UK import collection featuring all of the hits by Boy George's '80s new wave
band, including 'Karma Chameleon', 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?',
'It's A Miracle', 'Miss Me Blind', 'Time (Clock Of The Heart)', 'I'll
Tumble 4 Ya' & 'Church Of The Poisoned Mind', 16 tracks total.
1989 Virgin Records release.Track listing
1.Do You Really Want to Hurt
2. White Boy
3. Church of the Poison Mind
4. Changing Everday
5. War Song, The
6. I'm Afraid of Me
7. Its a Miracle
8. Dream, The (From Electric D
9. Time (Clock of the Heart)
10. Dive, The
11. Victims
12. I'll Tumble 4 Ya
13. Miss Me Blind
14. Mistake No 3
15. Medal Song, The
16. Karma Chameleon
Product Details
- Audio CD (November 21, 1989)
- Original Release Date: November 21, 1989
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Virgin Records
Culture Club Biography
Few new wave groups were as popular as Culture Club. During the
early '80s, the group racked up seven straight Top Ten hits in the U.K.
and six Top Ten singles in the U.S. with their light, infectious
pop-soul. Though their music was radio-ready, what brought the band
stardom was Boy George, the group's charismatic, cross-dressing lead
singer. George dressed in flamboyant dresses and wore heavy makeup,
creating a disarmingly androgynous appearance that created a sensation
on early MTV. George also had a biting wit and frequently came up with
cutting quips that won Culture Club heavy media exposure in both
America and Britain. Although closely aligned with the new romantics --
they were both inspired by Northern soul and fashion -- Culture Club
had sharper pop sense than their peers and they consequently had a
broader appeal. However, their time in the spotlight was brief. Not
only could they not withstand the changing fashions of MTV, but the
group was fraught with personal tensions, including Boy George's drug
addiction. By 1986, the group had broken up, leaving behind several
singles that rank as classics of the new wave era.
The son of a
boxing club manager, Boy George (b. George O'Dowd, June 14, 1961),
found himself attracted to the glam rock of T. Rex and David Bowie as a
teenager. During the post-punk era of the late '70s, he became a
regular at London new romantic clubs. Along with his cross-dressing
friends Marilyn and Martin Degville (a future member of Sigue Sigue
Sputnik), George became well-known around the London underground for
his extravagant sense of style, and Malcolm McLaren invited him to join
an early version of Bow Wow Wow. George briefly appeared with the band
as Lieutenant Lush before leaving to form In Praise of Lemmings with
bassist Mikey Craig (b. February 15, 1960). Once guitarist Jon Suede
joined the group, they changed their name to Sex Gang Children. Within
a few months, the band met Jon Moss (b. September 11, 1957), a
professional drummer who had previously played with Adam & the Ants
and the Damned.
By 1981, Boy George had renamed the group Culture
Club and Suede had been replaced by Roy Hay (b. August 12, 1961), a
former member of Russian Bouquet. Toward the end of the year, they
recorded a set of demos for EMI, but the label turned them down. Early
in 1982, the band landed a contract with Virgin Records, releasing
"White Boy" in the spring. Neither "White Boy" or its follow-up, "I'm
Afraid of Me," made the charts but the British music and fashion press
began running articles about Boy George. In the fall, Culture Club
released their breakthrough single, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,"
which rocketed to the top of the charts. Shortly afterward, the band's
debut, Kissing to Be Clever, climbed to number five on the U.K. charts
and the non-LP single "Time (Clock of the Heart)" reached number three.
Early in 1983, Kissing to Be Clever and "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"
began climbing the U.S. charts, with the single peaking at number two.
"Time" reached number two in the U.S. shortly after the non-LP British
single "Church of the Poison Mind," attained the same position in the
U.K. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" became a Top Ten hit in America that summer.
By
the time Culture Club's second album Colour By Numbers was released in
the fall of 1983, the band was the most popular pop/rock group in
America and England. "Karma Chameleon" became a number one hit on both
sides of the Atlantic, while the album reached number one in the U.K.
and number two in the U.S. Throughout 1984, the group racked up hits,
with "It's a Miracle" and "Miss Me Blind" reaching the Top Ten. In the
fall, the group returned with its third album, Waking Up With the House
on Fire. While "The War Song" reached number two in the U.K., the album
was a disappointment in America, stalling at platinum; its predecessor
went quadruple platinum.
Following a brief tour in February,
Culture Club went on hiatus for 1985, with Craig, Moss, and Hay
pursuing extracurricular musical projects in the interim. During the
year, Boy George -- who had previously denounced drugs in public --
became addicted to heroin. Furthermore, his romance with Moss, which
had always been rocky, began to disintegrate. All of these problems
were kept hidden, but it became evident that something was wrong when
Culture Club returned to action in the spring of 1986. Though their
comeback single, "Move Away," became a hit in April, its accompanying
album From Luxury to Heartache stayed on the charts for only a few
months. Rumors of George's heroin addiction began to circulate, and by
the summer, he announced that he was indeed addicted to the drug. In
July, he was arrested by the British police for possession of cannabis.
Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetski, who played on From
Luxury to Heartache, was found dead of a heroin overdose in George's
home. Rudetski's parents unsuccessfully tried to press wrongful death
charges on Boy George.
While Boy George was battling heroin
addiction, and his subsequent dependence on prescription narcotics,
Culture Club broke up. George confirmed the group's disbandment in the
spring of 1987, and he began a solo career later that year. While his
solo career produced several dance hits in Europe, George didn't land
an American hit until 1992, when his cover of Dave Berry's "The Crying
Game" was featured in the Academy Award-nominated film of the same
name. In 1995, George published his autobiography, Take It Like a Man.
Culture Club reunited in 1998, issuing the two-disc set VH1
Storytellers/Greatest Hits.
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