Culture Club - Biography
BY Jeff Hunt
There was a period of two years or so, around 1982 – 1983 when mainstream America wholly embraced Boy George and Culture Club, and was completely satisfied when his record label promised that George was straight. You know, like Liberace. Sure, he’s a florid, flamboyant transvestite, but he’s one of the straight ones. Like Ed Wood? A serious Gender Studies wonk could devote thousands of words to how peculiar it is that a society that would have otherwise been generally intolerant of a perky gay man in drag, on MTV, sashaying around in front of the nation’s youth, looked the other way and gave him a pass on the basis of some supremely catchy, bubbly pop songs. But that’s the power of pop for you.
But really, what’s not to like about Culture Club? It came together quickly for them. In 1981, George was DJ-ing and occasionally hopping on the stage with Malcolm McLaren’s New Romantic fashion mannequins/clothing-shop shills, Bow Bow Wow. Annabella Lwin – actual lead singer and jailbait on a hook – was not so thrilled about sharing her toys with “Lieutenant Lush,” as George billed himself, so he rounded up Mikey Craig (bass), Roy Hay (guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar), and Jon Moss (percussion, drums), and started his own thing.
EMI promptly paid for demos, then declined to sign the group. (What is it with EMI? First they dump the Sex Pistols, then this? To date, Culture Club has sold 26 million records worldwide, and the Sex Pistols have been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Whatever.) Virgin heard the demos, though, and they snagged the band; Epic got them in the US. The first LP is Kissing to Be Clever (1982 Virgin). It’s sort of on the periphery of the “Blue-Eyed Soul” and “New Romantic” genres, which are essentially non-essential British sub-sub-genre categorizations. The first single, “White Boy,” went nowhere. The second single, “I’m Afraid of Me,” went nowhere. The third single was a reggae-influenced number, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.”
“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” went to #1 in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Switzerland, and to #2 in the US, Holland, Italy, Norway, and Saudi Arabia (joking – just making sure you’re paying attention). It was all over MTV. The follow-up single was “Time (Clock of the Heart),” an R&B number that references Philadelphia soul. It went to #3 in the UK and #2 in the US. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” is a jaunty Caribbean bit with horns and steel drum that also hit the US top ten. The last time a US debut spawned three top-ten hits? The Beatles. So Culture Club had it made, the British tabloids went to town, and the world was now Lieutenant Lush’s personal stage.
The next LP was Colour by Numbers (1983 Virgin). It was the biggest selling album in Canadian history – platinum ten times over! Canadians know good pop when they hear it. Yanks and Brits liked it, too: #2 here; #1 there; #1 Down Under. "Church of the Poison Mind": UK #2; US #10. "Karma Chameleon": UK and US #1. "Victims": UK #3. "It's a Miracle": UK #4; US #8. "Miss Me Blind": US #8. It’s their biggest and best LP. Backing vocalist Helen Terry really belts it out, and George manages to keep up, too. It’s a frivolous, carefree romp through all sorts of genres, and one of the most endearing, enduring albums of the 80s.
Harried by an intense touring schedule, the band rushed the third LP. Waking Up with the House on Fire (1984 Virgin) was critically drubbed. Commercially, it bombed. George participated in Bob Geldof’s hideously mawkish and culturally patronizing “Do They Know It’s Christmas” thing. The royalties from a couple million records sold, buy an awful lot of cocaine. And when that doesn’t do the trick, the royalties from a couple million records sold, buy an awful lot of heroin.
From Luxury to Heartache (1986 Virgin) took forever, in the studio, on the clock. Plus, it was a dance record, all drum machines and synthesizers. George couldn’t get his parts right. There was a pot arrest. Not good. A buddy ODed on heroin in George’s flat. Really not good. The dance crowd liked From Luxury to Heartache well enough, but so much for broad, mainstream success. Culture Club were toast. George went solo, did drugs, made the tabloids, got arrested again. There was the obligatory reunion in 1998 for VH1. “I Just Wanna Be Loved” went to #4 in the UK. Don't Mind If I Do (1999 Virgin) peaked at #64 in the UK, although a couple of singles broke the top 40. George continues to DJ, although at the moment he’s in hot water with Johnny Law again.
So that’s Culture Club. They burned bright and brief, and the dawn of the MTV era suited them perfectly. Boy George was flamboyant – sheer visual onslaught, with soul in his voice and pop hooks galore up his ruffled fuchsia sleeve. It was fun while it lasted.
