In 2011, Liv Kristine – who co-founded Leaves’ Eyes in 2003 and left the symphonic metal band in 2016 – told Prog why Mike Oldfield’s music was so important to her, and shared some love for Kate Bush too.
“I grew up listening to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, but I’ve also loved Mike Oldfield’s music since I was a little girl. I especially adore the songs he did with Maggie Reilly – I remember trying to imitate her in front of the mirror with a hairbrush!
I had Tubular Bells on cassette, and I remember hearing his songs all the time on Norwegian radio – he’s still huge in Norway. One of my best friends has driven his tour bus!
The big thing for me about his music is the way it makes me feel – it’s like sitting in a field and breathing in nature; it gives me a sense of tranquility and serenity.
When I hear his guitar playing, it reminds me of the leaves on a tree moving in the breeze. His songs are like a walk through his imagination – they really draw you in and make you use all your senses.
When we talked about doing a cover version for our album Meredead, we felt To France would work perfectly because the vocals are in a comfortable range for me. It’s also my favourite song of his. I researched it before we recorded it so I could really understand what he was trying to say.
I always thought it was about Mary, Queen Of Scots – but that’s just one small part; there’s so much more to it than that. I hope I’ve done it justice because it’s such a special song. We shot the video in a huge castle in Sweden and everything just worked out perfectly.
I’ve seen video clips of Mike performing the song live with Maggie. and I really enjoyed watching her face while she was singing, and learning from it. I’ve never had any formal musical education so I’ve had to teach myself; and the best way I’ve found is singing along to other people’s songs.
Kate Bush is another artist I use for warming up. I have her greatest hits album The Whole Story on my MP3 player on tour – I find her vocals spellbinding. She’s unique; I would have loved to have had the chance to see her in concert.”
