Tubular Bells For Two

On the first weekend of the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Festival the Australian tour of Tubular Bells For Two kicked off with a rousing performance of Mike Oldfield’s seminal rock album Tubular Bells. What elevates this performance of the iconic rock album from being a mere nostalgic trip to the seventies is the fact that just two talented musicians play live the more-than-twenty instruments required for their arrangement of Oldfield’s iconic opus.

 

Tubular Bells was the first album released by Richard Branson’s Virgin Records. Recorded by Oldfield, at the age of just 19, in the mansion Branson bought to house his new recording studio, the progressive folk-rock score was a resounding success. when it was released in 1973. The album spent 286 weeks in the British Charts reaching number one there and around the world, including in Australia. In the same year the unforgettable music featured in the score of the cult film The Exorcist, (a fact the performers refer to obliquely during the performance).

 

Between them, the casually dressed and barefoot performers Aidan Roberts and Daniel Holdsworth master the piano, Gretsch Electromatic electric guitar, Nord Electro organ, Epiphone Acoustic guitar, Fender Thinline Telecaster electric guitar, Gibson SG electric guitar, Hofner bass guitar, Fender Hot Rod Deville, Fender Twin Reverb, classical guitar, drums, Roland SH-201 synthesiser mandolin, glockenspiel, percussion,  kazoo, VOX AC30, loop station, and of course, the eponymous tubular bells.

 

The show is not without it’s small flaws. Once or twice the performers played a wrong note, a not unexpected occurrence considering the enormity of their task; their musicianship and enthusiasm for their work minimised the impact of such mistakes, and rendered them forgettable and excusable.

 

One flaw that can be remedied is the duration of the performance. Oldfield’s masterpiece is 49 minutes long and despite the obligatory break between ‘Part One’ and ‘Part Two’ in which Aidan and Daniel briefly address the audience the show is over within an hour.  Considering the ticket price this seems a little brief; one option might be for the musicians to add an introductory monologue with the dual benefit of briefly explaining the work to follow for those unfamiliar with the work and crossing them over that all-important one hour threshold.

 

Tubular Bells For Two is touring nationally until May, touring regional centres for the first time.