I remember the first time I saw Culture Club. I was at a fraternity party and they had MTV on in one of the rooms. A Culture Club video came on. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he was male or female, but I was almost an instant fan of their music.
Culture Club had a string of hits in the 80s including “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” “Time (Clock of the Heart),” “Karma Chameleon,” “Miss Me Blind,” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya.” They were remarkably popular and successful for a band that was together only four years. When Culture Club broke up, Boy George blamed it on the fact that he and drummer Joe Moss had ended their relationship.
Later, we learned Boy George was a heroin addict who had fought an addition to drugs off and on for years. He did manage to have one more U.S. Top 20 hit with “The Crying Game” in 1992, but since then, when his name appears in the news, it is usually because he is in trouble with the law. In the late 80s, London police arrested him for drug possession. In August of this year, he called the New York City police to report someone had robbed his apartment and the police found drugs in his home. As part of his community service, he had to report for garbage duty.
Through it all, the other three members of Culture Club have remained silent, never really speaking about the break up of the band or George’s antics…until now that is. The three original members of Culture Club sans Boy George reunited and plan to tour in December with new lead singer Sam Butcher. When George publicly said the new lead singer was dreadful, he was pushing his luck. But, when he picked up a songwriting award without notifying the other band members, the gloves came off.
Both bassist Mikey Craig and drummer Jon Moss are “furious,” saying Boy George has gone too far this time. The remaining members of the band contend that writing the hit “Karma Chameleon” was a group effort and all received song-writing credits. However, Boy George attended the Q Music Awards alone, failing to notify the other members of the award. Moss even went as far as saying that the moniker “Boy George” was his idea (George originally wanted to call himself “Papa George”). Moss also criticized Boy George’s autobiography “Take It Like A Man,” that said many of the lyrics George wrote were about his relationship with Moss and the band broke up because of their turbulent relationship.
So far, there is no comment from Boy George, but if he doesn’t have a comment, it will be the first time.
You can purchase Culture Club CDs at Amazon.com.