In 1998, the musician released the third part of his popular album Tubular Bells, a sample of which had already been given on the compilation XXV, although the album version was different. While the two previous Tubular Bells albums had a structure divided into two parts—with several tracks in Tubular Bells II—Tubular Bells III included the song "Man in the Rain", which divided the two parts, also composed of several independent tracks, though interconnected. The track used as the album's conclusion, titled "Far Above The Clouds", stood out, in which Oldfield chose his daughter Greta Marie, then ten years old, as master of ceremonies. With this album, the Reading native wanted to express the frustrations he suffered during his time in Ibiza, although "Far Above The Clouds" symbolized a return to peace, adding birdsong at the end of the album.

The presentation took place at Horse Guards Parade in London on September 4, 1998, next to Buckingham Palace, under persistent rain and a power outage that occurred midway through the show. The concert featured Pepsi Demacque, a singer who seemed poised to become his new muse —similar to Maggie Reilly during the 1980s—. However, Oldfield's fans, perhaps directly comparing her to Reilly, began to divide their opinions about her.

The cover design was created by the infographic design studio, Bill Smith's Studio, and was based on previous designs by Trevor Key, who had passed away a few years earlier. Oldfield received the Ondas Award, presented by the Spanish journalist Iñaki Gabilondo, for his musical career and for Best Instrumental Composition. He received four platinum records for sales of Tubular Bells III in Spain. Its global reception, although less than the previous edition, was quite respectable, exceeding 1.3 million copies sold. Interestingly, his techno approach allowed him to be recognized and accepted in the electronic and chillout music circuits in Spanish and European raves and nightclubs.