Tubular Bells Live – Cast, Doncaster

Music: Mike Oldfield

Musical Director: Phil Toms

The stage set-up for Phil Toms’ Tubular Bells Live promised much: at the back the tubular bells took pride of place next to the drum kit, looming over two keyboards, assorted guitars and, tucked away upstage left, vibes and an array of percussion. With a certain amount of doubling, the ten-piece band was able to reproduce Mike Oldfield’s studio sounds, even though, in a final light-hearted encore, they had to call upon two kazoos for In dulci jubilo.

The title of the show was not strictly accurate. At the start of the second half a meticulous 20-minute version of the rhythmic and melodic twists of the first side of the ground-breaking 1983 album foregrounded Toms’ skills in transcribing Tubular Bells and the skill of the band in presenting it live, but we never got to hear the second side. Keyboardist and (when needed) conductor Toms explained that he preferred to emphasise the range of Oldfield’s work and we could always turn the record over at home – and it was true that a large part of the audience seemed to be long-standing Oldfield fans who were bound to have the record.

Instead we got to hear extended extracts from Tubular Bells 2 and the odd extract from Tubular Bells 3, plus a selection of his other pieces, including songs performed by Emma O’Reilly. It was fascinating to hear Oldfield’s different take on the same material in Tubular Bells 2 shortly after his original concept. Through the Tubular Bells material the layering of textures and the shifts in rhythm produced an almost mesmeric effect.

The other pieces offered wide variety, from O’Reilly’s dynamic treatment of To France onwards. Two versions of existing melodies stood out. Etude, based on Tarrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra, featured Jess Barton on flute and Adam Morris on vibes. They were two of the key figures in the excellent band during the whole of the concert, Barton equally adept on saxophone, piccolo and recorder in addition to flute, Morris performing wonders on all kinds of percussion tucked away at the back and stepping into the limelight with his contributions on tubular bells. Then O’Reilly’s soulful reading of a version of She moved through the fair, with the band creating an unearthly atmosphere, was similarly memorable.

O’Reilly’s wild dancing, striking of attitudes and constant costume changes seemed to belong in a different show, but she negotiated the complications of Oldfield’s vocal lines with authority. She also kicked off a series of very jolly encores with a powerful version of Moon Shadow before the band had fun with the Blue Peter theme, Portsmouth and In dulci jubilo.

Reviewed on 8 May 2026