Biography
Among the acts that moved through Vertigo's enigmatic roster in the opening years of the 1970s, Ramases drew an unusual degree of lasting interest. His debut release for the imprint, Space Hymns, featured the then-forming 10cc as session players and stands as one of the label's most mesmerizing offerings, a sweeping conceptual work whose conviction is strong enough to suggest that the performer truly embodied the ancient Egyptian figure after whom he named himself.
Martin Raphael, born in Sheffield, England, was employed as a central heating salesman when he and his spouse Selket stepped into the psychedelic milieu of the late 1960s, presenting an image as striking as the mythology they cultivated. A solitary CBS contract yielded the 1968 single "Crazy Eye"/"Mind's Eye"; Ramases later maintained that the A-side had originally been titled "Quasar One" before a faulty phone connection prompted the change. Issued as Ramases & Selket, the record made scant impression, prompting the duo to shift to Major Minor for the follow-up "Love You"/"Gold Is the Ring," now credited as Ramases & Seleka and again meeting limited response. Ramases's artistic scope kept widening, however, and by 1970 the pair had joined the Vertigo roster.
Cut at Strawberry Studios in Manchester, the resulting Space Hymns album ranks among bassist Graham Gouldman's most cherished early-1970s sessions outside his 10cc work. "It was great. It was a really fine album to make. We would sit down on the floor with acoustic guitars, that kind of vibe, very hippy and mystical." The music sustains that atmosphere, reinforced by Roger Dean's imposing cover artwork. Yet the album moved no more units than typical Vertigo titles, and the accompanying singles "Balloon" and "Jesus Come Back" likewise vanished without trace, after which Ramases receded from sight for three years.
Reappearing in 1975, the couple issued the remarkable Glass Top Coffin, the 10cc association seemingly positioning them for modest commercial headway. The expectation proved unfounded, and the pair once more faded from view. In 1978 Ramases took his own life at his home in Felixstowe.
Martin Raphael, born in Sheffield, England, was employed as a central heating salesman when he and his spouse Selket stepped into the psychedelic milieu of the late 1960s, presenting an image as striking as the mythology they cultivated. A solitary CBS contract yielded the 1968 single "Crazy Eye"/"Mind's Eye"; Ramases later maintained that the A-side had originally been titled "Quasar One" before a faulty phone connection prompted the change. Issued as Ramases & Selket, the record made scant impression, prompting the duo to shift to Major Minor for the follow-up "Love You"/"Gold Is the Ring," now credited as Ramases & Seleka and again meeting limited response. Ramases's artistic scope kept widening, however, and by 1970 the pair had joined the Vertigo roster.
Cut at Strawberry Studios in Manchester, the resulting Space Hymns album ranks among bassist Graham Gouldman's most cherished early-1970s sessions outside his 10cc work. "It was great. It was a really fine album to make. We would sit down on the floor with acoustic guitars, that kind of vibe, very hippy and mystical." The music sustains that atmosphere, reinforced by Roger Dean's imposing cover artwork. Yet the album moved no more units than typical Vertigo titles, and the accompanying singles "Balloon" and "Jesus Come Back" likewise vanished without trace, after which Ramases receded from sight for three years.
Reappearing in 1975, the couple issued the remarkable Glass Top Coffin, the 10cc association seemingly positioning them for modest commercial headway. The expectation proved unfounded, and the pair once more faded from view. In 1978 Ramases took his own life at his home in Felixstowe.