London, UK
Punk rock
Less a band than an entertaining sideline, Celia & The Mutations were actually the union of The Stranglers with London torch singer Celia Gollin. First sighted by the band performing in a London club with former Kilburn & The High Roads keyboard player Rod Melvin, Gollin could scarcely have looked or sounded further away from The Stranglers' then much maligned image as misogynist hard men. But the union worked -- together the team cut a ferocious version of Tommy James & The Shondells' "Mony Mony" for release in spring 1977 on The Stranglers' United Artists label. It failed to sell, but the venture still demanded a follow-up. This was "You Better Believe Me," co-written by Gollin and bassist Jean Jacques Burnel, and many observers believe that, had Gollin been willing to promote the single, it might well have been a hit. However, her shyness prevailed, and the entire project faded away.
Mony Mony (1977) Single
You Better Believe (1977) Single
