What do you remember most about the controversial 1973 horror film, The Exorcist?

The special effects like Linda Blair, as the possessed Regan, swiveling her head 360 degrees?

The graphic language often parodied as “Your mother sews socks that smell”?

The phenomenon? It was the biggest grossing (no pun intended!) film of 1973 and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning two (Academy Award for Sound and Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay).

For many, the MUSIC is still the most memorable aspect of The Exorcist and undeniably Mike Oldfield’s haunting soundtrack played a significant role in director William Friedkin’s achieving the desired effect of scaring the hell out of everyone.

But The Exorcist wasn’t the only monster Oldfield’s nearly 49 minute opus helped to unleash. You see, Oldfield’s Tubular Bells was the premier release of Virgin Records and launched a global empire for Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur known these days more for ballooning, boating, and even space travel than music.

Tubular Bells was an unlikely debut for a record label, even in the 70s. It was an instrumental. It was almost entirely multi-tracked with Oldfield playing virtually every instrument himself, making it extremely difficult (especially in those days) to perform live. The album was basically two long songs (approximately 25 minutes each — one on each side of the record), making a “single” release impossible.

Nonetheless, under the Virgin umbrella (many record labels had turned Oldfield away), Tubular Bells took off in Britain. Its inclusion in 73’s blockbuster The Exorcist led to worldwide sales of over ten million copies and paved the way for Branson and Virgin to become a major player in the record business.

Subsequently Virgin Records was known for signing some of the most progressive 70s and 80s rock bands including Genesis, the Sex Pistols, Human League, Culture Club, and Simple Minds.

Branson sold Virgin to Thorn EMI in June 1992 for a reported $1 billion.

Said Tom Newman, co-producer of Tubular Bells, “Tubular Bells made Virgin. But even if it hadn’t happened in this way, Richard Branson would have made it in some other way.” —Tubular.net

Given the poor odds of Oldfield’s left-field debut effort going multi-platinum, Newman is no doubt right on the money.