SALLY OLDFIELD
THE PROG INTERVIEW
Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Sally Oldfield. The Irish-born singer-songwriter has enjoyed a lengthy career both as a solo artist and with folk duo The Sallyangie. She’s not only contributed to albums by her brothers Mike and Terry, but also sung with Steve Hackett and The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward. Although her last official studio album was released in the late 90s, her back catalogue is currently being reissued and recent reworkings of her old material have brought her work to new audiences around the world. Here, she discusses being born into a talented family, her inspiration and collaborations, and whether she’ll ever release another studio album.
Words: Chris Wheatley
Sally Oldfield’s debut solo album Waterbearer in 1978.
Born in 1947, in Dublin, Ireland, Sally Oldfield is the eldest of three gifted siblings, all of whom have contributed much to the world of progressive music. Alongside brothers Mike and Terry Oldfield, she grew up in a musical family, studied piano from a young age, and developed a passion for singing and playing. When the family relocated to England, Sally attended Bristol University to pursue an academic career in writing and poetry. Following an extraordinary spiritual epiphany, she abandoned her studies, hitchhiked to London and, within a very short space of time, secured a record contract as the folk duo The Sallyangie.
A deeply sensitive soul, perhaps not entirely suited to the brusqueness of the record industry, Sally has nevertheless been driven by a singular confidence and vision. Her music is fuelled by an intrinsic respect for nature and a deep sense of universal connection. Prized by collectors of English psych-folk, The Sallyangie’s Children Of The Sun, which also marked the first appearance on record of brother Mike, came in the final year of the 1960s, and served as a fitting coda to the ending of a singular period in music history.
Since then, Sally has released solo albums under her own name across five decades and has leant her considerable talents and distinctive voice to projects by siblings Mike (notably Tubular Bells, Incantations and Ommadawn) and Terry (Star Of Heaven), as well as Steve Hackett and others. Her solo debut, Water Bearer (1978), recently reissued via Magic Of Vinyl, and its hit single, Mirrors, cemented Sally’s reputation as a purveyor of enduring folk prog, although the singer-songwriter has explored many different avenues across the years.
Posed portrait of The Sallyangie, Mike and Sally Oldfield, for Children Of The Sun.
BRIAN SHUEL/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES
In 1983, Sally worked with the then up-and-coming producer and composer, Hans Zimmer, on her acclaimed record, Strange Day In Berlin. There followed another relocation, this time to Germany, where she enjoyed a long run of success, including a memorable duet with Justin Hayward. Now based in the Bahamas, Sally talks openly and with passion about her singular musical journey, her experience of working with Mike on his groundbreaking 70s albums, the other incredible musicians she’s collaborated with, and the theme of nature, which is indelibly linked to her music.