Magic Touch (Mike Oldfield song)

"Magic Touch" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music). It is from the album Islands.

"Magic Touch"
Single by Mike Oldfield
from the album Islands
Released	22 February 1988
Recorded	circa. 1987
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:04
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Mike Oldfield
Producer(s)	Mike Oldfield Geoffrey Downes
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"The Time Has Come" (1987) "Magic Touch" (1988) "Flying Start" (1988)
United States release cover

Charts

The song charted at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart.[1]

Chart (1988)	Position
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	10

Release details

It was only released in the USA, Germany and Australia. The music video for this single was directed by Alex Proyas and filmed at Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire. The video for the song was available on The Wind Chimes and Elements.

Vocalists

The original mix features Max Bacon on vocals. The earliest recorded version might have featured John Payne as a lead vocalist. This recording was never released though.[2] The version with Max Bacon does not appear on the European releases of the Islands album, due to Bacon still being under contract to Arista Records at the time.[3] However, Bacon's vocals do appear on the US album version, which was not released until 1988 in an attempt to capitalize on Bacon's familiarity to US audiences as the vocalist of GTR. The UK album version features Jim Price on vocals.

Artwork

The single's artwork differed in the UK and US. The UK artwork showed Oldfield standing on a blue background, covered in shadows of hands. The US artwork is in a similar style to the album cover, showing hands rising out of the ocean.

Track listing

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

References

1. "Mike Oldfield Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
2. "Mike Oldfield fan club page on Geoffrey Downes' collaboration with Mike". Fan club page: mike.oldfield.org.pl. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
3. "Mike Oldfield biography, page 4". The Official Mike Oldfield Information Service. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.