first time in his three-decade career.

Buffett continues to tour throughout the year although recently he has shifted to a more relaxed schedule of ~20-30 dates, and never on back to back nights. In fact, he tries to play only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Ticket purchasing is becoming harder and harder each year. All of his concerts sell out in a matter of minutes.

Buffett co-owns the Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants. He loves baseball and was part-owner of two minor league teams: the Fort Myers Miracle and the Madison Black Wolf. Between his restaurants, album sales, and tours, he earns an estimated -70 million dollars a year.

In 2006, Buffett plans a cooperative project allegedly with Anheuser-Busch to produce his own beer called Lone Palm. Lone Palm was also the title of a song from his 1994 album Fruitcakes. The label of the beer bottle will most likely feature a pirate’s map. The seaplane airport at the Orlando Margaritaville restaurant is also called Lone Palm.

Many people when thinking about buying Jimmy Buffett concert tickets put it off, thinking buying tickets is too much work and that they aren’t going to get and good seats. However nothing could be simpler, honestly it is thinking its difficult that leads to procrastinating. The easiest way of purchasing Jimmy Buffett concert tickets is by searching Ticketmaster for the artist, writing down the purchase date and remembering to log onto your computer to purchase them as soon as they go on sale. Still many people complain about availability, that too many people are buying at once and they can’t get through to purchase a ticket. For many people interested in purchasing Jimmy Buffett concert tickets after the public sale date discover that the shows are sold out and find themselves enabled from finding tickets. There remains hope for those whom have put it off, there are many different service sites that can help you find tickets.