Album: Islands
Artist: Mike Oldfield
1987 / 2000 [remastered edition] Virgin Records Ltd.
CD: 7243 8 49383 2 1 [2000 edition]

Performers:
Mike Oldfield
Simon Phillips: drums (1)
Anita Hegerland: vocals (1, 4, 6, 7)
Bonnie Tyler: vocals (2)
Kevin Ayers: vocals (3)
Jim Price: vocals (5)

Participating musicians:
Tony Beard
Raf Ravenscroft
Andy Mackay
Micky Simmonds
Phil Spalding
Micky Moody
Rick Fenn
Max Bacon
Bjorn J: Son Lindh
Mervyn (Spam) Spence
Pierre Moerlen
Benoit Moerlen


Produced by Oldfield (1 Part One, 3, 4, 7), Oldfield/Phillips (1 Part Two), Oldfield/Tom Newman/Alan Shacklock (2), Oldfield/Geoff Downes (5), Oldfield/Michael Cretu (6)
Technical & engineering assistance: Richard Barrie
Assistant to Oldfield: Jeremy Parker
Virgin A&R: Simon Draper/John Wooler
Original design & art direction: Icon London/Oldfield
Portrait by Andrew Catlin
Remastered by Simon Heyworth [2000 edition]
Sleeve notes: David Laing [2000 edition]
Reissue artwork & design: Rina Cheung [2000 edition]


Tracks:
1. "The Wind Chimes (Part One and Part Two)" (21:47)
2. "Islands" (4:19)
3. "Flying Start" (3:37)
4. "North Point" (3:33)
5. "Magic Touch" (4:14)
6. "The Time has Come" (3:55)
7. "When the Night's on Fire" (6:40)

All tracks composed by Oldfield


Notes: The album was released 7 Sep 1987 on multiple formats, including a full-length video album. In the UK, the vinyl was split with (1) on side A and (2-6) on side B. (7) was a CD bonus track. However, the 1988 US LP release split (1) into two tracks: "Part One" (2:33) and "Part Two" (19:14). Side B was then re-ordered: (5), (6), (4), (3), (2). (5) also used an earlier recorded Max Bacon vocal instead of Price's vocal, but this wasn't used in the UK as he was still under contract to Arista in 1987. He was reinstated for the US release to capitalise on GTR's success. Downes, Bacon and Spalding had all recently worked on GTR. Spalding continued working with Oldfield subsequently. Hegerland was Oldfield's then partner.

Wikipedia reports some more specific performance credits:
Bacon: backing vocals (2), lead vocals (4 US edition)
Ravenscroft: sax (2)
Lindh: flute (1)
Mackay: oboe (2)

The album made #4 in Switzerland, #9 in West Germany and Norway, #10 in Austria, #12 in Sweden, #29 in the UK and #71 in the Netherlands. The album went Platinum in Spain (100,000 sales), and Gold in West Germany (250,000 sales), the UK (100,000 sales), France (100,000 sales) and Switzerland (25,000 sales).

Four singles were released: "Islands" came 14 Sep 1987, billed as by Mike Oldfied ft. Bonnie Tyler:

1. "Islands (extended version)" (5:35)
2. "When the Nights on Fire" (6:40)
3. "The Wind Chimes (Part 1)" (2:24)

This made #22 in Spain and Switzerland, #41 in West Germany and Italy, #98 in France and #100 in the UK.

"The Time has Come" followed 9 Nov 1987, billed as by Mike Oldfied ft. Anita Hegerland. The UK and Portuguese version was:

Side A
1. "The Time has Come" (3:53)
Side B
2. "Final Extract from The Wind Chimes (part 2)"

A maxi-single in the UK, France and Spain was:

Side A
1. "The Time has Come" (4:25)
Side B
2. "The Time has Come (original mix)" (3:53)
3. "Final Extract from The Wind Chimes"

The German single and maxi-single used (4) instead of "Final Extract from The Wind Chimes".

Next was "Flying Start" on 1 Feb 1988, billed as Mike Oldfield with Kevin Ayers. For the 7":

1. "Flying Start" (3:37)
2. "The Wind Chimes (Excerpt from Part 2)" (3:58)

The 12" used a 4:50 extended version of "Flying Start". Ayers released his own version of the song on his 1988 album Falling Up.

Finally came "Magic Touch" on 22 Feb 1988, using the original Bacon vocals:

1. "Magic Touch (original mix edit)" (4:04)
2. "Music for the Video Wall" (4:34)
3. "Magic Touch (original mix)" (4:13)

This was only released in the US, West Germany and Australia; it made #10 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. (HP, 16 Jun 20)

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