Discovery is the ninth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 25 June 1984 on Virgin Records. It comprises a number of pop songs, most notably the single "To France", as well as the instrumental "The Lake".

Background and recording

After his 1983 tour, Oldfield relocated to Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland for tax purposes and started work on a new album. The album was recorded from January to June 1984. Sessions typically ran from 10:30 a.m. to around 7 p.m. each day. While living in Villars, Oldfield also composed the soundtrack to The Killing Fields (1984). Selections from the two were released as The 1984 Suite, in 2016. The album contains a number of pop songs, which Oldfield had been encouraged by Virgin Records to write, following the success of "Moonlight Shadow" from his previous album, Crises. The first track of the album, "To France", with Maggie Reilly on vocals, seamlessly continues into the second track, "Poison Arrows", sung by Barry Palmer. According to Oldfield, the instrumental "The Lake" was inspired by his time in Switzerland and around Lake Geneva. During 1984 Oldfield and his band embarked on a Europe wide tour in promotion of the album.

2016 reissue

Discovery was re-released in a deluxe edition format on 29 January 2016, as per all previous albums which were originally released on the Virgin label. The reissue comprises 2 CDs (Discovery and the 1984 Suite) and a DVD featuring 5.1 surround sound mixes. The 1984 Suite is a compilation album of Discovery and Oldfield's other 1984 album, The Killing Fields. It also includes two previously unreleased tracks: "The Royal Mile", a slight reworking of the 1984 track "Afghan", and "Zombies (Halloween Special)", a reworking of the song "Poison Arrows" with the original vocals replaced by a "Macintalk" voice named Fred and the lines "Somebody's out to get you" replaced with "Zombies are out to get you".

Track listing

All tracks by Mike Oldfield.

Original LP

Side one Side two

2016 Deluxe Edition

Disc 1 - Discovery Remastered Tracks 9–11 taken from the "To France" 12 inch single. Tracks 12–13 taken from B-side of "Tricks of the Light" single. Disc 2 - The 1984 Suite CD Disc 3 - DVD

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications