In November 2015, a rare performance of Mike Oldfield’s seminal 1973 album Tubular Bells was held over two nights in Colchester and sold out nine months in advance to an international audience.

It’s organiser, Phil Toms (Colchester Institute’s Head of Music), had been inspired to transcribe the entire record and several of Oldfield’s chart hits to perform the most accurate reconstruction of the original music as a tribute to the composer, who inspired him as a child to become a multi-instrumentalist. For these live concerts, Phil assembled 25 top performers from teachers, friends and graduates of Colchester Institute plus a few celebrity VIPs to perform live in one take and it was a tremendous success.

On Saturday 8th April 2017, Phil is rewarding fans with another special charity concert at the Mercury Theatre Colchester. The evening will include highlights of Oldfield’s musical career including Tubular Bells Part 1 in full with excerpts from other instrumental albums including Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Tubular Bells II and III, and his latest album from January 2017, Return to Ommadawn. The programme will also feature chart hits such as Moonlight Shadow, To France, Guilty and Five Miles Out.

For more information, including performance times, prices and to purchase tickets, visit www.mercurytheatre.co.uk or call 01206 573948.