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A shiny, black, tubular metal sculpture shaped like a bent triangle floats against a pink and purple cloudy sky.
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Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells

Feel every note of The Best of Tubular Bells I, II & III with a live group led by Mike Oldfield’s long-term collaborator, Robin Smith.

More details for Royal Festival Hall
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Spanning three albums and 17 years, Oldfield’s multi-layered, genre-spanning Tubular Bells series is still a mainstay of musical conversations over 50 years later.

Hear it brought to life at the Royal Festival Hall with an expansive live group, led and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator Robin Smith.

Feel every note of Tubular Bells I, which is performed in full, along with extended sections of Tubular Bells II and III and the worldwide hit single ‘Moonlight Shadow’.

Tubular Bells was created in 1971 and first released in 1973. Tubular Bells II followed in 1992, with the Edinburgh Castle premiere one of the most viewed and streamed musical events ever.

In 1998, Tubular Bells III completed the series – an excerpt of the song ‘Far Above the Clouds’ from the album was used in the 2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremony.

With each album, Oldfield expands on the incredible themes and theatrical variations he first composed at 17 years old, continually innovating and pushing boundaries.

This new London date of the 2026 tour follows a hugely successful 2023/24 UK and Europe tour celebrating the 50th anniversary celebrations of Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.

Need to know

Age guidance
For ages 14+. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Content warnings
Moving lights are used during this performance. There is no strobe.
Event information

Mike Oldfield does not appear in this show.

Reviews

‘For fans of live music this was pure joy and, for fans of Oldfield, this was perfection.’ Lancashire Evening Post

‘very special indeed’ Birmingham Live

Gallery

A full band with a pianist, guitarists, and singer performs on a dark stage illuminated by dramatic blue spotlights.
Garry Jones
View larger image 1 of 6. A full band with a pianist, guitarists, and singer performs on a dark stage illuminated by dramatic blue spotlights.
A female bassist with long hair and feathers in her hair plays a black Fender precision bass on a dark, blue-lit stage.
Garry Jones
View larger image 2 of 6. A female bassist with long hair and feathers in her hair plays a black Fender precision bass on a dark, blue-lit stage.
Profile of a percussionist in a black shirt striking a set of tubular bells with a white mallet on a blue-lit stage.
Garry Jones
View larger image 3 of 6. Profile of a percussionist in a black shirt striking a set of tubular bells with a white mallet on a blue-lit stage.
A man in a black ribbed shirt plays a modern, wooden electric cello with a bow on a dark, blue-lit stage.
Garry Jones
View larger image 4 of 6. A man in a black ribbed shirt plays a modern, wooden electric cello with a bow on a dark, blue-lit stage.
Rear view of a pianist in a dark suit playing a grand piano and multiple keyboards under warm red stage lighting.
Garry Jones
View larger image 5 of 6. Rear view of a pianist in a dark suit playing a grand piano and multiple keyboards under warm red stage lighting.
A singer in a dark, tiered dress with decorative trim sings into a microphone on a blue-lit stage.
Garry Jones
View larger image 6 of 6. A singer in a dark, tiered dress with decorative trim sings into a microphone on a blue-lit stage.

For your visit

This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre

The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.

A concrete building with flags on the roof, with the London Eye and Big Ben in the background View larger image
A lively crowd cheers with raised hands, while a performer in a white hat and suit plays guitar, against red lighting. View larger image
A guitarist performing on a dark stage at the Royal Festival Hall, lit up by multiple spotlights. View larger image
Pianis Víkingur Ólafsson is seated at a grand piano while playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the stage of Royal Festival Hall View larger image
Organist Carol Williams plays the Royal Festival Hall organ whiich is illumiated with bold colours View larger image

Plan your visit

The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.

Getting here

Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.

The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues.  More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.

We’re cash-free

Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.

Access

We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.

All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access. 

All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.

Food & drink

On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.

From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.

Other places to eat and drink whilst you’re here