Culture Club - Boy George

The Culture Club were formed in 1981 and their name refers to their varied backgrounds: a cross-dressing Irish singer (Boy George, born George Alan O'Dowd) on lead vocals, a black-Briton (Mikey Craig) on bass guitar, a Jewish drummer (Jon Moss) and an ethnic Englishman (Roy Hay) on guitars and keyboards. George was the founder and public face of the group. A gay man who was never actually in, but still his coming out came in doses and was completed in the 90s. Mikey was the first one to join him in the formation of Culture Club. Roy was the one who later helped George give up heroin. As for Jon, he and George were secret lovers.

It seems that this love affair was the heart of the group: when everything went well it gave them the energy to shine, when they had their troubles it gave George inspiration for his lyrics and when they broke up it was more or less the end of the group.

Their first hit single, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, was written this way: George responding to his feelings for Jon. It paid off: #1 in Germany, Ireland, the UK, Canada, France, Australia, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland, #2 in the US, Italy, Denmark, Norway and New Zealand.

The follow up, Time (Clock Of The Heart), possibly my favorite Culture Club song, was also a huge worldwide hit, going Top 5 in all major markets.

Their next single, I'll Tumble 4 Ya was only released in North America, making #9 in the US and Canada. That made Culture Club the first group after the Beatles to have 3 Top 10 hits in the US from their debut album (Kissing To Be Clever).

Church Of The Poison Mind was the lead single from their 2nd - and most successful album - Colour By Numbers. There was a pleasant R&B vibe about it, a tip of the hat to Motown of the 60s. It too was a big international success.

Their next single, however, was to be their biggest: Karma Chameleon was released late 1983 and its subject, according to Boy George "is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing. It's about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back."

The song was their only #1 in the US, spending 3 weeks at the top. In the UK it spent 6 weeks at #1 and became the biggest-selling single of the year 1983. It also made #1 in Ireland, Spain, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa and Switzerland. It made #2 in Germany, #3 in Austria, #4 in Italy and #5 in France. The song eventually sold over five million copies around the world.

The follow up, a lushly produced, beautiful ballad called Victims, was also inspired by the ups and downs of George's and Jon's relationship. It was only released in certain European countries and Australia and was a big hit, even though it failed to get to #1.

The next single followed a similar pattern, in that it was only released in the Americas, Australia and Japan. Miss Me Blind was their biggest R&B hit (#5 in Billboard's Soul chart) and also #5 in the Hot 100. I was also a big club hit.

It's A Miracle was the last single from Colour By Numbers (a sizeable hit) and The War Song was the lead song off their next album, Waking Up with the House on Fire. Although both the song and the album went to #2 in the UK, neither the song nor the album were on par with the group's earlier work. The best thing about the song were Clare Torry's backing vocals. She was the singer who created magic in the song The Great Gig In The Sky from a slightly obscure album called Dark Side Of The Moon. Listen to The War Song and judge for yourselves:

The album failed to produce any more sizeable hits and 2 years later, in 1986, their fourth album, From Luxury To Heartache, hit the stores. Although it did produce one hit, Move Away, the album was their lowest-selling yet. Amidst decreasing popularity, George's drug use and the final chapter of the G&J love affair, the group decided to call it quits. Here's Move Away, which was actually good:

The group briefly reunited in 1998 and had a UK Top 5 hit with I Just Wanna Be Loved, but the album they released went nowhere fast. The reunion didn't last long. Here's I Just Wanna Be Loved:

Boy George tried having a solo career, which was hindered by his drug use and the legal issues he had to frequently deal with. His albums didn't set the world on fire, but he had some quite interesting singles.

Everything I Own was the song that David Gates wrote to express his feelings over the passing of his father. (Personal note: I listened to the original version of the song dozens of times after the untimely passing of my own father). It appeared in Bread's 1972 album Baby I'm-a Want You. 2 years later, Ken Boothe recorded a reggae cover of the song, which went to #1 in the UK. In 1987, Boy George recorded his own version and it too went to #1 in the UK, as well as in Ireland and Norway. (#2 in Italy and Belgium, #4 in Germany and the Netherlands).

A year later he recorded No Clause 28 which was a minor hit. It is remarkable though, because it's one of the few times that George took a strong stand in gay politics: Clause 28 was voted by Thatcher's government and stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". George's voice was one of many who tried to protest. Still, the Clause remained for 15 years, until it was repealed in 2003. Here's the song:

Finally, in 1992, George sang the theme song to the superb film and certified gay classic, The Crying Game. The song peaked at a respectable #15 in the US, #16 in Italy and #22 in the UK.

George has also been a very successful DJ in clubs around the world. Last year he was in the panel of judges for The Voice UK.