Reading, England, 1953
Mike Oldfield
The man behind Tubular Bells wrote only one full film score, The Killing Fields, and it earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
He recorded Tubular Bells at nineteen, playing nearly every instrument himself. William Friedkin put an excerpt into The Exorcist although the piece was not written for film, and that use turned the album into a worldwide hit. His only real commission was Roland Joffé's The Killing Fields in 1984. His film output is small, but it is quoted often.
- Style
- Layered guitars, synthesizers and percussion; in The Killing Fields, choirs and sounds that imitate war.
- Awards
- Golden Globe nomination for The Killing Fields. Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition (1975) for the theme from The Exorcist.
Essential films
- The Exorcist (Tubular Bells used) (1973)
- The Killing Fields (1984)
Listen
- Tubular Bells (Part One) · The ExorcistSpotifyYouTube
- Étude · The Killing FieldsSpotifyYouTube
- Pran's Departure · The Killing FieldsSpotifyYouTube
Everything on Spotify Everything on YouTube Full biography on Wikipedia
Awards counted up to the 2026 Academy Awards. Facts reviewed in October 2026.