Culture Club

Boy George and Bassist Mickey Craig set out to form a group, next they joined forces with former Ant (from Adam and the Ants) Jon Moss. The final member of the group to join was their guitarist Roy Hay.

The name of the band was originally to be Sex Gang Children, however at Jon Moss' suggestion they changed it to Culture Club. The name would give them some flak as people thought it was extremely pretentious, but it was actually an inside joke on the different cultures inside the club.

Boy George - transvestite Irish
Mickey Craig - Jamaican-Briton
Jon Moss - Jewish
Roy Hay - Anglo-Saxon

The band signed with Virgin records in the UK and released their first album in 1982 - Kissing to be Clever. Their second album was Colour By Numbers and was released in 1983. The Band released a third album in 1984 titled Waking Up With the House on Fire which was not as successful. Their final album was 1986's From Luxury to Heartache.

During 1985 George started a battle with drug dependance, he was arrested in 1986 for possession of heroin and Culture Club's break up was officially confirmed in 1987.

Culture Club were part of the New Romantic era of music where groups were kicking back against the punk movement and presenting themselves as the whole package. Musically and visually they wanted to ooze glamour and for people to notice them and even emulate them.

Culture Club's music seems to be a fusion of pop, reggae and even a little disco. Their songs contain a hook that gets the audience singing along and wanting more.

The first two singles off of Culture Club's Kissing to be Clever album didn't even dent the UK's top 100. They were White Boy and I'm Afraid of Me. Their next three singles, however were a different story.

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? (top ten hit around the world, reaching number 1 in 7 countries including the UK, Australia and Canada.

Time (Clock of the Heart) their second top ten single.

I'll Tumble 4 Ya - this single was only released in the US and Canada and reached number 9 in both countries.

Culture Club continued their onslaught on the charts with their best album Colour by Numbers. The first single off of this album was Church of the Poison Mind which made the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic.

It was the second single off of Colour by Numbers which was to become the band's biggest hit - Karma Chameleon became a number 1 single on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world.

Victims was released in the UK and made it to number 3.

Miss me Blind was released in the US and made it to number 5.

The single It's a Miracle didn't quite break into the US top 10 settling for number 13, it was however, able to reach number 4 in the UK.

Colour By Numbers
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Track Listing

1. "Karma Chameleon" - 4:12
2. "It's a Miracle" - 3:25
3. "Black Money" - 5:19
4. "Changing Every Day" - 3:17
5. "That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You)" - 2:45
6. "Church of the Poison Mind" - 3:30
7. "Miss Me Blind" - 4:30
8. "Mister Man" - 3:36
9. "Stormkeeper" - 2:46
10. "Victims" - 4:55
11. "Man-Shake" - 2:34 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
12. "Mystery Boy" (Suntori Hot Whiskey Song) - 3:33 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
13. "Melting Pot" - 4:31 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
14. "Colour by Numbers" - 3:57 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
15. "Romance Revisited" - 5:00 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)