The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

The Eighties in America Boy George and Culture Club
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Boy George and Culture Club

Identification British pop band

For a brief period in the 1980’s, Culture Club was one of the
most popular bands on the international pop scene, and its
controversial lead singer, Boy George, was among the era’s
most recognizable faces.

The band Culture Club made a big splash on the pop
music charts and in music videos during the middle
years of the 1980’s. Band members included bassist
Mikey Craig, guitarist and keyboard player Roy Hay,
drummer Jon Moss, and singer Boy George (born
George Alan O’Dowd). Between 1983 and 1986,
Culture Club had a string of top-ten hits in the
United States, including “Do You Really Want to
Hurt Me?” (1983), “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” (1983),
“Karma Chameleon” (1984)—which reached num-

ber one in both the United Kingdom and the United

States—and “Move Away” (1986). The band had a

charming, catchy, pop sound sometimes character-

ized as “blue-eyed soul,” referring to music written

and performed by white musicians but influenced

by such black musical styles as soul, rhythm and

blues, and reggae.

Perhaps even more than their music, though, the

band was known for the flamboyantly androgynous

look and gender-bending antics of its charismatic

front man, Boy George, whose stage persona wore

outrageous costumes, heavy pancake makeup, lip-

stick, and dramatic eyeliner. George was not the first

pop musician to play with gender expectations in this

way. His look and attitude were influenced by such

singers of the 1970’s as “glam rock” star David Bowie

and the theatrical lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mer-

cury. Boy George, however, took the look further and

Culture Club in 1984. From left: Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Boy George, and Mikey Craig.(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)