The Biography Channel - Boy George Biography

Boy George shot to fame in the 80s as the lead singer of Culture Club, and his androgynous looks made him a poster boy for the New Romantics. But drug problems have followed him ever since.

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Boy George
born: 14-06-1961
birth place: London

Culture Club already had the distinction of being the first group since the Beatles to notch up at least three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from only their debut album. The group’s second album was also a success (1983), with the single Karma Chameleon rocketing to number one in numerous countries, including the U.S., where it stayed for four weeks.

George soon became a household name, making him a natural choice for one of the lead vocals on the Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas in 1984. However the pressure of fame began to take its toll and by late 1985, George had become addicted to heroin. Culture Club began to lose their way musically and work on their fourth album - From Luxury To Heartache (1986) - proved more headache than heartache for the producers, with the recording sessions dragging on for hours. In July the same year George was arrested in the UK for possession of cannabis and a just few days later, the band’s keyboard player Michael Rudetski was found dead from a heroin overdose in George’s home.

During his time in Culture Club, George embarked on a relationship with drummer Jon Moss and he has claimed that some of the songs he wrote during this period were aimed at Moss directly. The pair’s romance did not last though, with speculation that Moss had broken off his engagement to a woman to be with George and subsequently was never entirely comfortable in a homosexual relationship. Moss has since gone on to marry a woman and have several children.

Clearly the much hyped furor over the band’s had peaked too early though and after their US tour was cancelled, Culture Club disbanded in late 1986. Despite his ongoing drug addiction battles, George began recording his first solo album. In 1987 Sold was released successfully. But even though he scored UK success, George never really managed to duplicate the same level of exposure in the US.

Over the years, George has continued to release various solo albums and even formed his own record label in the early nineties. His most significant acclaim to replicate anything on the same level as Culture Club’s fame was his 1992 hit single The Crying Game, which featured in the film of the same name, reaching the top 20 in the US charts.

After a fall out with Virgin Records in the mid nineties, George’s work was poorly promoted and subsequently failed to alight any kind of praise to establish him as a serious solo musical artist. Culture Club did reform briefly back in 1998 at a Big Rewind tour in America alongside Human League and later the same year managed to secure a top five single in the UK with I Just Wanna Be Loved.
In 2006, the band decided to again reunite and tour; however, George declined to join them for this tour. As a result, he was replaced and after only one showcase and one live show, that project was shelved.

Although George failed to reach the same level of acclaim as a solo artist in comparison to the Culture Club days, he has fared better in his second career as a notable music DJ. He began DJing in the early 1990s and has since enjoyed many pats on the back from critics both here in the UK and in the US.