Mike Oldfield ‘hadn’t heard of Arctic Monkeys’ before Olympics opening ceremony


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Progressive rock pioneer Mike Oldfield has admitted he had never heard of the Arctic Monkeys before the Sheffield band performed live at the London Olympics’ opening ceremony last month.

Oldfield showcased his hugely popular ‘Tubular Bells‘ during the ceremony, while the Arctics aired a live cover of The Beatles‘ ‘Come Together‘ along side a performance of their own UK chart-topper ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor‘.

And Oldfield has told NME the Arctic Monkeys weren’t the only live performers on the night to introduce themselves to him for the first time. “I’d never heard of the Arctic Monkeys or Dizzee…something…,” he has said.

“Obviously I’ve heard of Paul McCartney, and Emeli Sande was great although I’d never heard of her either. My part was quite peaceful but by the time Arctic Monkeys came on it was pretty loud. The whole thing in its entirety was a triumph though, it was a great success worldwide and you can’t take that away from it.”


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