Culture Club 
(Illinois Entertainer, March 1983) 


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By Boy George O'Dowd, and before 
the dust settles, a lot of people are 
going to have to change their minds 
about new music. 

"I'll get into a taxi in London, " says 
Boy George, "and the cab driver will 
say, 'Oh, I quite like your record, but 
I'm a bit old.' Then I have to tell him, 
'No, that's where you're wrong -- you're 
not too old.' Because the record is 
geared to an adult audience." 

All kinds of adults (right down 
to the three-piece suit variety) 
all over the nation are listening 
to Culture Club's hit on their 
special brand of easy listening 
radio stations -- and liking it. So 
is anyone who listens to AOR, 
pop or black radio. The sound 
is contemporary, yet rooted in 1960s 
soul a la Marvin Gaye. Bold, yet not 
so innovative as to scare away the 
people who make radio decisions. 
In short, the perfect single. 

"If you write a song about love," 
says Boy George, "it doesn't just 
apply to young people. It applies to 
everyone, whether they've got a 
hump back or two heads. Love is 
a universal thing." 

Hardly an unusual statement coming 
from a lapsed Catholic from Bexley 
Heath, Kent in England. George describes 
his parents as being "the same as me, 
they believe that if you're going to do 
something good, you do it, you don't 
talk about doing it." All the same, he was 
thrown out of school at 15, and spent his 
later teen years working at such jobs as 
fruit packer, milliner and printer. 

On his way to becoming one of London's 
most talked about and photographed 
fashion gadflies, Boy George began 
working as a window dresser for a 
middle-aged gentleman who owned some 
clothing shops. Eventually, George came 
to have a store all his own, giving him a 
kind of financial security so he could pursue 
his first love -- singing. 

While casting about for band members in 
a less than serious and organized way, 
Boy George came across Bow Wow Wow 
guitarist Matthew Ashland, who convinced 
him to show up at one of the band's rehearsals 
and give the lovely (but young and impressionable) 
Annabella a run for her money. According to 
George (who heard it from Ashland), Annabella 
was wavering in her commitment to Bow Wow 
Wow, even though the group was having 
great success in the U.K. 

"So I just basically stepped in," says George. 
"But nothing came of it. Malcolm (McLaren, Bow 
Wow Wow's svengali) didn't want me in the band. 
And the rest of the group didn't like me." 

But George and McLaren persisted in their own 
ways, and when the opportunity arose for Boy 
George to sing with a jazz band at a McLaren 
show, Malcolm welcomed the chance to 
showcase another "discovery." So with no 
musical training of which to speak, and even 
less experience, Boy George finally got his 
singing debut on stage. He offers surprisingly 
little by way of explaining what motivates his 
talent and desire. 

"I used to get up at parties and sing a lot," 
he says. "I've always liked singing. I saw 
a lot of people get bands together which 
were great as an idea, but there just weren't 
any vocalists -- nobody could sing!" 

Culture Club was born about two years 
ago, after bassist Michael Craig talked 
with Boy George about getting a group together. 

"Michael came along and I said, 'Oh 
great. Someone's approached me.' 
So I just decided to try a band. A few 
weeks later a friend gave me Jon's 
number and that was it really. It just 
started. These people told me Jon 
had played with some punk bands and 
I didn't think it would work out. But it was 
better than nothing. To not try was the 
worst thing to do." 

Jon Moss was just finishing up a two-year 
hiatus from the life of a journeyman 
drummer when Boy George rang him up. 
Before that he had held positions with 
no less than the Clash (two months), toured 
with the Stranglers, joined the Damned, 
turned down a gig with the Ramones and 
played with Jona Lewie, Jane Aire and 
on Car Trouble and Kick by Adam and 
the Ants. He recruited former hairdresser 
Roy Hay to play guitar and keyboards, 
completing the quartet. It was a classic 
case of all four members being in the right 
place at the right time. 

Boy George explains Culture Club's success 
in part to the band's just knowing what it wanted, 
and having the business sense not to get 
trapped, either financially or musically. 

"In England in the Seventies," 
says George, "the 'star' thing was very 
big. People really noticed the star system. 
Like Gary Glitter. But a lot of those people 
worked very hard and didn't make a 
penny because they signed bad deals 
and made a lot of mistakes. When you're in 
this business, there are a lot of people 
who would quite gladly take your problems 
off your hands, and while doing that take 
a lot of other things off your hands as well. 
You just have to be very careful. 

"I'm not doing it for money," he adds. "But 
on the other hand, I'm not going to be 
screwed into the ground by anyone. I 
know if I have no money than I won't be 
able to make records, and then I'm just 
not going to be happy." 

So far, George's only record, Kissing To 
Be Clever, has been well- received both 
on a critical and commercial level. 
While some may complain that Culture 
Club fits too snugly into the Haircut 
100/ABC/Thompson Twins genre of slick 
Euro-dance rock, the band's honesty 
shines through on such tracks as "You 
Know I'm Not Crazy," a total blend of calypso, 
salsa and modern dance rhythms, and in 
the apolitical urging of "White Boys Can't 
Control It." Boy George knows the difference 
between selling art -- and selling out. 

"You can't really sell ideas in America," he 
says, sounding relieved. "You can sell music, 
but you can't sell ideas. You can sell ideas in England, 
though. There's stuff that goes to #1 here that 
makes you want to scream. 

"One thing I've noticed about youth culture 
in England," he continues, "with the 
punk thing and the New Romantic thing, is 
that it didn't actually amount to much. It 
managed to frighten some adults, however. 
And now I have the chance to destroy 
the generation gap." 

Culture Club will seek out a gap to destroy 
during a several week tour of the U.S. 
In March, and through the continued success 
of Kissing To Be Clever. Just prior to 
coming over to 'the States' the band recorded 
a new 45, "Church Of The Poisoned Mind," 
but it could be a while before that record 
sees a domestic release. Boy George also 
has been taking breathing lessons to help 
a problem he's had since birth -- asthma. 

"If I learn to sing and breathe properly, I'll 
get rid of the asthma," says George. "That was 
really one of the main reasons for taking the 
lessons. But I've got no patience for that sort 
of thing. 

"Actually, my asthma enhances some of the 
singing," he says, as if having second 
thoughts about taking care of his health. 
"That's how I get that breathiness which is 
quite soully." Culture Club 
(Illinois Entertainer, March 1983)