The Orange Illusion
Encyclopedia
The Orange Illusion was a pop/rock group formed in 1967 by Michael Des Barres
(lead vocals), Nicholas Young
(lead/rhythm guitar), Kit Williams (rhythm/bass guitar) and Darryl Read
(drums). "Hendrix blasted out 'Purple Haze' from Old Nick's Bar's juke. We all raved on about Mitch's drumming - and spun the B-side 'Fifty First Anniversary', which was equally hot. Des Barres lent over to Nick Young and said, "Hey! - we should do a group." The teenage group was formed while they were all at Corona Academy Stage School, they rehearsed in the school Theater, and played cover songs of the hits of the day, like; The Who
's Substitute, the Rolling Stones
Paint It Black, The Small Faces
What You Gonna Do About It. Their first show was at Corona Academy in mid 1967 - where some of the girls mobbed them on stage, and the show was brought to an early halt by Rona Knight the schools principal. The went on to play youth clubs in West London, and were going to be taken on by a man who managed a successful pop group called The V.I.P'S (Art band
) - but on the brink of this break; Hazel Malone - the schools acting agent, broke the group up in mid 1968; by more or less threatening no more professional work for them as actors if they continued to play! So the group were forced to break up. Darryl Read, went on to form the UK's first punk rock group called Crushed Butler
and made two poetry albums with Ray Manzarek
. Read continued till present to remain in Rock and film. Michael Des Barres in 1971 formed Silverhead
,a proto glam rock outfit - then went on to have a busy acting career playing leads in Hollywood, Nicholas Young went on to star in the hit TV series tomorrows people and form the highly successful Crawfords commercials agency. Kit Williams became a successful producer at Granada Television
.
Michael Des Barres
Lord Michael Philip Des Barres is a British actor and rock singer. He is known for playing the recurring role of Murdoc on the television show MacGyver and for replacing the late Robert Palmer in the band Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert...
(lead vocals), Nicholas Young
Nicholas Young
Nicholas Young may refer to:* Nicholas Young , baseball executive* Nicholas Young , British actor* Nicholas Young , 18th century sailor...
(lead/rhythm guitar), Kit Williams (rhythm/bass guitar) and Darryl Read
Darryl Read
Darryl Read is a British poet, singer, guitarist, drummer, actor, and writer. Read is among the forerunners of punk rock...
(drums). "Hendrix blasted out 'Purple Haze' from Old Nick's Bar's juke. We all raved on about Mitch's drumming - and spun the B-side 'Fifty First Anniversary', which was equally hot. Des Barres lent over to Nick Young and said, "Hey! - we should do a group." The teenage group was formed while they were all at Corona Academy Stage School, they rehearsed in the school Theater, and played cover songs of the hits of the day, like; The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's Substitute, the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
Paint It Black, The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
What You Gonna Do About It. Their first show was at Corona Academy in mid 1967 - where some of the girls mobbed them on stage, and the show was brought to an early halt by Rona Knight the schools principal. The went on to play youth clubs in West London, and were going to be taken on by a man who managed a successful pop group called The V.I.P'S (Art band
The V.I.P.'s
The V.I.P.'s were a British R&B musical ensemble formed in Carlisle, Cumberland, in late 1963, out of an earlier outfit known as The Ramrods, who had formed in Carlisle in 1960...
) - but on the brink of this break; Hazel Malone - the schools acting agent, broke the group up in mid 1968; by more or less threatening no more professional work for them as actors if they continued to play! So the group were forced to break up. Darryl Read, went on to form the UK's first punk rock group called Crushed Butler
Crushed Butler
Crushed Butler were a British protopunk/hard rock band that existed between 1969 and 1971. According to 2008's Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk, the band "was, in many ways, Britain's first proto-punk band." Band members went on to form Darryl Read's Beat Existentialists The Gorillas and to...
and made two poetry albums with Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
. Read continued till present to remain in Rock and film. Michael Des Barres in 1971 formed Silverhead
Silverhead
Silverhead were a British band, fronted by the singer/actor, Michael Des Barres. The other members of the band were: Robbie Blunt , Rod Rook Davies , Nigel Harrison and Pete Thompson...
,a proto glam rock outfit - then went on to have a busy acting career playing leads in Hollywood, Nicholas Young went on to star in the hit TV series tomorrows people and form the highly successful Crawfords commercials agency. Kit Williams became a successful producer at Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
.
External links
- http://www.darrylread.com/
- http://www.facebook.com/darrylread/
- http://www.desbarres.com/
- http://www.facebook.com/michael.desbarres
- http://www.desbarres.com/music_theorangeillusion.html
- http://www.crawfordscommercials.co.uk/