THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,576) The Mirage — “The Wedding of Ramona Blair”
From “a fine, unjustly overlooked band” (see #1,012) whose members had “impressive instrumental skills”, “could harmonize beautifully”, were “fine songwriters”, and “seemed close to major stardom more than once without quite grabbing the brass ring” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-world-goes-on-around-you-the-anthology-mw0003816348), comes “a whimsical slice of pop-psych” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited), “a charming bit of pop psychedelia” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mirage-mn0001901174#biography), an “excellent Beatlesque slice of psychedelia . . . . showcase[ing] gorgeous Beatles style vocal harmonies” (Kevin Rathert, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2023/02/the-mirage-the-world-goes-on-around-you-2022.html), or, as Think Like a Key Music puts it:
Hertfordshire’s rarest psych-pop nugget—rarer than a sober hippie in ’67. This three-minute soap opera, dipped in acid, mourns poor Ramona’s altar ditch with groovy heartbreak. It . . . miss[ed] the charts like a bouquet tossed to the back row.
https://www.thinklikeakey.com/release/427242-the-mirage-the-wedding-of-ramona-blair?lang=en_GB
“[It] was spun regularly by British pirate radio outlets, and received a smattering of BBC Light Programme play, but it wasn’t enough to make it the hit it deserved to be”, with “record company indifference, bad timing, and simple bad luck me[eting] them at every turn.” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mirage-mn0001901174#biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-world-goes-on-around-you-the-anthology-mw0003816348)
Mark Deming tells Mirage’s story:
An accomplished band whose talent outstripped their luck in the music business, the Mirage seemed poised for a breakthrough numerous times during their 1964-1970 lifespan, but they never landed the hit record that would have made their fortune. . . . [They had] solid instrumental skills, splendid harmonies, savvy songwriting, and a creative arc that encompassed Beat-era rockers, gently lysergic Beatlesque pop, crunchy pre-glam guitar swagger, and even prescient roots rock. The roots of the Mirage lay in Hunsdon, a village in Hertfordshire in the South of England. Hunsdon was home to a beat combo called the Venders, whose members had previously been part of a skiffle act called the Missin’ Links and a more rock-oriented outfit called Del Vincent and the Delmen. The Venders featured . . . Pat Hynes on lead guitar, his brother Pete Hynes on rhythm guitar . . . and a third Hynes brother, Dave, on drums. Playing local venues and the occasional American air force base, one of the Venders’ more successful peers were the Diamonds, featuring lead guitarist Ray Glyn Mynott . . . . When Pat Hynes hurt his finger and was unable to play a gig, the Venders asked Mynott to fill in for him, and they were happy enough with his work to invite him to join the band full-time. Mynott agreed, and . . . the new Venders lineup was Pete Hynes on lead vocals, Mynott on lead guitar, Pat Hynes on rhythm guitar, Dee Murray on bass, and Dave Hynes on drums. They made their debut . . . on Christmas Eve, 1964. In early 1965, the band decided they wanted a hipper sounding name . . . the Mirage. Several members . . . were accomplished enough that they were working as session musicians in their spare time, and this moonlighting put them in contact with Dick James, one of England’s most successful music publishers. James had installed a recording studio . . . in order to cut songwriting demos, and the Mirage became one of James’ house bands, as well as being signed as staff songwriters for his firm. After meeting at the studio, the men of the Mirage struck up a friendship with Graham Nash and Allan Clarke of the Hollies [see #461], and on their recommendation, the Mirage landed a record deal with CBS. Their first single . . . issued in June 1965. . . . didn’t chart, but they had better luck with their second release, “Go Away” . . . . Issued in November 1965 and produced by Nash and Clarke, [it] earned respectable radio airplay. Despite th[is] modest success . . . and the use of a Mirage track, “I’m Gonna Leave Her,” in the hit film Georgy Girl, CBS was reluctant to authorize a third single, and the band bided their time, writing songs and committing them to tape . . . . CBS eventually let them go, and music entrepreneur Larry Page, an associate of James, signed the Mirage and made a deal to release their material through Phillips Records. . . . Dick James handled publishing for the Beatles, and he arranged for the Mirage to be able to cover “Tomorrow Never Knows,” from the then-unreleased Revolver, for their first Phillips single. . . . However, conflicting opinions at Phillips led to the single not appearing until December 1966 . . . and the Mirage recording suffered at the marketplace. Undaunted, the group cut a second single . . . which arrived in March 1967, and May 1967 saw the release of “The Wedding of Ramona Blair[]” . . . . Phillips dropped the Mirage, and they found themselves plying their trade as sessionmen, cutting publishing demos, and backing other artists in the James/Page stable . . . [including] Reg Dwight . . . . They also kept up a steady schedule of live work . . . . The Mirage landed a new record deal when Larry Page brought them aboard for his new Page One label. However, much to the group’s consternation, the A-side for their Page One debut (issued July 1968) was a bit of pop fluff . . . co-written by Page under the nom de plume Larry Stein. Their second Page One release, September 1968’s “Here Comes Jane,” was[] . . . credited as the Yellow Pages. A month later, Page One released . . . another substandard number written by Page, and the Mirage were at the end of their rope. They broke up in order to free themselves of their contract with Larry Page, and a few months later [they] signed with Carnaby Records, a new label . . . . Unable to use the name the Mirage, the band adopted the banner Portobello Explosion. Their first release for Carnaby was “We Can Fly,” [see #1,012] a Hynes brothers original . . . . The disc made little impression, and it appeared at a transitional time for the group — Dave Hynes and Kirk Duncan had been bowled over by the Band’s first two albums, and they wanted to shift [their] music into a sound that more closely resembled that band’s rustic country-rock. The name was changed once again to Jawbone . . . and their self-titled debut album, a unique mixture of Beatles-influenced pop and rootsy Americana, came out in May 1970. Reviews were tepid, and Jawbone played no live gigs in support of the release. Predictably, it was not a commercial success, and the band broke up.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-mirage-mn0001901174#biography
Live at the BBC:
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,000 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 