The Orange Illusion (1967 - 1968)

"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."
  - from the book Stardom Road by Darryl Read.

Michael formed his first band The Orange Illusion together with fellow students Darryl Read, Nicholas Young and Kit Williams while studying at the Corona Stage Academy in London in 1967.

In his autobiography Stardom Road (2004), Darryl Read mentions that Michael had already been jamming with an older student called Steve Davey before he came up with the idea of forming a band. Read goes on to describe The Orange Illusion's first rehearsal:

"Our first rehearsal was shabby but exciting. Teenage Corona girls peered through the windows - smiling with approval at our amateur musical antics. Kit played rhythm on a cheap semi-acoustic six-string with a pickup run through a ramshackle homemade amp - occasionally filling in the bass notes - whilst Nick played every corner exactly note by note on his Futurama guitar.

Michael sang through a cheap Reslo mike put through the Watkins amp shared with Nick. I fumbled through songs, holding the beat with straight fours, occasionally getting the odd bass drum beat right, whilst clumsily attempting tom-tom fills.

Michael Des Barres was the fashion man, wearing Hendrix-type accessories like hats, waistcoats, short braided military jackets, along with a white polka dot brown scarf knotted hip and long, made from antique silk - unique."

The Orange Illusion's first concert took place in front of the school on the last day of term. The setlist consisted of cover versions and included "Satisfaction", "My Mind's Eye", "Substitute", "Eight Miles High", "Fade Away", "You Really Got Me" and "My Generation". The set ended with "Paint It Black" as the teenage girls in the audience rushed the stage.

More school concerts followed, and they also did several club concerts in West London.

The band was eventually split up by the school's acting agent Hazel Malone in early 1968. She wanted the students to focus on their acting careers instead of playing rock and roll.

Darryl Read later went on to form the British cult bands Krayon Angels and Crushed Butler, and has released beat poetry albums together with The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek.

More info:
Official Darryl Read website

Rough poster design for The Orange Illusion, made by Darryl Read (ca. 1967) (Click to enlarge)

Rough poster design for The Orange Illusion, made by Darryl Read (ca. 1967) (Click to enlarge)