Tricks of the Light

"Tricks of the Light"
Single by Mike Oldfield
from the album Discovery
B-side"Afghan"
Released10 September 1984[1]
Recorded"In the Swiss Alps at 2000 metres within sight of Lake Geneva on sunny days"[2]
GenrePop rock
Length3:52
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Mike Oldfield
Producer(s)Mike Oldfield
Simon Phillips
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"To France"
(1984) 		"Tricks of the Light"
(1984) 		"Etude"
(1984)

"Tricks of the Light" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield released in 1984 and is from the Virgin Records album Discovery. Maggie Reilly and Barry Palmer perform vocals for this song.

The single's B-side, "Afghan" (working title "Celtic", is a non-album track, and was recorded at the same time as the Discovery album.[3] The single also features an instrumental version of "Tricks of the Light".[4]

Music video

The music video for "Tricks of the Light" is a mock-live performance of the song and focuses on a girl in the audience. Interspersed are non-concert scenes of the same girl with and without sunglasses. Oldfield plays a Fender Stratocaster in the video and a Fairlight CMI appears on stage. The clip is available on the Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield video.

Track listing

  1. "Tricks of the Light" – 3:52
  2. "Afghan" – 2:45
  3. "Tricks of the Light" (Instrumental) – 3:56

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5] 91
West Germany (GfK)[6] 46

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 18.
  2. ^ "Mike Oldfield Discography - Discovery". Tubular.net. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Mike Oldfield FAQ - 2.16 Information on Afghan". Tubular.net. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Singles". Amadian. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. ^ "Tricks of the Light". The Official Charts Company.
  6. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Oldfield – Tricks of the Light" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 March 2019.