CULTURE CLUB

After a series of false starts and stabs at fame, Boy George made it big with his band Culture Club in the autumn of 1982. The massive number one hit "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" blended white reggae with teenage romantic pop. Originally turned down by EMI, the band signed to Virgin Records who took a gamble on the band after their first two releases flopped.

Having been a scene habitually around London venues such as The Blitz, singer George O'Dowd saw the need for a distinctive public image and adopted long flowing robes, Rastafarian-type dreadlocks, pencilled eyebrows and red lipstick.

By the following year Culture Club had become the new 'international phenomenon, "America is Mad About the Boy" ran the headline of US magazine Newsweek which described his image as "politically complex and maddeningly dense". Yet, George would always maintain he was a traditional type of person, "I'm not interested in being outrageous. I'd rather have a cup of tea [than sex]" he famously told journalists.

The group, which also featured Roy Hay (guitar / keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass), and Jon Moss (drums), went on to cement their success with five more consecutive Top 5 hits including their biggest number one, "Karma Chameleon'. In 1987, after a much publicised struggle with drug addiction, Boy George embarked on a solo career topping the charts once again with Everything I Own". By the latter part of the nineties the band had reformed, played live
and enjoyed chart success once again.


Recommended listening: Kissing to be clever, Colour by numbers