Editing Mike Oldfield (section)

====''Hergest Ridge'' to ''Incantations''====
In 1974, Oldfield played the guitar on the critically acclaimed album ''[[Rock Bottom (album)|Rock Bottom]]'' by [[Robert Wyatt]].

In late 1974, his follow-up LP, ''[[Hergest Ridge (album)|Hergest Ridge]]'', was No.&nbsp;1 in the UK for three weeks before being dethroned by ''Tubular Bells''. Although ''Hergest Ridge'' was released over a year after ''Tubular Bells'', it reached No.&nbsp;1 first. ''Tubular Bells'' spent 11 weeks (10 of them consecutive) at No.&nbsp;2 before its one week at the top. Like ''Tubular Bells'', ''Hergest Ridge'' is a two-movement instrumental piece, this time evoking scenes from Oldfield's [[Herefordshire]] country retreat. It was followed in 1975 by the pioneering [[world music]] piece ''[[Ommadawn]]'' released after the death of his mother, Maureen.<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amadian.net/biography1.htm |title=''Amadian - The Mike Oldfield Biography (II)'' website |access-date=26 January 2015 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124155547/http://www.amadian.net/biography1.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1975, Oldfield recorded a version of the Christmas piece "[[In Dulci Jubilo (Mike Oldfield)|In Dulci Jubilo]]" which charted at No.&nbsp;4 in the UK.

In 1975, Oldfield received a [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition|Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition]] in "Tubular Bells – Theme from ''The Exorcist''".

In 1976, Oldfield and his sister joined his friend and band member [[Pekka Pohjola]] to play on his album ''[[Mathematician's Air Display]]'', which was released in 1977. The album was recorded and edited at Oldfield's Througham Slad Manor in [[Gloucestershire]] by Oldfield and Paul Lindsay. Oldfield's 1976 rendition of "[[Portsmouth (Mike Oldfield single)|Portsmouth]]" remains his best-performing single on the [[UK Singles Chart]], reaching No.&nbsp;3.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everyhit.com|title=Mike Oldfield – "Portsmouth"|publisher=EveryHit|access-date=8 July 2010}}</ref>

Oldfield recorded the double album ''[[Incantations (album)|Incantations]]'' between December 1977 and September 1978. This introduced more diverse choral performances from [[Sally Oldfield]], [[Maddy Prior]] and the [[Queen's College, London|Queen's College]] Girls Choir. When it was released on 1 December 1978, the album went to No. 14 in the UK and reached platinum certification for 300,000 copies sold.

In 1979, Oldfield supported ''Incantations'' with a European tour that spanned 21 dates between March and May 1979. The tour was documented with the live album and concert film, ''[[Exposed (Mike Oldfield album)|Exposed]]''. Initially marketed as a limited pressing of 100,000 copies, the strength of sales for the album were strong enough for Virgin to abandon the idea shortly after, transferring it to regular production.<ref name=G97/> During the tour Oldfield released the disco-influenced non-album single "[[Guilty (Mike Oldfield instrumental)|Guilty]]", for which he went to New York City to find the best session musicians and write a song with them in mind. He wrote a chord chart for the song and presented it to the group, who completed it in the studio.<ref name=TS12/> Released in April 1979, the song went to No. 22 in the UK and Oldfield performed the song on the national television show ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.

Oldfield's music was used for the score of ''[[The Space Movie]]'' (1980), a [[Virgin Films]] production that celebrated the tenth anniversary of the [[Apollo 11]] mission.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mikeoldfieldspacemoviedvd.com/|title=''The Space Movie'' website|access-date=25 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517093522/http://mikeoldfieldspacemoviedvd.com/|archive-date=17 May 2010}}</ref> In 1979, he recorded a version of [[Blue Peter (instrumental)|the signature tune]] for the BBC children's television programme ''[[Blue Peter]]'', which was used by the show for 10 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/under_16/showcase_bp.shtml |title=Blue Peter's theme tune |publisher=BBC New Talent |date=April 2007 |access-date=20 June 2010}}</ref>