'Yes We Know! But Who Is Celia?'

 I have mentioned before my partiality for 'Celia & The Mutations (here). That post features pretty much all there is to be had in print about this rather enigmatic 'spin-off', just a couple of 'non-interviews' and a handful of promo adverts for the singles that carried their name.

It was an odd move for United Artists to make in my unqualified opinion. In The Stranglers they had a band which was rapidly becoming the principal punk cash cow. To dilute that signature Stranglers' sound with the refined vocals of Celia Gollin must have been thoroughly thought through... or maybe it was a nice punk idea. It was a strategy more suited to a label like Stiff than UA. That is not to say that UA were aiming to deceive anyone. The campaign for the first single, 'Mony Mony'/'Mean To Me' featured the instantly recognisable silhouette of the band. It was also a clever way however to release an early Stranglers' original that was now perhaps less representative of their band's recognised studio output.

It is to be regretted that the band's discography did not stretch to more than the two singles (and even then the personnel changed considerably). But, then again would the release of three albums within the space of a year opened the band to accusations of cashing in. Who knows?

Whatever the case, here is the elusive lady lino printed in black ink on cream card (21cm x 29.7cm).