Illusion were a British progressive rock band formed in 1977.^[1] They released two albums, Out of the Mist (1977) and Illusion (1978) on Island Records, before folding in 1979. A third release titled Enchanted Caress (made up of demos for a proposed 3rd album, from the late 1970s) was released in 1990.^[2][3]

Illusion were intended to be a reunion of the original line-up of Renaissance (whose second 1971 album was titled Illusion), but singer and guitarist Keith Relf died before the project was realised.^[4] Thereafter, the band's new lineup featured Louis Cennamo on bass, John Hawken on keyboards, Jim McCarty moved from drums to play acoustic guitar and share vocals with Jane Relf, while Eddie McNeill replaced him on drums and John Knightsbridge (from Third World War, and later of Ruthless Blues) played lead guitar.^[5]

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.^[6]

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