Tubular Bells star Mike Oldfield's son found dead at work aged only 33

Dougal Oldfield was the son of the legendary musician whose debut album was one of the biggest selling records of all time

Tragedy: Dougal Oldfield and as a young boy with dad Mike

Rock legend Mike Oldfield is today in mourning after the sudden death of his son at the age of 33.
Dougal Oldfield collapsed and died at his work at around 6.30pm on Sunday. Paramedics called the police, who initially treated the death as “unexplained”.
But a postmortem confirmed that Dougal had died of natural causes and police said it was now “non-suspicious”.
A statement released yesterday by the family said simply: “The family are touched by the messages of love and support. They do ask that the family’s privacy be respected at this difficult time.”
Harrow-educated Dougal, one of three children Tubular Bells star Oldfield had with Sally Cooper in the 1980s, died during an evening shift as an edit assistant with London-based Envy Post-Production, which works on TV shows and adverts.
A friend said on Facebook on Monday: “Dougal left us yesterday, without warning, unexpectedly and suddenly while at work. What can I say – he was in my mind one of the Very Best of Us: a most enlightened, gentle, kind, intelligent, considerate, positive soul.”
Mike Oldfield, 62, whose 1973 album Tubular Bells was in the charts for 250 weeks and has sold 16 million copies, also had a daughter Molly and son Luke with Dougal’s mum Sally, a PR worker.
When they split, the musician soon had two more children, Greta and Noah, with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland.

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Father and son: Mike and baby Dougal in September 1981

Oldfield, who suffered regular panic attacks due to his sudden fame, once recalled: “I don’t think I’ve hurt my children but there have been problems. I was pretty difficult back then. I just wasn’t ready and still had a lot of stuff to deal with.
“I was touring all the time and wasn’t prepared to be able to deal with a proper relationship or be a father.
“I can feel guilty but I can also be honest and admit that was the truth at the time.”
In his autobiography Changeling, Oldfield again confirmed he had not been a constant presence in his children’s lives.
“I am sad that I couldn’t be a real father for them all the time but I am here and they are always welcome.”
After splitting from Anita, he married Fanny, a French horse breeder he met in Ibiza, and they had two sons. They have also now divorced.



Oldfield was just 19 and already a respected rock guitarist when he made Tubular Bells, playing almost all the instruments and helping to launch Richard Branson’s Virgin empire.
He followed it up with lesser hits such as Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn and his most recent, last year’s Man on the Rocks.
After he performed a reworked, cut-down version of Tubular Bells in the NHS section of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, he said: “It was just about the only offer that could have lured me away from my beloved Bahamas.”