Tubular Bells composer Mike Oldfield is today mourning the sudden death of his eldest son Dougal.
The
33-year-old collapsed and died of natural causes while at work on
Sunday as an editing assistant at a film production company in Soho,
central London.
Harrow-educated Dougal is one of three children the 62-year-old musician had with his second wife Sally Cooper.
He had an elder sister Molly, a younger brother Luke and four half-siblings.
A family statement released yesterday said: ‘The family are touched by the messages of love and support.
'They do ask that the family’s privacy be respected at this difficult time.’
A
friend wrote on Facebook: ‘Dougal left us yesterday, without warning,
unexpectedly and suddenly while at work. What can I say?
'He was in my mind one of the very best of us: a most enlightened, gentle, kind, intelligent, considerate, positive soul.’
Oldfield,
who has been married three times, has previously admitted that he did
not give his children the attention they always needed.
Family: Dougal Oldfield (bottom right)
is pictured in 1986 with his father Mike (top left), mother Sally
Cooper (top right) and younger brother Luke (left). He also had an elder
sister named Molly
Composer: Mike Oldfield in Madrid in 2007 (left) and by his pool at his Buckinghamshire home in 1994 (right)
Much loved: Mike Oldfield with his son Dougal photographed in the window of his mansion in the early 1980s
He
once said: ‘I don’t think I’ve hurt my children but there have been
problems. I was pretty difficult back then. I just wasn’t ready and
still had a lot of stuff to deal with.
‘I
was touring all the time and wasn’t prepared to be able to deal with a
proper relationship or be a father. I can feel guilty but I can also be
honest and admit that was the truth at the time.
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