Illusion were a British progressive rock band formed in 1977. They released two albums, Out of the Mist (1977) and Illusion (1978) on Island Records, before folding in 1979. A third release, Enchanted Caress (made up of demos for a proposed 3rd album, from the late 1970s), was released in 1990.
Illusion were intended to be a reunion of the original line-up of Renaissance (whose 1971 album was titled Illusion), but because Renaissance was still active with a new line-up, they could not use the same name. Illusion recorded a series of demos (one of which, "All the Falling Angels", has since been released both on Enchanted Caress and as a bonus track on various Renaissance releases) before their singer and guitarist Keith Relf died of a heart attack. Rather than being demoralized, the surviving band members said they were invigorated and inspired by Relf's death, redoubling their efforts to fulfill the band's creative potential. John Knightsbridge (from Third World War, and later of Ruthless Blues) replaced Keith Relf on guitar, and Eddie McNeill was brought in on drums, enabling Jim McCarty to switch from drums to acoustic guitar and vocals. Remaining at their original stations were Louis Cennamo on bass and John Hawken on keyboards, while Jane Relf, who had played both vocals and percussion with Renaissance, now focused solely on vocals.
In 2001, McCarty, Cennamo, Hawken and Jane Relf reunited once again to record Through the Fire, an album of new material, under the bandname Renaissance Illusion.
Members Jane Relf – vocals Jim McCarty – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion John Knightsbridge – guitars John Hawken – keyboards Louis Cennamo – bass Eddie McNeill – drums
Discography
Out of the Mist (1977)
Personnel Jane Relf – vocals Jim McCarty – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion John Knightsbridge – electric and acoustic guitar John Hawken – piano, synthesizers, Mellotron, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, harpsichord Louis Cennamo – bass guitar Eddie McNeil – drums, percussion
Notes "Face of Yesterday" was a remake of a song from Renaissance's Illusion album (1971)
Illusion (1978)
Personnel Jane Relf – vocal Jim McCarty – vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion John Knightsbridge – electric and acoustic guitar John Hawken – piano, synthesizers, Mellotron, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, harpsichord Louis Cennamo – bass guitar Eddie McNeil – drums, percussion
Enchanted Caress (1979)
Personnel Jane Relf – vocal, percussion Jim McCarty – vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion John Knightsbridge – electric and acoustic guitars John Hawken – piano, analogue synthesizers (Moog/ARP), Mellotron (original), Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, harpsichord Louis Cennamo – bass guitar (1–5), (7–10) Eddie McNeil – drums, percussion (1–5), (7–9) Keith Relf – vocals, acoustic guitar (10) (See Notes below)
Session personnel Chas Cronk – bass (6) Tony Fernandez – drums (6)
Notes Recorded in 1979 but was released as an album in 1990. Contains demos for a planned third album, plus a 1976 Keith Relf demo and a John Knightsbridge solo instrumental. "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" features John Knightsbridge, with Chas Cronk on bass and Tony Fernandez on drums. "All the Falling Angels" features Keith Relf, with other musicians including Louis Cennamo on bass. It was Keith's last recording before his death (May 1976). See YouTube video (JimMcCarty and Co) for original Home Demo version of "All the Falling Angels".
Through the Fire (2001)
Personnel
Jane Relf – vocals Jim McCarty – lead vocals, drums, percussion John Idan – acoustic guitar John Hawken – piano, keyboards Louis Cennamo – bass Ravi – percussion Jackie Rawe – vocals
Mandy Bell – vocals Emily Burridge – cello Dzal Martin – acoustic guitar Gary Le Port – acoustic guitar Jonathan Digby – acoustic guitar Danny Relf – synthesizer programming Ron Korb – vocals, flute
References
External links Northern Lights Renaissance website; includes Illusion discography etc. John Hawken website [ Illusion biography by Bradley Torreano, discography and album reviews, credits & releases] at AllMusic Illusion discography, album releases & credits at Discogs Illusion albums to be listened as stream on Spotify