Tubular Bells 2003
Studio album by Mike Oldfield
Released	26 May 2003 (2003-5-26)
Recorded	August 2002–February 2003
Studio	Oldfield's home studio at Roughwood Croft,Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	48:38
Label	Warner Music Spain
Producer	Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield chronology
Tres Lunas (2002) Tubular Bells 2003 (2003) Light + Shade (2005)
Tubular Bells series chronology
The Complete Tubular Bells (2003) Tubular Bells 2003 (2003)
Singles from Tubular Bells 2003
"Introduction 2003" Released: 24 April 2003

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Tubular Bells 2003 is the 22nd studio album by English musicianMike Oldfield, released on 26 May 2003 byWarner Music Spain. It is a digital re-recording of his 1973 albumTubular Bells, released almost 30 years earlier. This is the final album in theTubular Bells series.

In 2003, the re-recording rights to Oldfield's debut albumTubular Bells returned to him, which brought about the idea to re-record it to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original.^[2] He had always been uncomfortable with the original recording because he had only a few weeks to record it and the technology at the time was unable to cope with all of his requirements. As a result, mistakes could not be fixed and some instruments were out of tune on the 1973 release. Due to contractual reasons no re-recordings were allowed for 25 years after the original release. The release ofTubular Bells 2003 took place in the year when Oldfield celebrated his 50th birthday and the 30th anniversary of the original version.

To remain faithful to the original album, Oldfield obtained a copy of the original 16 track tape, fromRichard Barrie ofAIR Studios; this multitrack was then recorded intoDigidesignPro Tools. There were a few parts of the multitrack recording missing however; this included parts of the "Finale", "Caveman" and "The Sailors Hornpipe" sections. These original tracks were then moved intoEmagic Logic, where Oldfield usedMIDI to create atempo andtime signature map; some sections of the original album had not been in time. A guide MIDI keyboard was laid on top, for which Oldfield usually used some Roland Strings. The first instrument to be recorded was theGlockenspiel at the beginning of Part One's "Introduction", and the final part to be recorded was the "Caveman" vocal track.^[3]

The album was released in four versions: a CD in Europe, a CD in North America, and aDVD-Audio edition. Thecopy protection^[4] on the CDs caused many complaints about playback difficulties, including claims of damage to CD and DVD players.

Due to the extensive use of digital technology,Tubular Bells 2003 has a more synthesised and brighter sound than the original. Because of the death ofVivian Stanshall, who was the originalmaster of ceremonies on the 1973 release, Oldfield had actorJohn Cleese introduce the instruments in the "Finale" part.^[5]

A CD audio/DVD Video-audio 5.1, was released in Spain and México.

There is a facetious warning inside the cover of CD: "This stereo record canstill not 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". This warning references a similar note, without the word "still", from the original album.

A video and Spanish promo single were produced for a remix version of theTubular Bells "Introduction" theme, entitled "Introduction 2003".^[6] Released as a single in Spain on 24 April 2003, it features drums and more synthesized instruments, and a conceptual video was also produced. This video is available on theDVD Audio version ofTubular Bells 2003.

The second publicly releasedMusicVR game,Maestro, used various extracts fromTubular Bells 2003.^[7]

Performers

• Mike Oldfield – acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, accordion,Steinway grand pianos,Farfisa,Lowrey &Hammond organs, synthesizers, glockenspiel, timpani, cymbals, tambourine, triangle,tubular bells, programming, producer
• John Cleese – master of ceremonies
• Sally Oldfield – background vocals

Non-performers

• Ben Darlow – engineer
• Steve Bedford – new Tubular Bell image
• Trevor Key – original Tubular Bell image
• Andy Earl – inner cover photo
• e-xentric thinking – design
• Oldfield Music Overseas Ltd. /EMI Publishing Ltd – publishing

Part one

1. "Introduction" – 5:52
2. "Fast Guitars" – 1:04
3. "Basses" – 0:46
4. "Latin" – 2:18
5. "A Minor Tune" – 1:21
6. "Blues" – 2:40
7. "Thrash" – 0:44
8. "Jazz" – 0:48
9. "Ghost Bells" – 0:30
10. "Russian" – 0:44
11. "Finale" – 8:32 (featuring John Cleese)

Part two

12. "Harmonics" – 5:12
13. "Peace" – 3:30
14. "Bagpipe Guitars" – 3:08
15. "Caveman" – 4:33
16. "Ambient Guitars" – 5:10
17. "The Sailor's Hornpipe" – 1:46 (Traditional arrangement)

• Disc 2 – Total Time 11:22

1. "Introduction" – 5:51
2. "Fast Guitars" – 1:04
3. "Basses" – 0:46
4. "Introduction 2003" 'The video' – 3:41

The DVD-Audio edition includes thedemos Oldfield recorded in his flat in 1971 and two excerpts from other Oldfield DVD releases.

1971 Demos

1. "Tubular Bells Long" – 22:57
2. "Caveman Lead-In" – 2:46
3. "Caveman" – 5:05
4. "Peace Demo A" – 7:00
5. "Peace Demo B" – 4:18

Live Excerpts

1. "Sentinel" – fromTubular Bells II – Live at Edinburgh Castle 1992 – 8:06
2. "Far Above the Clouds" – fromTubular Bells III – Live at Horseguards Parade, London 1998 – 4:40

• Mike Oldfield Discography –Tubular Bells 2003 at Tubular.net
• Tubular Bells 2003 atDiscogs (list of releases)

• 2003 remix albums
• Mike Oldfield albums
• Warner Music Group albums
• Re-recorded albums

• EngvarB from September 2013
• Use dmy dates from December 2023
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hAudio microformats
• Album articles lacking alt text for covers
• Album chart usages for Netherlands
• Album chart usages for France
• Album chart usages for Germany4
• Album chart usages for Switzerland
• Album chart usages for UK2