Trivia / Tubular Bells III

• Development Gag: The sampled "Moonlight Shadow" drums in "Man in the Rain" act as a nod to the fact that the latter was first written on the heels of the former back in 1983.
• Milestone Celebration: The album was recorded and released as a way of commemorating the 25th anniversary of the original Tubular Bells, which also explains the variety of mythology gags.
• No Export for You: Unlike Tubular Bells and Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells III went unreleased in the United States, his first album to not come out there since Heaven's Open in 1991. Oldfield wouldn't release another new album Stateside until Tubular Bells 2003, largely off of the brand recognition of the original Tubular Bells, and even then his release schedule in the region remained spotty.
• Refitted for Sequel: "Man in the Rain" was originally written shortly after "Moonlight Shadow", explaining its heavy similarity to the latter song (for which it was criticized). The song then stayed in limbo for a while, first being demoed during the Islands sessions with Barry Palmer on vocals, only to go unused. Oldfield did, however, develop the Title Track to Heaven's Open from the Palmer demo, and in fact made Man in the Rain a Working Title for that album. Oldfield would eventually revisit "Man in the Rain" itself for Tubular Bells III, this time with Cara Dillon on vocals; as a Development Gag, the finalized version samples drums from "Moonlight Shadow".