Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn at 50
Tubular Bells composer Mike Oldfield talks about Ommadawn, his two-sided epic from 1975. Mike Oldfield changed the world of progressive rock and instrumental music with his 1973 opus, Tubular Bells. But two years later he released this third album that many consider to be his masterpiece. It was released 50 years ago on September 25 or November 7. There’s a little dispute there. Today we revisit this epic work and our interview with Mike talking about an album that was inspired by his mother, who died during the recording, but left him her Irish heritage.
Mike Oldfield: I listened to music, Irish music, and there’s something in your blood. It really is, if I hear something Celtic, something, my ears perk up and just, I identify with it. So it’s always been part of me.
We talked to Oldfield in 2017 about his album, Return to Ommadawn and of course, we talked a lot about the original Ommadawn recording. We’ll return to that interview and we’ll also hear both parts of Ommadawn on its 50th Anniversary today on Echoes.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2025 – Echoes Program 2544C |
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Start Time |
Group Name |
Song Name |
Album Name |
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First Half Hour |
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| 0:01:00 | Azam Ali | No Longing for Home | Synesthesia |
| 0:06:00 | Mike Oldfield | Ommadawn Part One | Ommadawn |
| 0:25:53 | break | ||
| 0:26:16 | Adrian Sherwood | The Grand Designer | |
| 0:29:30 | Jim Kimo West and Michael Whalen | Malibu Breese (excerpt) | Two Shores |
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Second Half Hour |
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| 0:30:00 | Interview: Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn | ||
| 0:42:59 | Mike Oldfield | Return to Ommadawn Pt. 1 | Return to Ommadawn |
| 0:59:00 | Jóhann Jóhannsson | They Leave Everything Behind (excerpt) | Copenhagen Dreams |
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Third Half Hour |
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| 1:01:00 | Ian Boddy | A Time Remembered | Odyssey |
| 1:06:00 | Shambhu | Resiliance (with Leo Steinriede) | Lotus Dream |
| 1:09:05 | Sarah McLachlan | Better Broken | Better Broken |
| 1:13:00 | Deepspace | Micro-Particle Refiners SFPA8 | Water Planets |
| 1:15:04 | Purity Ring | The Long Night | Purity Ring |
| 1:19:17 | Azam Ali | This House is on Fire | Synesthesia |
| 1:23:30 | Maps | Chapter Five | Welcome To The Tudor Gate |
| 1:29:00 | Immersion | A Long Way to Brooklyn (excerpt) | WTF |
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Fourth Half Hour |
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| 1:30:00 | Mike Oldfield | Ommadawn Part 2 | Ommadawn |
| 1:44:30 | break | ||
| 1:43:35 | Flock of Dimes | River in My Arms | The Life you Save |
| 1:50:38 | Liam J Boyle | Revolutions | Gemstones VI (v/a) |
| 1:55:23 | Oneheart | Don’t Leave Me (w/ Kiran + Nivi) | Samsara Passengers |