Geography and all that Jazz

40 years ago today , an LP was released which 'broke the rules'... Tubular Bells was the work of teenage Mike Oldfield . He was backed by Richard Branson, who decided to create a record company called 'Virgin Records' so that he could release the album. Mike played all the instruments, and multi-tracked them. He created a continuous piece of music, rather than a lot of singles. I first heard Tubular Bells when I was aged 10 or 11. My uncle Steven had a copy, and played it all the time when I went round to my nana's house. I loved it so much that I bought my own copy. I have probably played this album well over a thousand times in my life. I have seen it performed live several times, and was also present at the world premiere of the 3rd version of the album - getting very wet on Horse Guards Parade. Oldfield has also recorded other albums which together have formed the soundtrack to my life for the past 40 years. Ommadawn is my 'train journey' albu...

Finally launched today. It's a bit of ANOTHER TB remake: main Harbinger theme is TB opening, and final track is the final part of Part 1 of TB in disguise. Some good sweeping sections though, and I like 'Aurora' in particular. Would be good to see live, followed by some other tracks with improvised electric guitar freak-outs... It's been too long... Coming soon to a Powerpoint presentation near you... Just downloaded some live sections too from the premiere which was held in the Guggenheim in Bilbao. What an event that would have been. Visited the Guggenheim in 2006, and it's fantastic. Some images coming when I can find them...

Merry Christmas ! Here's a festive tune for you...

The Campaign to Protect Rural England 's PLANNING DISASTER site which I have mentioned before has a useful map now added which allows you to choose to add a series of layers which have details of proposed developments which would change the character of rural England. You can explore which are local issues, and perhaps choose to develop these in the classroom. A quick look brings up some proposals, including the structure below, which I can see on clear days from close to my house, not that I'm necessarily for or against it. Any ideas what it could be ? Answers in a comment please... Hot today. Must say I actually prefer the cooler weather. And could this (released in November) finally be the first decent album since Amarok ? The signs are not ideal I have to say - Hayley Westenra ? Mind you...Faith Brown ??

Geography and Climate Change Here is the answer to the poser question. Read this BBC News article. Richard Branson is apparently giving away the profits from his transport businesses to tackle climate change. But what impact do cheap flights have on the atmosphere ? Richard Branson is a very rich man, but he perhaps owes a lot of that to Mike Oldfield and his 'Tubular Bells' album which was the first Virgin release with catalogue number V2001, and went on to sell millions of copies. I saw Richard Branson in the rain at the World Premiere for Tubular Bells II at Horseguards Parade on 4th September 1998 - he was very wet, but then so was everybody (although Gore Tex trousers and jacket kept me dry... I'd checked the weather forecast...) Just been watching regional news programme, and September is looking to be the hottest on record by some distance...

Geography and Beer (Continued) Another ale tonight, this time the aptly named Adnams Explorer. Adnams is brewed in Southwold in Suffolk, one of my favourite places and one I try to get down to as often as possible, although it's also a good case study of a honeypot location where house prices have been driven up by second home owners. Explorer is part of the Beers from the Coast range, which has excellent graphics, and of course, they taste rather nice too. Explorer is rather good for a Geographer to drink I would say, although the brewery website does say it's designed to get younger drinkers and women interested in beer, of which I am neither... Geography and Cheese And as Mike Oldfield famously said in "On Horseback" from the classic album "Ommadawn" "I like beer, and I like cheese" Here's the lyric in question, by William Murray & Mike Oldfield I like beer, and I like cheese I like the smell of a westerly breeze But what I like more tha...