Boy George

Boy George

Boy George is the stage name of George Alan O'Dowd, a British singer, songwriter and DJ born in 1961 in Bexley, United Kingdom. He becomes known in the 1980s as the lead singer of Culture Club, a group associated with new wave and pop, and later works as a solo artist, DJ and author.

Culture Club and early fame

Before Culture Club forms, Boy George attracts attention for his androgynous style and briefly performs with Bow Wow Wow after being arranged into the group by Malcolm McLaren. He then starts a new band with bassist Mikey Craig, with Jon Moss joining on drums and Roy Hay later completing the lineup. After abandoning earlier names, the band adopts the name Culture Club.

Culture Club signs to Virgin Records in the UK and Epic Records in the United States and releases its debut album, Kissing to Be Clever, in 1982. The group first has modest results with “White Boy” and “I’m Afraid of Me”, then breaks through with “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, which becomes an international hit and reaches number two in the US. Follow-up singles “Time (Clock of the Heart)” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” also become major hits, and the band becomes the first act since the Beatles to place at least three singles from a debut album in the US Top 10.

Peak years and major hits

Culture Club reaches its commercial peak with Colour by Numbers. “Church of the Poison Mind”, featuring Helen Terry, becomes a Top 10 hit, and “Karma Chameleon” spends six weeks at number one in the UK and four weeks at number one in the US. It becomes the group’s biggest hit and one of the best-selling UK singles of its year. “Miss Me Blind” and “It’s a Miracle” also chart strongly, and “Victims” becomes another UK hit. The album sells millions of copies worldwide and earns the group the Grammy Award for Best New Artist by a Duo or Group.

Boy George’s image becomes closely tied to the band’s identity, and his voice and public persona make him a prominent teen idol of the period. He also appears on Band Aid’s charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 1984, with a lead vocal role, and guest-stars in an episode of The A-Team in 1986.

Solo work, More Protein and Jesus Loves You

After Culture Club’s decline and breakup, Boy George continues as a solo artist. His first post-breakup album, Sold, is successful in the UK and includes the number one single “Everything I Own”. He also has a moderate US hit with “Living My Life” from the Hiding Out soundtrack. Another release, High Hat, includes “Don’t Take My Mind on a Trip”, produced by Teddy Riley, which becomes a moderate R&B hit.

He founds his own label, More Protein, in 1989. Under the name Jesus Loves You, and using the pseudonym Angela Dust for writing, he releases the club hit “Generations of Love” and the later signature track “Bow Down Mister”, which draws on his involvement in the Hare Krishna movement. The act Jesus Loves You is listed among his associated groups.

His solo catalogue also includes songs that respond to Section 28, the UK law restricting discussion of sex education in relation to gay students. In 1992, he scores a hit with a Pet Shop Boys-produced cover of “The Crying Game”, taken from the film of the same name, which enters the US Top 20 and becomes his first US hit since Culture Club’s “Move Away”. He later releases the rock-oriented album Cheapness and Beauty, which includes his version of Iggy Pop’s “Funtime”.

Later career, writing and broadcasting

Boy George continues to work as a DJ and tours internationally. In the late 1990s he returns to DJing on the road, and in London he stars in Taboo, a musical based on his life, taking the role of Leigh Bowery rather than playing himself. The show runs successfully in the West End.

He also works in radio and print journalism, presenting a weekly show on London’s LBC for six months in 2003, writing a weekly column in The Daily Express from 1998, and hosting a weekly show on the Galaxy Radio Network. He publishes the autobiography Take It Like a Man in 1995 and Straight in 2005.

Reunions and continued activity

Culture Club reunites in 1998 for several performances, including dates in Monte Carlo and a US tour with Human League and Howard Jones. The band also appears on Late Night with David Letterman and performs in Britain for the first time in 14 years. Later that year, it has a UK Top 10 hit with “I Just Wanna Be Loved”.

Boy George remains active as a performer and public figure, continuing to work as a DJ and appearing on television and at live events. He also performs “Bow Down Mister” with Asha Bhosle. His associated acts include Culture Club and Jesus Loves You.