AMAROK - Mike Oldfield Biography: 1992-96

1992 saw several major changes in Mike’s life. Having left Anita and relocated to Los Angeles, he was now signed to WEA, with a new manager, Clive Banks. Mike’s first work for the label was, of course, Tubular Bells II, a reworking of the themes from his first album. The piece was premiered at Edinburgh Castle at the end of the Edinburgh Festival. This album brought about a return to popularity for Mike, as the album reached number 1 in the UK album charts. Mike also contributed to Kevin Ayers' new album Still Life With Guitar.

During 1993, Mike took Tubular Bells II on tour around the world - his first tour since 1984. The same year saw Virgin release a retrospective compilation called Elements, which was available in a single-disc version and a 4-CD box set. Many rare and unreleased tracks were promised, but Mike vetoed most of these.

In April 1994, Asteroid 5656 Oldfield was named in Mike's honour. Fittingly, Mike's next album was based on a Science-Fiction novel, The Songs Of Distant Earth by Arthur C Clarke. Clarke was sufficiently impressed by the album to write a sleevenote for it. This was also the first album to contain a CD-ROM section, which has since become the norm for most recording artists. A slightly revised version of the CD was issued in summer 1995, which included the award-winning video for Let There Be Light.

After covering space travel, 1996 saw Mike move to Ibiza and return to Celtic music. An assortment of new compositions and traditional songs, Voyager was poorly received by critics, who saw it as an attempt to cash in on the Celtic music boom of the time.

In December, Mike began work on his next album...