The Mirage | |
---|---|
Origin | Hertford, England |
Genres | Psychedelic rock Psychedelic pop |
Years active | 1965–1968 |
Labels | CBS, Philips (UK), RPM (UK) |
Past members | Dee Murray Pete Hynes Ray Glynn Pat Hynes Dave Hynes |
The Mirage is a late 1960s psychedelic pop band from London, England. They released seven singles in the UK. [1]
Their most notable release was their 1967 single, "The Wedding of Ramona Blair". [1] The Mirage were under contract as house band to Dick James Publishing and backed Elton John at some of his early concerts. [1] Bassist Dee Murray later worked Elton John's band. [2]
Dave Hynes and Murray replaced Pete York and Eddie Hardin in The Spencer Davis Group in October 1968. [2] Hynes and other members of the Mirage formed the Portobello Explosion. [1] That band then changed into the equally no-commercial Jawbone. [1]
The Troggs are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs. "Wild Thing" is ranked No. 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.
Empty Sky is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. It was not issued in the United States until January 1975, with different cover art, well after John's fame had been established internationally.
"Pinball Wizard" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Nigel Olsson is an English rock drummer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton John Band alongside bassist Dee Murray.
The Spencer Davis Group were a British blues and R&B influenced rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood and Muff Winwood, and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK No. 1 hits "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me" and the UK and US Top 10 hits "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man".
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich are an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David Harman, Trevor Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) and Ian Amey (Tich). Their novel name, zany stage act and lurid dress sense helped propel them to chart success with a string of hit singles penned by songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley including "Hold Tight!", "Bend It!" and "Zabadak!". Over the course of the band's career, they played several different genres, including freakbeat, mod and pop. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached number one in the UK Singles Chart with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu". Unlike many other British bands of the 1960s who were associated with the British invasion of the United States, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich had limited commercial US success. They did better in Canada with 7 songs in the top 100.
David Murray Oates, known as Dee Murray, was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
The Creation are an English rock band, formed in 1966. Their best-known songs are "Making Time", which was one of the first rock songs to feature a guitar played with a bow, and "Painter Man", which made the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached No. 8 on the German chart in April 1967. It was covered by Boney M in 1979, and reached the No. 10 position on the UK chart. "Making Time" was used in the film Rushmore, and as the theme song from season 2 onwards of The Great Pottery Throw Down.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song, with music by English musician Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, from John's 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was released as a single on 23 June 1975, the only single released from the album. Like the rest of the album, the song is autobiographical, and addresses an attempted suicide by John.
Mouse and the Traps is the name of an American garage rock band from Tyler, Texas, United States, that released numerous singles between 1965 and 1969, two of which, "A Public Execution" and "Sometimes You Just Can't Win", became large regional hits. The leader of the band, nicknamed "Mouse", was Ronny Weiss. Two of their best known songs, "A Public Execution" and a cover of "Psychotic Reaction", are not actually credited to this band but, respectively, to simply Mouse and Positively 13 O'Clock instead. Their tangled history also included one single that was released anonymously under the name Chris St. John. The band are not to be confused with the girl group Mousie and The Traps who recorded for Toddlin' Town records around the same time.
"The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" is a 1967 song recorded by the American R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Marv Tarplin and produced by Robinson, it is noted for being the first single to bill the group as "Smokey Robinson" & the Miracles, a billing already present on the group's albums by this time. Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore were the song's producers.
The Echoes were an English musical group, established in London in early 1960 by singer Chris Wayne, for the Johnny Preston, Conway Twitty and Freddy Cannon tour of Great Britain. During the period 1960 to 1971, the Echoes toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, playing for various artists and providing the backing on many recordings.
"Ball & Chain" is a song by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Gary Osborne. It is the third track on his 1982 album Jump Up! and was released as a single in the United States in September that year. It features Pete Townshend of The Who on acoustic guitar. Osborne added some French words into the song.
Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.
The Ivy League were an English vocal trio, formed in 1964, who enjoyed two top 10 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart in 1965. The group's sound was characterised by rich, three-part vocal harmonies.
The Alan Bown Set later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band achieved limited chart success and is best known for the role it played in developing the careers of numerous musicians including Mel Collins, John Helliwell, Robert Palmer, Jess Roden and Dougie Thomson.
"Town of Plenty" is a song by English musician Elton John from the album Reg Strikes Back and was released in 1988. The song was the first album track to be heard after John's throat surgery. Pete Townshend of The Who plays acoustic guitar on the track, while Davey Johnstone plays electric. Among the backing vocalists contributing to the track are John's former bandmates Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray. This would be the final album of John's that Murray would contribute to, prior to his death from a stroke in 1992.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich is the debut self-titled album by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. It largely features songs penned by Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard including the band's first top 20 hit "Hold Tight!", which reached a peak of #4 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1966. In 1967, the album was issued in some countries under the title What's in a Name.
Regimental Sgt. Zippo is the thirty-first studio album by English musician Elton John. Recorded during late 1967 and early 1968, it was originally intended to be John's debut album, but his publisher Dick James did not approve of the record's musical style, and the album was scrapped. John then recorded and released Empty Sky (1969) as his debut album instead. Regimental Sgt. Zippo remained unreleased until Record Store Day of June 2021, when it was issued in mono on vinyl. It was followed by a wider release of the album in July 2022 in stereo vinyl and stereo/mono CD.
"Kiss the Bride" is a song by English musician Elton John, from his 17th studio album, Too Low for Zero, written by John and Bernie Taupin. Released as the album's third single, the upbeat song was a top 40 hit in many countries. It reached No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 25 in Australia, No. 37 in Canada, No. 17 in Ireland, and No. 32 in New Zealand. In Germany, the song peaked at No. 58.