Cruella de Ville

Northern Irish rock band

Cruella de Ville, formerly known as Blazer, was a band from Northern Ireland that presented a mixture of post punk and gothic rock from 1982 to 1984. They were mostly a studio band, who performed on television on at least two occasions and released a number of singles. Their best known song is "Those Two Dreadful Children", and their re released single "I'll Do the Talking" topped the Irish charts in 1985. Their members consisted of Colum (Colin) Muinzer (later also known as Colin Gibson) on vocals, guitar (often bowed), and violin; his twin sister, Philomena Muinzer (known as "Phil" or "Mena" and later writing under the pen name Phil O'Brien), on vocals and keyboard, James Clenaghan on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Mike Edgar on drums and backing vocals.

The band started out as a cover band called Blazer, changing their name after wanting to produce their own material. Their debut single, "Those Two Dreadful Children"/"Drunken Uncle John" was released on Good Vibrations, and Polydor showed interest, but did not follow up. Stephen Mulholland was replaced by Mike Edgar after this single,

They played live at Stringfellows nightclub in Covent Garden, London. The Muinzers, usually individually, did all the group's songwriting. In addition to television performances, the group cut a music video for "Gypsy Girl" that UK television was not allowed to show before 10 pm because it depicted a bonfire. A more simple video was made for the song that simply depicts the band performing was used for daytime showings. Philomena Muinzer is a graduate of the University of Essex, and Yale School of Drama. She has written plays, articles, and books. Mike Edgar had previously played with The Peasants, and later worked for the BBC.

Roy Wood, who produced most of the later releases as well as the unreleased tracks, played drums on "Hong Kong Swing" and Stephen Mulholland played them on "Those Two Dreadful Children." A drum machine was used on "Drunken Uncle John," with Mike Edgar overdubbing the bass drum; and a drum loop used on "Gypsy Girl," again with Edgar doing a few overdubs. All the drums on the unreleased album were played by Wood.

YearRecordingSongs1982Good Vibrations / Polydor: master tapeDrunken Uncle John / Those Two Dreadful Children1984?BBC Radio: Pre FM master tapeGypsy Girl / I'll Do The Talking / Marching Trident Studios, 2" masterOpus1 / Gypsy Girl JAM Studios, 2" masterGypsy Girl / Blues, Blues, Blues DJM Studios, 2" master Hong Kong Swing / Uncle John / Two Dreadful Children / I'll Do the Talking / Meena Mina / I Can Hear The Tanks Roll / Oceans of Potions / Big Boy DJM Studios, 2" master Who's at the Door / Toy Box Trident Studios, ¼" master Tones / Gypsy Girl (Red Hot Polka) SARM Studios, ½" master Hong Kong Swing No. 1, No. 2 & No. 3 ¼" master tape Drunken Uncle John / Those Two Dreadful Children DJM Studios, ½" master Drunken Uncle John / Who's at the Door / Oceans of Potions / Hong Kong Swing / Marching / Still She Wished for Company / Hong Kong Swing (2nd mix) DJM Studios, ½" master Hong Kong Swing / Oceans of Potions DJM Studios, ½" master Hong Kong Swing 7" / Hong Kong Swing 12" / Marching – Gig mix / Gypsy Girl – Gig mix DJM Studios, ½" master I'll Do The Talking DJM Studios, ¼" master Hong Kong Swing DJM Studios, ¼" master I'll Do The Talking / Gypsy Girl / Hong Kong Swing EMI Studios, ¼" master Toy Box / Hong Kong Swing ¼" master Away We Go Downtown Radio, ¼" master I'll Do The Talking / Line Up Downtown Radio, ¼" master Red Hot Mamma / Piano & vocal / Melody Medley

The GOT 16 single; "Those Two Dreadful Children"/ "Drunken Uncle John", has been turned into a CD single by the same fan. Using a copy of the original Polydor master tape (provided by Colum), artwork for this CD was reworked from a scan of the original poster cover.