May 14, 2007 14:18

Mike Oldfield hits out at newspaper

'Tubular Bells' creator unhappy with giveaway

Mike Oldfield has hit out at his own record label EMI, as well as the Mail On Sunday, after they gave away his classic 1973 album 'Tubular Bells' with the paper.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music about the giveaway, Oldfield complained that giving his album away free with the paper devalued his music.

He added: “I feel the same as if I had lent something to somebody, and it had come back trashed”.

However, the paper does not have to consult Oldfield over the use of his music, as no such contract was drawn up when the record was released.

Mail On Sunday editor Peter Wright hit back at Oldfield today (May 14) by pointing out that the sales of 'Tubular Bells' have actually increased.

Wright responded to criticism by arguing “the week before we gave it away, it sold 600 copies, the week after, it sold 900 copies, so sales of the disc have actually gone up since we gave it away”.