A: No, they aren't. They split up in 91 and she moved back to Norway.
Autumn 1996 she was in a Norwegian magazine telling about her relationship with Mike. She was complaining that she felt trapped and like a queen in a huge castle. And all that travelling she and Mike did, going to all those exotic jungles and places didn't help. She was also stalked by an unknown man who followed her in car and made threats over the phone.
She has released a not that exciting solo-album after that. She is currently (April 1997) doing a show together with a whole lot of other big Norwegian actors and comedians. She is both acting and singing on stage.
She and Mike are good friends and their kids (they have 2) often visit Mike in Ibiza (written when he still lived there). She is dooing good and is making a pretty good income in her carrier. She is also working on a new solo-album.
And an update (May 1998): She is working on a show that will open this autumn at the new stage at the SAS-hotel in Oslo. The show is called "Candle in the Wind" and it is to be a tribute show for Elton John. They are going to perform solely Elton John songs and Anita was very excited about the project. She told me it was going to be like singing for her daughter at home. There are 4-6 other singers involved in the show.
Credit: Elf, elf@intervett.no
Easy way: go to http://www.wea.co.uk/mikeoldfield/feedback.htm.
There might be another way, using the mail address wea_uk@wmintl.com, but as this address didn't work for me, when I tested it, I'm not sure.
Credit: Rory Ewins,rory_ewins@hotmail.com
A: Here is a list. The middle of it, from TB to VO must be the shortest discography in the world. (No abbreviation? Just a "?" ? Well, it's not everything that we abbreviate.)
| MO | Mike Oldfield! | Where would we be without this one :-) | |
| TB | Tubular Bells | HR | Hergest Ridge |
| O | Ommadawn | Inc | Incantations |
| ? | Platinum | QE2 | Well :-) Actually it means Queen Elizabeth 2 |
| FMO | Five Miles Out | ? | Crises |
| ? | Discovery | TKF | The Killing Fields |
| ? | Islands | EM | Earth Moving |
| A | Amarok | HO | Heaven's Open |
| TB2 | Guess! | TSODE | The Songs of Distant Earth |
| VO | Voyager | TB3 | Tubular Bells no. ...? |
| PITD | Pictures in the Dark | MFTB | Music from the Balcony |
Feel free to abbreviate anything you want to, we'll get what you mean. Also, we don't all use the same abbreviations. But you get the idea.
A: Yes, there is a Mike Oldfield chat room. Find directions for how to join it at http://members.xoom.com/amarok/english/irc_channel.html.
Credit: Jose Luis Gonzalez, JLuis@ThePentagon.com
A: I don't know. It's often discussed, but nobody has ever found the answer. Some popular theories are: there are few girls on the internet as well, the mailing list is technical and girls are not, girls like MO in another way. Input is very welcome if you can prove any of these theories or maybe a new one...
A: Gee, I don't know! I usually buy it at the local stores. But it depends on what you want. Here are a few other suggestions, that are internet related. (If you have information to answer this question, please say so.)
Dark Star runs an MO related CD store, that seems to have all the ordinary releases, it is located at http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~darkstar/mrchndse.htm.
CD Now in an online record store, that seems to work well. They have a lot of new stuff (and old), their prices aren't terrible, and the one time I used them, they delivered very fast. Use this link: http://cdnow.com/switch/from=sr-153129/target=buyweb_products/artfs=Mike+Oldfield if you don't mind supporting the FAQ maintainer with a bit of a bonus next time she shops at CD Now. (Won't cost you extra.) Otherwise use this link: http://cdnow.com/switch/target=buyweb_products/artfs=Mike+Oldfield.
ProgTron is like CD Now, but they are dealing primarily in progressive rock. Find them at http://www.webpage.com/progtron/.
If that didn't work, try using http://gemm.com/. They claim they search a lot of the stores, and they present you with all the prices, so you'll just have to click to get to the store, that made the best offer. They also investigate stores with used records. (Just type oldfield.)
Last but not least, you can read the ads at The Record Marketplace, http://www2.united.dk/privateroom/obi/market.html. Or you can put your own ad up.
Credit: Peter Evans, amarok@cableinet.co.uk, Chris Dewey, cdewey@dsmag.win-uk.net, Paul Edwards, p.edwards@its.unimelb.edu.au, Svend Aage Petersen, obi@get2net.dk.
A: No. The author Mike Oldfield is a music journalist - I think he works/worked on the NME (a very anti-MO organ!) He has also written other books, one about them about Bruce Springsteen.
Credit: Gareth Randall, gwr@easynet.co.uk
A: Yes, it's true. Sort of. '94 an astonomer named yet another heavenly body (in fact is was a minor planet), and this time after Oldfield.
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/special/Oldfield.html is also a source for more information.
Since this the astronomer in question actually contacted me. 1) The name was assigned in April 1994, having been proposed some two months earlier. 2) The timing of the naming was not related in any way to the release of TSODE.
Credit: Kerick, annmarie@frisbee.net.au, Morten Due Joergensen, mdj@login.dknet.dk, Gareth V. Williams, graff@cfa0.harvard.edu
A: If you want all sorts of details about all sorts of albums, you can take a look at the charts. But if you just want to know about TB:
247 weeks in the charts originally, and 13 weeks in the top ten. However it reentered a few times, especially after TB-2 was released. This info also contradicts the claim of being number 1 for over a year. Clarification on this question is welcome!
Credit: Matthew J. Sorell, msorell@ctin.adelaide.edu.au
A: According to the Guinness book of hit albums (5th edition) -
"14th Sept 74 - Hergest Ridge MO 3 weeks "
"5th Oct 74 - Tubular Bells MO 1 week"
Hergest Ridge was Mike's first number one Album ! ! !
Just for the record - MO is one of only 3 artists to have knocked
themselves off the no1 spot, the others being the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Credit: Chris Kimber, cantate@compuserve.com
A: Hergest Ridge is on the border of Wales and Herefordshire in England,
just south of Kington and near Offa's Dyke. Mike lived nearby after the
success of Tubular Bells and used to fly model gliders from the ridge -
the quiet countryside helped him to cope with his success. In addition to
the album Hergest Ridge, mention is also made in the song "On Horseback"
at the end of Ommadawn, when Mike sings:
"So if you feel a little glumand he's right!
To Hergest Ridge you should come"
Credit: Matthew J. Sorell, msorell@ctin.adelaide.edu.au
A: On the new (Dec. 1997) album Velvet Rope, Janet Jackson gives credit to MO, mentioning TB, for the title track. And you should be able to hear TB in the background.
Credit: Elf, elf@intervett.no