Culture Club is considered a British new wave band. The team was founded in 1981. The members perform melodic pop with elements of white soul. The group is known for the flamboyant image of their lead singer, Boy George.
For a long time, the Culture Club group was part of the New Romance youth movement. The group has won the prestigious Grammy award several times. Musicians 7 times found themselves in the top 10 in the UK, 6 times in the US charts.
The team managed to sell over 35 million records worldwide. An excellent result, considering how many musical groups existed then.
The history of the formation of the Culture Club group
Culture Club is a group that brings together talented musicians. In its composition: Boy George (frontman), Roy Hay (keyboards, guitar), Mikey Craig (bass guitar), Jon Moss (drums). The peak of its popularity was in the mid-1980s of the XX century. The team influenced many generations of musicians who later appeared on the scene.
Back in 1981, Boy George performed in the Bow Wow Wow team. He was known under the pseudonym Lieutenant Lush. He wanted more freedom to express himself. It was decided to create their own group, which included Hay, Moss and Craig. The unusual name of the group is associated with the nationality and race of the musicians. The lead singer is Irish, the bassist is British, the guitarist is English, and the keyboardist is Jewish.
First, an agreement was signed with the recording studio EMI Records, but it became short-term. And the musicians had to look for a new studio. The demo was liked by Virgin Records. A contract was signed, thanks to which there was a long-term and profitable cooperation. Attention was focused on the unusual androgynous appearance of the soloist. Music lovers appreciated pop ballads, rock songs and reggae songs.
Boy George's success on the European stage
The Culture Club group surprised many experts with the rapid development in the world of show business. The frontman's non-standard appearance, powerful vocals, musical accompaniment and competent promotion are the reason for the group's success.
In 1982, the debut singles White Boy and I'm Afraid of Me were released. It was thanks to them that the band began their journey on the music scene.
The audience received the songs warmly. The group realized that it was possible to create further, and therefore the recording of new compositions began. A few months later, Mystery Boy came out. It was released in a limited edition in Japan.
Thanks to the third single Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, the group gained worldwide fame. It became a #1 hit in the UK, a #2 hit in America.
The group was invited to perform on the popular Top of the Pops program, where it made a splash. The audience was delighted with the presentation of the musical material of the performance.
At the end of 1982, the debut album Kissing to be Clever was released. It was in the top 5 best songs that were released that year in the UK.
The recording studio decided to publish a collection, which included hits. They were able to get into the top 10 best songs.
A year later, the album Color by Numbers was released. It has sold 10 million copies. Thanks to this, he was included in the list of the best of the best, which was compiled by Rolling Stone magazine.
The group began to receive many awards. George was actively invited to television to talk about his creative plans. A sense of humor, charisma, easy character helped him quickly become a favorite of the public and journalists.
Team breakup
In 1984, the band recorded the album Waking Up with the House on Fire. It made the lists of the best compilations in the UK. Fans and experts were able to evaluate only a few songs. The rest seemed uninteresting to them, very specific.
As Boy George admitted later, the success of the group turned the heads not only of the musicians, but also of the recording studio. To earn more money, the band went on a world tour and then started recording a new album. It is not surprising that the lack of strength and inspiration affected the success of the compositions.
At the end of 1985, there were serious quarrels between the participants. The soloist and the drummer had a personal relationship for a long time, which has exhausted itself. This affected the work in the group. George was seriously worried about the breakup with his loved one. He was addicted to drugs, although he had previously been categorically against the use of any substances.
The recording of the last album at that time dragged on for a long time. The media is spreading the word about the drug addiction of the singer, who was previously the darling of the UK. There was a decrease in the band's popularity in both the British and American music markets. The world tour has been cancelled.
Boy George was arrested for drug possession. He had to cope with an interest in drugs, to find a new meaning in life. He tried himself as a soloist of a new group, wrote an autobiography, tried to start all over again.
The revival of Culture Club
Only in 1998, relations between the musicians began to recover. Old grievances were gradually forgotten. The guys decided to go on a world tour.
Fans were happy about the revival of their favorite group. The former success began to return, but the fifth album Do not Mind If I Do was unsuccessful. I had to take a break to think about the next steps.
In 2006, a decision was made to go on tour, but Boy George refused. I had to turn to Sam Butcher.
He was chosen the appropriate make-up, outfit, but critics and music lovers did not appreciate the efforts of the group members. I had to persuade Boy George to return to the place of the frontman.
In 2011 the band performed at many major venues which included Sydney and Dubai. And in 2011, the Culture Club team performed at 11 venues in the UK.
The musicians recorded the Tribes album, which was liked by the band's fans. They still perform to this day. The repertoire includes both new compositions and time-tested hits.
Despite the difficult creative path, the group managed to record 6 studio albums, 23 singles, most of which hit the charts.
Recording studios have released 6 collections, which contain the best compositions of Culture Club.
Musicians have a significant number of awards received in the UK. Fans love the group for sincere compositions, a charming soloist and feedback from each musician.
