Boy George

Boy George

Boy George (born George Alan O'Dowd 14 June 1961 in Eltham, London) is an English singer-songwriter and club DJ who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by rhythm and blues and reggae. His 1990s and 2000s-era solo music has glam influences such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

Career

Culture Club

Boy George's androgynous style caught the attention of music executive Malcolm McLaren (of Sex Pistols fame), who arranged for O'Dowd to perform with the group Bow Wow Wow, featuring Annabella Lwin. Boy George's association with Bow Wow Wow ended soon afterwards, and he started his own group with bassist Mikey Craig. The group was to be called In Praise Of Lemmings, but the name was later abandoned. Jon Moss (who had drummed with The Damned, Adam and the Ants and London) then joined the group. The final member to join the band was Roy Hay. The group abandoned another name, Sex Gang Children, and settled on the name Culture Club, an in-joke about the ethnic composition of the group, which consisted of an Irish singer, a Jamaican-Briton on bass, a Jewish drummer, and an Englishman on guitar.

The band signed with Virgin Records in the UK and with Epic Records in the US, and released its debut album Kissing To Be Clever in 1982. The album's third single, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?", reached #1 in sixteen countries and #2 in the United States. This single was followed by "Time (Clock Of The Heart)" (not on the UK LP), which reached the US #2, and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", which reached #9. This gave Culture Club the distinction of being the first group since the Beatles to have three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from a debut album. Their next album, Colour By Numbers was also a success.

The single "Church Of The Poison Mind" (featuring Helen Terry) became a Top 10 hit, and "Karma Chameleon" became a #1 single in numerous countries around the world, including the U.S., where it stayed at #1 for three weeks, and the UK, where it was the best-selling single of the year, spending six weeks at #1. It stands as the group's biggest hit. "Miss Me Blind" and "It's A Miracle" were Top 5 and Top 20 hits respectively, and "Victims" was another Top 3 UK hit.

George became the main songwriter of the band for Culture Club's contributions to the movie soundtrack Electric Dreams. George and Roy Hay had already written "Love Lies Lost" for backing singer Helen Terry and a new tune "Passing Friend" for the upcoming Beach Boys album but the two Culture Club songs for Electric Dreams, "The Dream" and "Love is Love", was also written solely by George and Roy Hay. Moreover, the P. P. Arnold song "Electric Dreams" was credited only to George and Phil Pickett, who also co-wrote "Karma Chameleon". George was one of the lead vocalists on the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas". In early 1986, he guest-starred on an episode of The A-Team entitled "Cowboy George", in which he played himself.

In 1985, George developed a heroin addiction, which affected Culture Club's ability to perform and record. Their 1986 album From Luxury to Heartache dragged on for so long that producer Arif Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. In July, he was arrested by the British police for possession of cannabis. Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetski, who played on From Luxury to Heartache and had co-written “Sexuality” and "What Have I Got To Lose" with George, was found dead of a heroin overdose in George's home. This followed a second death, friend Mark Vaultier who overdosed on methadone and Valium at a party Boy George was attending but got arrested en route on suspicion of carrying drugs. A tour of America was cancelled and the group had disbanded by late 1986.

Solo career

Still battling his heroin addiction and subsequent dependence on prescription narcotics, George started recording his first solo album. In 1987, Sold was released and George enjoyed several hit singles including "Everything I Own" (UK#1), "Keep Me In Mind" (UK#29), "To be Reborn" (UK#13) as well as the title song (UK#24). Despite UK success, George never really managed to duplicate that success in the United States, especially because he was not able to go to America because of the previous year's drug charges, though he did score a moderate hit with the song "Live My Life" (#40 US) from the Hiding Out soundtrack. His second US album High Hat comprised of songs from two of his solo British albums released after Sold. The R&B song "Don't Take My Mind On A Trip", produced by Teddy Riley, became the only hit from High Hat, reaching top 5 on the R&B chart. His following release was a song to protest against the governing UK Conservative Party's legal restrictions on anyone working for a local authority promoting homosexuality, 'No Clause 28 (Emilio Pasquez Space Face Full Remix)' was an underground acid house hit.

In 1989, George formed his own label, More Protein and recorded under the name Jesus Loves You, (writing under the pseudonym Angela Dust). He released two other underground club songs "After The Love" and "Generations Of Love", and "Bow Down Mister". With "Bow Down Mister", he returned to the UK top 30 in 1991. Inspired by his involvement in the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), George had written the song during a trip to India. A third single taken from it, "One On One" became popular in its single version, remixed by Massive Attack).

From March 1990 to April 1991, George presented a weekly chat and music show on the Power Station satellite channel called Blue Radio. In 1992, George had a hit with a version of the song "The Crying Game" (produced by the Pet Shop Boys), which was featured on the movie of the same name, and reached the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100. Although he had had solo hits in the UK, this would be his first and only big US pop hit since Culture Club's 1986 single "Move Away".

George made many recordings between 1990 and 1994, but none surfaced. A pop and worldmusic-oriented album was scheduled for release by Jesus Loves You in 1992, named "Popularity Breeds Contempt", but never came out. Only three tracks with their respective remixed versions survived, ending up on the "Sweet Toxic Love" EP, released in the last year of the 1990 year (which only reached #65 in the UK Chart). The album (the tentative title of which, "Popularity Breeds Contempt", also survived as opening line spoken at the beginning of the 1993 collection called "At Worst: The Best of Boy George and Culture Club") was shelved, as it were, in favour of the recent growing interest in rock for George.

He released a rock-driven Cheapness and Beauty in 1995, but the album was not successful, although "Same Thing in Reverse" did become a minor US hit. A follow-up to Cheapness And Beauty, tentatively named "Too Spooky" was recorded in spring 1996 but it was shelved. Some of the tracks from those sessions appeared later on The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit Volume One, which was at first sold on the internet only and then distributed by several minor labels. Another project from the time was a new group that would include Boy George and two long-time musicians, John Themis and Richie Stevens. Initially named "Shallow", it was later re-named "Dubversive". The project took place in 1997 and was to include trip-hop, dub and reggae. The project was shelved, this time due to a lack of interest by record companies because of the group's lack of commercial appeal. Some songs from those sessions surfaced later on the 2002 Culture Club Box set and some others appeared on eBay in 2004.

On some other labels, several dance-oriented tracks were released in various countries. For example, "Love is Leaving" went top 3 in Italy and "When Will You Learn" reached the top positions in the Switzerland charts. "When Will You Learn" was also nominated for the Best Dance Recording, at the Grammy Awards. In 1999, Boy George collaborated on songs with dance-oriented acts. For example, "Why Go," a slow-paced track with Faithless, from their Sunday 8 PM LP, was later released in a remixed form in some European countries and Australia. A track was done with Groove Armada, named "Innocence Is Lost", but was only released on a promo 12" in 1999.

From 2001 to 2004, George was involved in the production of his hit musical "Taboo". It was performed in London in 2002-2003 and then was taken to Broadway for one hundred performances. There was also another version who toured the UK. Boy George was nominated for a Tony Awards for the "Best Musical Score", receiving good reviews about all the original songs included in the show. In 2002, Boy George released U Can Never B2 Straight, an "unplugged" collection of rare and lesser known acoustic works. It contained unreleased tracks from previous years as well as some ballads from Cheapness And Beauty and the Culture Club album Don't Mind if I Do. It received the best reviews of Boy George's solo career, many of them highlighting his strong song writing abilities. The record was only released in the UK and Japan, and received almost no promotion from Virgin Records, only rising to 147 on the UK album charts.

From 2002 to 2004, under the pseudonym "the Twin", Boy George experimented in electronica, releasing limited edition 7" singles and promo records. Performed in small venues such as the Nag Nag Club, the material was considered innovative, but not commercially marketable. This period, however, was a very creative and liberating one for George; for "the Twin," could sing whatever he wanted. The limited releases included four 500 to 520 copies 7", one limited 12" (for Sanitized) and a promo cd, 1000 copies 13-track album Yum Yum. Two years later, it was released via digital outlets like itunes. An album recorded in the Spring of 2003 was also shelved. A collaboration with electronic combo T-Total, the album was a collection of covers of songs by Jefferson Airplane, David Bowie, John Lennon, Dusty Springfield, T-Rex, and the Eurythmics among others. It is suggested that Boy George's numerous abandoned projects are due to his broad interest and need to explore other creative mediums such as photography, writing, and fashion.

On his "More Protein" website, George did announce another unreleased album, named Straight, for summer 2005. It was to include tracks like "Panic" and "Talking Love". Fortunately, four tracks were released as a sampler with the book of the same name in 2005. A reggae-ton oriented EP was also planned for August 2006 but was never released. Some recent tracks were shared by George himself in late 2006 and early 2007 on his YouTube account, his three myspace pages and sometimes on his official site.In January 2007, Boy George released "Time Machine" on Plan A Records. "Time Machine" was co-written by double Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter Amanda Ghost who also co-wrote "You're Beautiful" with James Blunt.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue asked to work with George and Amanda Ghost for her upcoming album, which was set to be released in 2007 under the name "X". It will not be the first time that George has given songs to other artists. In the past, he shared compositions with the Beach Boys, Caron Wheeler, Charlotte Church, Mica Paris and many others. He also wrote many of the tracks for the artists on his own dance oriented music label, More Protein, such as Eve Gallagher, Zee Asha, Lippy Lou, and E-Zee Possee.

In 2007, two electronica/dance collaborations were released in limited editions. In the spring, the track "You're Not The One" was remixed from an old demo and released with the dance combo "Loverush UK" reaching the top 20 in the UK dance chart. It was a digital-only release, available in many digital retailers like iTunes. Also on iTunes, a new collaboration with trip-hop/electro band Dark Globe, called "Atoms", was released on November 19th. The single contains eight versions, from the slow original to electro remixes by Ariya and Henrik Schwarz. That EP would have included new remixes of tracks like "Turn 2 Dust", remixes of covers like "Don't Wanna See Myself" and "Go Your Own Way", and most of the versions included would have been remixes done by German producer Kinky Roland.

Reunions

In July 1998, a reunited Culture Club performed three dates in Monte Carlo and then joined Human League and Howard Jones in a "Big Rewind" tour of the US. The following month, the band appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and made an appearance in Britain, their first in 14 years. Later that year, the band had a Top 5 hit in the UK with "I Just Wanna Be Loved" and later a top 30 hit with "Your Kisses are Charity".In 2006, the band decided to again reunite and tour; however, George declined to join them for this tour. As a result, two members of Culture Club replaced George with vocalist Sam Butcher. George has expressed his displeasure at the turn of events. Finally, after one showcase and one live show, that project was shelved.

Personal life

George struggled against his severe heroin addiction for many years. He would appear in public under the influence of the drug, and even attempted to do concerts in such a state. Addictions to other drugs followed, and George's younger brother David, in an attempt to save his famous sibling from death, went on UK national television and blew the whistle on George. Some of George's closest friends had already died of overdoses and co-writer on the From Luxury to Heartache album, Michael Rudetsky, was found dead of a heroin overdose in George's home in August 1986.

After George's coming-out as a homosexual, he revealed his long-time lover to be Ben Coldham from Chicago, IL. Coldham had been a frequent contributor to some of his lyrical content, including many songs off 89's "More Protein" album. They remain together and are considering marriage after the California law banning gay marriage was overturned.

After heavy press coverage in July 1986, Boy George was arrested for heroin possession. Police had code named the project as "Operation Culture" involving the raids of houses and arrests of ex-boyfriend Jon Moss, friend Marilyn, Culture Club backing vocalist Helen Terry, friend Mimi and drug suppliers Ginty and Steve. In 1995, Kirk Brandon, an ex-lover during Boy George's punk days had filed a lawsuit against him for "malicious falsehood" claiming to falsely mentioning a love-affair between them in Boy George's autobiography, Take It Like a Man. George won the suit and Kirk Brandon was ordered to pay £200,000 to Virgin Records, EMI Virgin Music and the book publishers for legal costs. Brandon had himself declared bankrupt, which resulted in Boy George paying £60,000+ in legal fees (Boy George with Paul Gorman (2005), Straight, London, Arrow Book).

On 7 October 2005, Boy George was arrested in Manhattan on suspicion of possessing cocaine, (BBC Online Report) and appeared in court on 1 February, 2006 (BBC News report). On 17 June 2006, a Manhattan judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Boy George after the former Culture Club singer failed to appear in court.[1] On 14 August 2006, Boy George reported for garbage duty, picking up trash for the New York City Department of Sanitation as part of his community service. As a result of the media frenzy, he was allowed to perform his community service inside the Sanitation Department grounds. This garbage duty was assigned by the court for 'wasting police time,' after he admitted to falsely reporting a burglary in his Manhattan apartment.

On 30 April 2007, Boy George was arrested for allegedly assaulting and falsely imprisoning a Norwegian man in his home in East London. On 8 October 2007, Boy George was sued by a American club promoter from Warrington and ordered to pay £31,000 in compensation for loss of earnings. Boy George had cancelled his appearance after being arrested for possession of cocaine, only providing ten days' notice. [[2]] On 13 November 2007, Boy George was charged with falsely imprisoning a 28-year-old man. He was ordered to appear before a court on 22 November. The Sun newspaper reported in April that a Norwegian man, Audun Carlsen, 28, claimed he was chained and threatened at O'Dowd's London flat, where he had gone as a photo model.

Memoirs

Harper Collins published the autobiography of Boy George, Take It Like A Man, in 1995. The book was released to coincide with the timing of George's solo record, Cheapness And Beauty. In 2005, Century published Straight, his second autobiographical book, written with author Paul Gorman. This stayed in The Sunday Times bestseller list for six weeks. Gorman has also ghost written Cry Salty Tears, the memoirs of mother Dinah O'Dowd, which was published by Arrow Books in January 2007.

Sexual orientation

When George was with Culture Club, much was made of his androgynous appearance, and there was speculation about his sexuality. When asked the question in interviews, George gave various answers. At times he suggested he was bisexual. He gave a famous, often quoted response to an interviewer that "I prefer a nice cup of tea to sex".

In Take It Like A Man, George told his side of his secret relationship with Culture Club drummer Jon Moss (also Kirk Brandon, see legal problems). He stated many of the songs he wrote for Culture Club were directed at Moss. He also alleged that Moss had broken off his engagement to be with George, and that Moss was never comfortable in a same-sex relationship, although Moss was bisexual. During the Culture Club reunion, though, Moss did acknowledge that he had loved George deeply.

2000s

Boy George remains a figure in the public eye. Although he has not reached the same level of success as a solo artist, he has a second career as a notable music DJ. He started DJing in the early 1990s and came to the attention of legendary rave/house promoters Fantazia who asked him to mix 1 of the discs on the 2 volume in their new compilation series Fantazia The House Collection 2. This compilation was a success in the UK, going gold. The album was also sold to Sony for European-wide release. London mega club Ministry of Sound hired him to compile one of their first CDs, and it promptly sold 100,000 copies. He then completed some compilations for them, five of them being the Annual I to V. In 2002/2003 he starred in the London musical Taboo, based on his life (George didn't play himself, opting instead to take on the persona of Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery). Taboo was a great success in London's West End, though a heavily altered Rosie O'Donnell-produced run in New York was short-lived (100 performances only, versus the two-year run in England, and several nominations for best musical soundtrack).

In 1998, Boy George began writing a weekly column in The Daily Express and hosted a weekly radio show on the Galaxy Radio Network. During 2003, he presented a weekly show on London radio station LBC 97.3 for six months. He wrote the foreword for a feng shui book called "Practical Feng Shui" by Simon G. Brown (published in 1998). He also appeared as a guest on the British comedy-talk show The Kumars at No. 42. In March 2005 he was the guest host for an episode of The Friday Night Project, for Channel 4 television.

On 20 October 2006 it was announced that he will write some tracks for Kylie Minogue (News.com.au story). Boy George has run his own fashion line for some years, namely "B-Rude". B-Rude has shown at fashion shows in London, New-York and Moscow He is working right now on a forthcoming solo LP, which apparently will be including some ragga, reggae, pop and acoustic songs. On 24 December 2006, George appeared on a one-off BBC TV programme "Duet Impossible" where he performed with himself from the 1980s and joked about his street cleaning.

On 25 February 2007, George was special guest DJ at GLBT nightspot, The Court Hotel in Perth, Western Australia. On 4 March 2007, George performed as a DJ at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney for the Mardi Gras Festival. On 11 May 2007, George performed as a DJ at the launch party for the Palazzo Versace in Dubai, UAE. George cancelled his planned 2007 October tour via an announcement on his official website. In 2007: George toured as a DJ, visiting Florence, Stuttgart, Rotterdam, Toulouse, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Syndey, Dubai, Skopje, Niagara Falls, Montreal, Toronto, Cagliari, Blackpool, Coventry, Munich, Naples, Mantova, Lyon, Follonica, Paris, Kristiansand, Noli, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, Beirut, Budapest, Skanderborg, Baia, London, Mykonos, Geneva, Lausanne, Stockholm, Manchester, Brussels, Bologna, Hongkong, Letterkenny, Aix-en-Provence, Reims, Moscow and Genova.

George has played a special residency at the Shaw Theatre in London (in which all shows were sold out) from 23 January 2008, followed by a full UK tour. Boy George will be headlining this years RETROFEST to be held in Scotland August 2008. April 2008, The Biography Channel featured a documentary on the life of Boy George. He recently announced his first North American tour as a solo artist in a decade for this summer. This summer, he will be performing in various American and Canadian cities, in July and August. Another 29-date UK tour has been announced for October/November 2008 [3].

Discography

Studio albums, greatest hits and DJ compilations

Main article: Culture Club

• 1987 - Sold [UK #29, U.S. #145]
• 1988 - Tense Nervous Headache (not in the U.S)
• 1989 - Boyfriend (not in the U.S.)
• 1989 - High Hat (selected tracks from Tense Nervous Headache and Boyfriend, for America only) [U.S. #126]
• 1990 - The Martyr Mantras (released as Jesus Loves You in the UK) [UK #60]
• 1992 - Spin Dazzle (Culture Club & Boy George joint compilation)
• 1993 - At Worst... The Best of Boy George and Culture Club [UK #24, U.S. #169 (Gold)]
• 1995 - Cheapness and Beauty [UK #44]
• 1995 - Fantazia House Collection 2 (as DJ)
• 1998 - The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit (studio album by fans request)
• 1999 - Everything I Own (Boy George solo greatest hits and stand-out tracks compilation)
• 1999 - Galaxy Mix (as DJ)
• 2001 - Essential Mix (as DJ)
• 2002 - Taboo Original London Cast (soundtrack of West End show)
• 2002 - Classic Masters (compilation)
• 2002 - A Night Out with Boy George - A DJ Mix (as DJ)
• 2002 - A Night In with Boy George - A Chillout Mix (as DJ)
• 2002 - U Can Never B2 Straight [UK #147]
• 2002 - Culture Club Box Set (contains many unreleased solo and band tracks, demos and remixes)
• 2002 - In & Out with Boy George - A DJ Mix (as DJ) (double CD collecting A Night Out... and A Night In with Boy George)
• 2003 - BoyGeorgeDJ.Com (as DJ)
• 2004 - Taboo Original Broadway Cast (soundtrack of Broadway show)
• 2004 - Yum Yum (as The Twin)
• 2004 - The Annual 1, 2, 3, 4
• 2004 - Dance Nation 1, 2, 4, 5

EPs

• 1992 - Sweet Toxic Love EP(*) [UK #65] (vinyl and CD single track listings are slightly different - the session totally includes 3 different songs, in various remixed versions)
• 1994 - The Devil in Sister George EP (1993-1994) [UK #26]
• 2003 - The Twin EP (2003-2004) (as The Twin)
• 2005 - Straight EP (included in the book of the same name)
• 2007 - Boy George & Kinky Roland EP (very limited promo sampler)

Singles and/or videoclips

See also: Culture Club

• 1987 - Everything I Own [UK #1 (3 weeks), U.S. Dance #45, Europe #1 (2 weeks), Canada #1, Germany #8, Italy #1]
• 1987 - Keep Me in Mind [UK #29, Italy #3]
• 1987 - Sold [UK #24, Italy #4, Ireland #8]
• 1987 - To Be Reborn [UK #13, Italy #13, Ireland #8]
• 1987 - Live My Life [UK #62, U.S. #40, Canada #9]
• 1988 - No Clause 28 [UK #57]
• 1988 - Don't Cry [UK #60, Italy #13]
• 1989 - Don't Take My Mind on a Trip [UK #68, U.S. R&B #5, Canada Dance #17]
• 1989 - Whether They Like It or Not(¤)
• 1989 - You Found Another Guy [U.S. R&B #34]
• 1989 - Whisper (video only in the UK)(¤)
• 1989 - You Are My Heroin (¤)(video only)
• 1989 - Something Strange Called Love(¤) (Philippines only)
• 1989 - After the Love(*) [UK #68, Italy #12]
• 1990 - Generations of Love(*) [UK #80]
• 1990 - One on One(*) [UK #83]
• 1991 - Bow Down Mister(*) [UK #27, Germany #6, France #8]
• 1991 - Generations of Love 1991 (La La Gone Ga Ga Mix)(*) [UK #35, The Netherlands #12]
• 1991 - After the Love 1991(*) [UK #89?]
• 1992 - The Crying Game [UK #22, U.S. #15, Canada #1]
• 1992 - Sweet Toxic Love(*) [UK #65]
• 1993 - Everything I Own 1993 (US single, promo in the UK)
• 1993 - More Than Likely (PM Dawn feat. Boy George) [UK #40]
• 1994 - Human Beings (Gaurangi feat. Boy George)
• 1995 - Funtime [UK #45]
• 1995 - Il Adore [UK #50, France #69]
• 1995 - Same Thing in Reverse [UK #56, U.S. Dance #18]
• 1996 - Sad/Satan's Butterfly Ball (double-A-side 12" for DJs only)
• 1996 - Love Is Leaving (¤) [Italy #4, Spain #3]
• 1997 - When Will You Learn(¤)
• 1997 - Police and Thieves(***)(US single, promo in UK)
• 1998 - Generations of Love 1998 (The TimeWriter Bootleg Mix Edit)(*)(¤)
• 1999 - Why Go? (with Faithless)(¤)
• 1999 - Innocence Is Lost (with Groove Armada) (12" promo only)
• 2002 - Swallow Me (as The Real Feminem) (12" promo only)
• 2002 - Out of Fashion (with Hi-Gate) (promo only)
• 2002 - Run (with Sash!)(¤) [Germany #48]
• 2002 - Autoerotic (with Dark Globe) [UK #165]
• 2002 - Psychology of the Dreamer (with Eddie Locke) [UK Dance #5]
• 2003 - Here Come the Girls (as The Twin) (limited edition)
• 2003 - Electro Hetero (as The Twin) (limited edition)
• 2003 - Sanitised (as The Twin) (limited edition)
• 2004 - Human Racing (as The Twin) (limited edition)
• 2005 - Love Your Brother(**) (as Jesus Loves You feat. Boy George) (12" promo only)
• 2006 - You Are My Sister (with Antony and the Johnsons) [UK #39]
• 2006 - You're Not the One (with Loverush UK) (promo)
• 2007 - Time Machine (with Amanda Ghost) (limited edition)
• 2007 - You're Not the One (with Loverush UK) (digital release only)
• 2007 - Atoms (with Dark Globe) (digital release only)

(¤) not released in the UK
(*) as 'Jesus Loves You' in the UK, 'Boy George' in the U.S., and 'Jesus Loves You-A Project by Boy George' in other territories (other tags had 'Jesus Loves You feat. Boy George', but this officially applies to Love Your Brother only)
(**) as 'Jesus Loves You featuring Boy George'
(***) as 'Dubversive featuring Boy George'

Other songs

Non-album songs released on soundtracks
"Live My Life" on Hiding Out (1987)
"Girlfriend" on Slaves of New York (1989)
"Fear Not the Sword My Son" on Freddie The Frog (1992)
"The Crying Game" on The Crying Game (1992-1993)
"Felidae" on Felidae (1994)
"Welcome to Your Life" on Welcome to Woop Woop (1998)
"Try Not to Be Afraid" on special CD Whistle Down the Wind (1998)
"La Barque" on Le Libertin (2000)
"Put Yourself Out with the Trash" in Désaccord Parfait (2007)

B-Sides not included on albums
"Use Me" on "Everything I Own" (1987)
"I Pray '87" on "Keep Me in Mind" 12" maxi single (1987)
"State of Love" on "Keep Me in Mind" (1987)
"State of Love (Extended Version)" on "Keep Me in Mind" 12" maxi single
"Are You Too Afraid" on "Sold" (1987)
"Leave in Love" (with Carroll Thompson) on "Don't Cry" (1988)
"A Boy Called Alice" on "Don't Cry" CD single (1988)
"Oh Lord" on "Sweet Toxic Love EP" 12" maxi single (1992)
"Am I Losing Control", double-A-Side with "Sweet Toxic Love" on "Sweet Toxic Love EP" vinyl 12" maxi single and CD single (1992)
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", double-A-Side with "Il Adore" double CD single (1995)

Other rare songs
"Something He Can Feel", multi-collaboration on Afrika Bambaata album, The Light (1988)
"My Sweet Lord", George Harrison cover on Ruby Trax (1992)
"Five", collaboration with Ram Jam World on album Rough and Ready (1997)
"Dream", cover of Chage & Aska, (1996)
"Get It On", T-Rex cover on Duos Taratata (1996)
"I Could Be Someone", on Streetwise House Our Youth (1998)
"Why Go", slow version on Faithless album Sunday 8PM (1998)
"Bad Girl", Madonna cover on Virgin Voices tribute (1999)
"Burning Up", duet with Tracy Emin on project We Love You (1998)
"In the Ghetto", Elvis Presley cover on Apache Indian album Karma (2000)
"Radio One" (as The Hampstead Bowie Clone) digital release (2002)
"Who Am I Today", collaboration with Erik Morillo, on album My World (2003)
"Poverty", collaboration with Hi-Gate on their album Split Personality (2003)
"Breakdance Hunks" collaboration with Canadian band Kids On TV (2005)
"Dragging Me Down", collaboration with Adam Sky, on neo.pop.06 (2006)
"Idiot Crowd", collaboration with Punx Soundcheck, on When Machines Ruled the World (2007)

Cameos on charity tracks
"Do They Know It's Christmas", Band Aid (1984)
"Let It Be", Ferry Aid (1987)
"Wishing Well", G.O.S.H. (1987)
"What's Going On", Life Aid Armenia (1989)
"Karma Chameleon" for BT Payphones charity (2000)
"War Is Over", duet with Antony (of Antony & The Johnsons) on War Child album Help (2005)
"Grief Never Grows Old", One World Project (2006)

References

• De Graaf Kasper, Garret Malcom (1983), When Cameras Go Crazy, London, UK, Virgin Books & New York, NY, USA, St. Martin's Press; ISBN 0-312-17879-4 (Culture Club's official biography)
• Boy George with Spencer Bright (1995), Take It Like a Man, London, Sidgwick & Jackson (Boy George's first official autobiography)
• Boy George with Paul Gorman (2004), Straight, London, Century (Boy George's second official autobiography - republished in 2007 with updates - first edition includes EP of the same name)

External links

• Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph interview with Boy George
• Boy George Official Website