Culture Club

Culture Club was a popular 1980s pop group, perhaps most noticable for their gender-bending frontman Boy George. The other members of the band were Roy Hay, guitars and keyboards, Mikey Craig, bass and Jon Moss, drums. For a while, they were one of the most successful acts in the world. Unfortunately, drama in the band and drug addiction would tarnish them.

Related Topics:
Boy George - Roy Hay - Mikey Craig - Jon Moss

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Their first album, 1982's Kissing to Be Clever, became a major international hit, spawning the hit singles "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time(Clock of the Heart)", and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". Because of his eccentric manner of dress and androgynous look, Boy George became a worldwide celebrity.

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Their second album, 1983's Colour By Numbers, also did extremely well, giving the band its first number one hit with "Karma Chameleon". However, trouble was brewing within the Culture Club camp. Unknown to the public, George, who is gay, was having an affair with drummer Jon Moss. The affair was always problematic, and the pressure to hide the relationship started to take its toll.

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The band also started to lose its place musically. Their next album, 1984's "Waking Up With the House on Fire", was a major disappointment. And though the band gained a small comeback with 1986's "From Luxury to Heartache" (thanks to the hit "Move Away"), both George's and Jon's fights created much tension, eventually leading to the breakup of the band. Around this time, George also became addicted to heroin, which created a frenzy with the tabloids. Eventually, George would let go of the habit and begin his solo career. While George scored several hits in Europe and finally hit the US top 20 with 1992's "The Crying Game", he was never able to reach the success he achieved with Culture Club.

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In 1998, the band put their issues aside and decided to do a reunion tour. Kicked off with a performance on VH1 Storytellers, the tour was a major success.

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Shortly after, Culture Club recorded a new album titled "Don't Mind If I Do". Though never released in the US, the first single, "I Just Wanna Be Loved"(UK #4), was featured on a compilation based around the Storytellers performance.

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The band went on to tour for a few more years. Recently, however, Culture Club has been inactive, largely due to Boy George's concentration on his successful career as a DJ.

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