Maybe ‘Cruella’ about a good-looking woman says Ben

By Sarah Slevin

A Joe Dolan hit has made it to the big screen and his brother Ben, who plays on the track, was delighted with its feature in Disney’s ‘Cruella’.

The late Mullingar singer inspired director Craig Gillespie, who put Dolan’s 1970 hit ‘Good Looking Woman’ in the prequel. The movie is set in the ‘70s and is a live-action movie following Disney villain Cruella de Vil from the animated movie ‘101 Dalmatians’.

Ben Dolan, who played alongside his brother Joe for many worldwide gigs, has said he was “very proud” that they used Joe’s song. “What happened was, they had a lot of songs in that movie, and I think they were going through hundreds of songs to see which they’d pick,” he said.

“And they just picked that one and sure it probably has a lot to do with the story, maybe it’s about a good-looking woman,” he laughed.

Ben was not far off the mark, as the film does revolve around two strong female characters who are in competition with each other.

‘Good Looking Woman’ features during a scene where the character of the Baroness, played by Emma Thompson is feeling threatened by Cruella, played by Oscar winning actress, Emma Stone.

Ben spoke of his surprise to hear it had featured, but he was not the only one taken aback from hearing about it.

Denis Mee worked with Joe and the band for years, and his daughter got a shock when she saw the movie.

Based in London, she did not know the song featured, and Ben said she was crying when she heard his voice over the cinema speakers and told her friends that her father had worked with the singer.

The movie has a huge soundtrack with big songs such as ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’ and ‘Feeling Good’ so ‘Good Looking Woman’ is in good company.

Ben mentioned how the song had been a big success for Joe and the band and how it took them all over the world.

“We had hits with it all over the place. It did well in South Africa, and we toured there with it. We were there four different times, and we were in Vegas. All really on the strength of that record,” he said.

Ben said he will “definitely” have to see the movie and hopes to do that soon. The movie is available on Disney and is also now in cinemas as they have re-opened this month.

Joe Dolan was the only Irish singer to reach number one in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He passed away aged 68 in 2007 and was the youngest of nine children.

Members of his family now have a tribute band for Joe called ‘Remembering Joe’ and it features members from the original Joe Dolan band including Ben himself.