Effective period / Period of releases: 1977 - 2001

Members: Tommy Eyre, Louis Cennamo, Jim McCarty, Jane Relf, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Eddie McNeil

Illusion was formed by the four surviving original members of Renaissance (Jim McCarty, John Hawken, Jane Relf and Louis Cennamo) in 1976, adding two additional musicians, guitarist John Knightsbridge and drummer Eddie McNeil. By that time Renaissance had achieved considerable success with an entirely different lineup so the original name was no longer available. The name "Illusion" came from the title of Renaissance's second album, the last one to feature these four musicians.

Illusion recorded two albums for Island Records, "Out of the Mist" (1977) and "Illusion" (1978). Demos for their third album, "Enchanted Caress", were recorded in 1979 but the project was left incomplete when the band broke up that year. The recordings were remastered and released in 1989.

The four core members reformed the band in 2000 under the name Renaissance Illusion, recording and releasing the album, "Through The Fire" (2001) before breaking up yet again.