Song:Karma Chameleon
Album:Greatest Hits
Culture Club was one of the most popular groups of the early 80s. Karma Chameleon was their only number one hit and they had six top ten hits. The lead singer of Culture Club was George "Boy George" O'Dowd. He was born in England but his parents were Irish. In the early 80s he was hanging around the London club Blitz. O'Dowd was gay and a cross dresser. Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren spotted him and got him into the group Bow Wow Wow as Lieutenant Lush. When that didn't work out, O'Dowd started his own band with Mikey Craig on bass, Jon Moss on drums and Roy Hay on guitar. They called themselves Culture Club because of their diverse backgrounds. They recorded demos which EMI rejected but then they were signed by Virgin Records. They were on Epic in the US. This was when O'Dowd started calling himself Boy George with an androgynous look influenced by Siouxie Sioux of Souxie Sioux and the Banshees. Their third single Do You Really Want To Hurt Me topped the British charts and became a worldwide hit. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. After Culture Club appeared on Top Of The Pops, O'Dowd's look became a big deal. Culture Club's debut album Kissing To Be Clever was certified Platinum. Their second album Colour By Numbers did even better. Time, I'll Tumble 4 Ya and Church of the Poison Mind were all top ten hits. And then Karma Chameleon was Culture Club's only number one US hit. The album was certified 4XPlatinum. That was the peak of their success. O'Dowd was using drugs and he also had a turbulent romantic relationship with Moss. And that eventually forced the end of Culture Club in 1986. You can get all their hits on this comp. O'Dowd recorded a couple of solo albums. Culture Club reunited in 1998 and released an album. An album was recorded and then shelved in 2016. It was released in 2018 and Culture Club toured. They are a nostalgia act at this point. But they were sure big in the early 80s. Here's the video for Karma Chameleon by Culture Club.
I remember them well. A lot of guys I knew hated Boy George with a passion. We all knew he was gay. It was so open and obvious. The guys I knew all liked metal and could not stand him. I liked the music, but I like metal and women. Still, they had talent and were good back in the 80's. David.
ReplyDelete