Cruella de Ville
| Cruella De Ville | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | "Cruella" |
| Origin | Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Post-punk, gothic rock |
| Years active | 1982–1984 |
| Labels | Good Vibrations/EMI/CPL |
| Associated acts | Roy Wood |
| Past members | Colum Muinzer Philomena Muinzer James Clenaghan Stephen Mulholland Mike Edgar |
Cruella De Ville was a band from Northern Ireland that presented a mixture of post-punk and gothic rock from 1982–1984. Their members consisted of Colum Muinzer (now styling himself Colin Gibson) on vocals, guitar (often bowed), and violin; his twin sister, Philomena Muinzer, known as "Phil" or "Mena", (a Princeton University geology major (1978)} who won awards for her creative writing), on vocals and keyboard, James Clenaghan on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Mike Edgar on drums and backing vocals. They released a number of singles, but their album was never released after Edgar absconded with the recordings. Their best-known song is "Those Two Dreadful Children", which has appeared on The Dr. Demento Show and was included (transferred from a copy of the vinyl single) on a Basement Tapes members-only compilation.
The name of the band is taken from an altered spelling of villain of the same name from the book and movie The Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Their other songs include "Drunken Uncle John", "Hong Kong Swing", "Blues, Blues, Blues", "Gypsy Girl", "I'll Do The Talking", "Oceans", and "Who's At The Door?". "Drunken Uncle John" and "Oceans" have a similar dark comic flavour to that found in "Those Two Dreadful Children"—the latter being an absurdist satire on drug dealing. "Hong Kong Swing" is a send-up of Ugly American Naval officers' mangling pan-Asia into a cartoonish red-light concept. There are three versions: the first recorded was the "Manic Mix", with breakdancing cues, which was followed by the regular version. The last, "Hollywood Hong Kong Swing" is a new recording that adds three new introductions: a string soundalike to Alfred Newman's 20th Century Fox Fanfare (with Cinemascope extension), a long guitar solo, and a new verse introducing the song as if being featured in a Hollywood revue. "I'll Do the Talking" is a serious song of sibling devotion. The Muinzers, usually individually, did all the group's songwriting.
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