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The Mirage Biography

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The Mirage managed to release seven singles on three labels in the U.K. between 1965 and 1968 without getting anything resembling a hit or even a solid cult reputation. This can be ascribed to two major factors: the absence of significant original musical vision, and the absence of really strong original material, although they did write many of their own songs. Their upbeat, harmony-laden approach was quite British and owed significant debts to the 1966-era Beatles and the Hollies, as well as lighter ones to the Who. The most British aspect of their sound was their propensity for songs with a storytelling, observational viewpoint. The most famous of these was their 1967 single, "The Wedding of Ramona Blair," about a bride whose groom fails to show up at the ceremony, which has appeared on several compilations of British psychedelia obscurities. The Mirage signed to Dick James Publishing and served as the house band for that organization; they also backed Elton John at his first solo performances. The group split up in October 1968 when lead guitarist Dee Murray and drummer David Hynes briefly joined the Spencer Davis Group. Murray became bassist in Elton John's band, while Hynes left the Spencer Davis Group in spring 1969 (perhaps with Murray -- it's not clear from existing documentation) and re-teamed with the other members of the Mirage to form the Portobello Explosion, who did a 1969 single for Carnaby; that band then changed into Jawbone, who also recorded for Carnaby. Much of the material from their singles, as well as a bunch of unreleased acetates, demos, and BBC broadcasts, can be heard on the CD You Can't Be Serious. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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