Mirage (68)

Mirage formed in the Autumn of 1983 from the ashes of two Welsh Rock/Metal bands - "Rough Justice" and "Exit". Ritchie Price was the exception, a very talented young lead guitarist, joined Mirage from West Midland rockers "Nova". The band were based in the sout-east Wales valleys, a surprisingly fertile region for Rock and Metal in the early 80s, (Samurai, Persian Risk, Preacher (pre-Kooga), No Quarter, Tredegar and Traitors Gate were all active in this region at this time). The bandmates shared a common love of classic 70s rock such as Deep Purple, Van Halen, UFO, Rainbow (as well as the newer NWOBHM bands) regularly including covers by these bands in their early shows besides their own material. Within six months of forming, Mirage had developed a great live show, reaching it's pinnacle at "A Midsummers Night Rock" open air gig in South Wales in the summer of 1984. The set list now included a new number "Blind Fury" wich the band had recorded in Mayof that year for the "Notepad Productions Vol 1" local band sampler. The band were so pleased with the response to their debut recording that they entered the studio again within two months. Two more tracks were recorded - another heavy rocker, "Twilight Zone" and a lighter more commercial "Runaway" but these tracks were never released and only exists in demo form. By 1986 the band had relocated to Birmingham with a new identity (High Society), and a new "experimental" sound which was far from their NWOBHM roots.