Platinum
Missing image Mike_oldfield_platinum_album_cover.jpg Album cover
LP by Mike Oldfield
Released	1979
Recorded	Blue Rock and Electric Lady, (USA); Througham, Denham, and The Manor, (UK); 1979
Genre	Rock
Length	?? min ?? s
Label	Virgin
Producer	Tom Newman
Professional reviews
Forthcoming
Mike Oldfield Chronology
Incantations (1978)	Platinum (1979)	QE2 (1980)

Platinum is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. It was his fifth new album and the first to feature "regular" songs and cover material. A slightly different version of the album was released in the United States and titled Airborn.

Platinum Part IV features an excerpt from the Philip Glass work "North Star" (hence the subtitle).

There is an interesting note regarding the song "Sally," originally written by Oldfield as a tribute to his girlfriend at the time, Sally Cooper (who features on the album). It's a rather silly but cute little song, with the chorus

Sally, I'm just a gorilla,

I'll say I'll love you ever more.

Even an ape from Manila

Couldn't stop me knocking on your door.

However, it was removed from the album (possibly on the orders of Richard Branson) and replaced with "Into Wonderland", sung by Wendy Roberts. Curiously though, the album covers still say "Sally" to this day. Only the earliest pressings of the LP have "Sally" included as part of the original tracklist, and bootleg recordings of the song are a popular trade item with fans.

"Sally" (the original) also appears to have been the start of Mike Oldfield's fascination with voice distortion gadgets (vocoders, equalizers, etc.), which would continue through many albums, most particularly Five Miles Out.

"Punkadiddle" is thought by many to be Oldfield's jocular take on punk music, a genre which he has claimed in the past to be not at all impressed with. In fact, Virgin Records' rampant signing and promotion of many punk bands while not promoting Oldfield's albums is seen as one of the sources of the rift between him and the company.

Contents

1 Tracklist 2 Mike Oldfield plays 3 Other performers 4 A Note on Airborn

Tracklist

1. Platinum Part I: Airborn
2. Platinum Part II: Platinum
3. Platinum Part III: Charleston
4. Platinum Part IV: North Star
5. Woodhenge or Guilty (Airborn variant album only)
6. Sally or Into Wonderland (later pressings only)
7. Punkadiddle
8. I Got Rhythm

Mike Oldfield plays

acoustic guitars, electric guitars, marimba, piano, synthesisers, vibraphone, and vocals.

Other performers

• Francisco Centeno - bass guitar
• Sally Cooper - tubular bells
• Demelza - congas
• Neil Jason - bass
• Peter Lemer - keyboards
• Pierre Moerlen - drums and vibraphone
• Morris Pert - drums
• Nico Ramsden - keyboards
• Wendy Roberts - vocals
• Hansford Rowe - bass
• Alan Schwartzberg - drums

A Note on Airborn

Airborn is the title of an alternate version of the album released in the United States in 1980. It is identical except that "Woodhenge" is replaced by "Guilty", a fast-paced live track based on a theme from Incantations.