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Culture Club were arguably the most famous group to come out of the New Romantic era of British music, and Boy George was its most famous and most popular figure. The article below gives more details about this unique British band.
Culture Club was a popular 1980s pop group, perhaps most noticeable for their gender-bending frontman Boy George. The other members of the band were Roy Hay on guitars and keyboards, Mikey Craig playing bass and Jon Moss (ex Damned, London, Adam and the Ants) on drums.

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" (which went 'all the way' in the BBC Charts in late 1982), "Time (Clock of the Heart)", and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". Unique in his eccentric manner of dress and androgynous look, Boy George became a worldwide celebrity.

Their second album, 1983's Colour By Numbers also did extremely well, giving the band its second number one hit in the UK with "Karma Chameleon." However, trouble was brewing within the Culture Club camp. Unknown to the public, George was having an affair with drummer Jon Moss. The affair (which lasted over four years) was often problematic and the pressure to hide the relationship started to take its toll.

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. 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. A minor hit from the Hiding Out soundtrack called "Live My Life" peaked at US #40. 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.

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

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.

Discography

Albums

Year Album UK U.S.
1982 Kissing to Be Clever 2 14
1983 Colour By Numbers 1 2
1984 Waking Up With the House on Fire 2 26
1986 From Luxury to Heartache 10 32
1987 This Time: the First Four Years 8 -
1993 At Worst... The Best Of Boy George and Culture Club - 169
1998 VH1 Storytellers - Greatest Moments (Live) 15 148
1999 Don't Mind If I Do 3 -
2005 Greatest Hits - -

Singles

Year Song UK U.S. Album
1982 "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" 1 2 Kissing To Be Clever
1983 "Time (Clock Of the Heart)" 3 2 Kissing To Be Clever
1983 "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" - 9 Kissing To Be Clever
1983 "Church Of the Poison Mind" 2 10 Colour By Numbers
1984 "Karma Chameleon" 1 1 Colour By Numbers
1984 "Miss Me Blind" - 5 Colour By Numbers
1984 "Victims" 3 - Colour By Numbers
1984 "It's A Miracle" 4 13 Colour By Numbers
1984 "The War Song" 2 17 Waking Up With the House On Fire
1984 "The Medal Song" 32 - Waking Up With the House On Fire
1984 "Mistake No. 3" - 33 Waking Up With the House On Fire
1986 "Move Away" 7 12 From Luxury to Heartache
1986 "God Thank You Woman" 31 - From Luxury to Heartache
1998 "I Just Wanna Be Loved" 4 - Greatest Moments
1999 "Your Kisses Are Charity" 25 - Don't Mind If I Do
1999 "Maybe I'm a Fool" 27 - Don't Mind If I Do
1999 "Starman" 31 - Don't Mind If I Do

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_Club"

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CULTURE CLUB CDs available from Peace & Freedom Press - in association with Amazon.co.uk
Best of Culture Club
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - August 2, 1999
Avg. Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars
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Colour By Numbers [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - September 8, 2003
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From Luxury to Heartache
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - 1986
Avg. Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Collect 12" Mixes Plus
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - March 1994
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Waking Up With the House [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - September 8, 2003
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Culture Club [BOX SET]
~Culture Club
Virgin (Audio CD) - December 2, 2002
Avg. Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars
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CULTURE CLUB CDs available from Peace & Freedom Press - in association with Amazon.com
Product photo At Worst...The Best of Boy George and Culture Club
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