CULTURE CLUB

After being kicked out of his gigs with Bananarama, George O’Dowd christened himself “Boy George” and recruited some talented musicians (Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, and Jon Moss) in the London area, and Culture Club was born.

After not hitting with the first two singles from their first album, Kissing to Be Clever, Culture Club released the reggae-inspired "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", in September of 1982, and scored an international chart topper. Their next two singles were also big hits, the R&B/Smooth Jazz tune, "Time (Clock of the Heart)", and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," making Culture Club the first group since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits from a debut album in America. Kissing to Be Clever would eventually sell over 6.5 million records worldwide, and their next album, just over a year away, would be even bigger.

Colour by Numbers was released in October of 1983 and ended up selling over 10 million copies globally.  It spawned four US Top Ten hits ("Church of the Poison Mind,” Karma," "Miss Me Blind," and "It's a Miracle"), and a fifth one in the band’s native UK ("Victims"). Culture Club then won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, where George gave a speech via satellite stating, "Thanks America, you've got style, you've got taste, and you know a good drag queen when you see one." This album was also notable for highlighting the band’s lead back-up singer, the phenomenal Helen Terry, and spring boarded her successful career.

As with all meteoric rises, descent must follow, and it did for Culture Club. They had a hit from the soundtrack to the great cult film Electric Dreams, called "Love Is Love", and then sold around two million copies of their next album, Waking Up with the House on Fire. The album had really only one hit single ("The War Song"),  and band member have stated many times that they were exhausted from an enormous world tour the year before, but were pressured to put out a new album for their labels (Virgin and Epic).

George’s drug abuse and internal squabbling took its toll on the band, and Culture Club’s final album (until a failed comeback in 1999), 1986's From Luxury to Heartache yielded only one hit single, "Move Away." By the end of the year, Culture Club was officially a band no more, leaving a legacy of smart, sweet songs and a gallery of bewitching videos.

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. - Proverbs 15:13