Boy George to enter rehab after plea bargain
Singer pleads guilty to false reporting of an incident after drug arrest
By SAMUEL MAULL
Associated Press Writer
Originally published March 8, 2006, 10:31 AM EST
NEW YORK // Boy George, in a plea bargain deal that spared him possible jail time, agreed Wednesday to enter a drug rehabilitation program and perform community service to resolve his arrest last year on a cocaine charge.

The former pop star, whose real name is George O'Dowd, entered his guilty plea to third-degree false reporting of an incident in Manhattan Criminal Court. He only spoke to answer questions from Judge Anthony Ferrara with a simple "yes."





Under the deal, O'Dowd will enter a drug program in England and perform five days of community service in Manhattan. He will pay a $1,000 fine and must avoid arrest on any charges over the next six months.

"I am relieved and happy that this case has been disposed of, and would like to thank the judge, the district attorney and my attorney, Lou Freeman, for the fair and speedy way it was dealt with," O'Dowd, 44, said in a statement distributed to reporters by his manager. "I love New York, and am looking forward to coming back and working in the states later this year."

It was signed, "George."

He must return to court June 9 with written proof of his stay in a rehabilitation program. O'Dowd had a previous drug history, including a 1986 heroin possession arrest after two of his friends overdosed. O'Dowd entered a rehab program at that point.

His drug woes reportedly led to the collapse of the Culture Club, which scored the hit singles "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"

O'Dowd will leave New York, most likely on Wednesday night, to head back to England and the Clouds rehabilitation facility, said his manager, Jeremy Pearce.

He was arrested Oct. 7, 2005, after he called 911 to report an alleged burglary in his Manhattan apartment. Officers found a small pile of cocaine next to a computer.

O'Dowd was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He could have received up to a year in prison on the false reporting charge.

can someone explain that make up thing he was doin the past couple of years..?


scary lookin

I think George has a lot of talent. He should get back to making music again, not all the weird face painting and bitching of other artists that he has fallen back on in recent years to keep himself in the limelight. Perhaps all that craziness was caused by drugs, and if he stays clean, he can get back to being an artist and a musician again.

I'm very surprised to hear that George has dabbled back into drugs. I read his bio "Take It Like a Man" and found his very vivid description of his heroin addiction to be quite moving.

I too think George needs to start making music and less spinning others' music... he's got such a beautiful voice and wonderful writing style!

C'mon George - get off the drugs and back into the music! We're waiting for you.

Yeah, man. He needs to stop living the way he did 20 years ago. That's pretty much how Culture Club ended. Well, that and his heated affair with the drummer gone wrong.

Sdldawn said:

it was called expression in other words he expressed himself like salt & pepa say express yourself u got 2 be yourself

Sdldawn said:

he wrote a musical taboo that was about himself and leigh bowery (among other real life people), and played leigh bowery in it.

the make-up is a direct steal from the real leigh bowery, whose theory of life was to become living breathing art.

the ink dripping down the shaved head especailly was a signature leigh thing.




this outfiit was something boy wore in the show:




also worn in the show:

wow..thanks cb....

sosgemini said:

no prob.

want more leigh?

cborgman said:

yes sir!

Hopefully, George will get his act together. It's obvious that he's in pain. Addiction can be a real mutha!

dawntreader said:

sosgemini said:

He had a colourful exhibitionist career following his arrival in London in 1980, making a name for himself by dramatic performances of dance, music and simple exhibitionism, while wearing bizarre and very original outfits of his own design. He was frequently seen performing in Taboo, a night club he operated near Leicester Square. A large man, he used his costumes to exaggerate his size and the effects were frequently overpowering for those who encountered him, the more so because of his confrontational style.

In the late 1980s, Bowery collaborated as a dancer with the post-Punk ballet dancer Michael Clark, after having been the costume-designer for a number of years. He also participated in multi-media events like I Am Curious, Orange and the play Hey, Luciani, with Mark E. Smith and The Fall.

He outraged the London gay scene with a performance at SMact a short lived SM Night at Bar Industria. Using Nazi costumes with friend lesbian Barbara they turned concentration camp experimentation into SMart. The readers of Capital Gay the London weekly newspaper turned on fellow performer Berkley who had played the victim, Barbara and Leigh weather the storm.

In 1993 Leigh formed Raw Sewage with Sheila Tequila and Stella Stein they performed in 18" platforms at the Love Ball in Amsterdam, but the collaboration ended in dramas. Leigh went on to appear as "Madame Garbo" in "The Homosexual (or the difficulty of sexpressing oneself)" by Copi at Bagleys Warehouse in London's Kings Cross.

[edit]
Minty
Later 1993 Leigh formed the band Minty with friend and former 80's knitwear designer Richard Torry, Nicola Bateman and Matthew Glammore. Their single "Useless Man" "Boot licking, tit tweeking useless man..." which was remixed by The Grid along with their twisted on stage scatological performances caused The Sun newspaper to describe them as the "Sickest band in the world", of which Leigh was very proud.

During 1994 Leigh performed the "Fete worse than death" in Hoxton Square, Leigh and Nicola Bateman showed their classic "Birth Show" in which Leigh gives birth to Nicola, using a specually designed harness which holds her upside down to his belly under his costume.

In November 1994 Minty began a two week show at Londons Freedom Cafe, watched by the young Alexander McQueen but it was too much for Westminster City Council who closed the show down after only one night.

He married his long-term female companion Nicola Bateman on May 13, 1994, only months before his death from AIDS-related illness at UC Hospital London on New Year's Eve 1994.

He became more widely known by appearing in a Post-Modernist/Surrealist series of television and cinema and commercials for the Pepe jeans company.

Bowery was painted in a series of nude portraits by Lucian Freud, and travelled internationally to the opening events of their exhibitions.

Bowery received posthumous exposure in the United States from the Broadway musical, Taboo produced there by Rosie O'Donnell, after running for 16 months in London's West End. Bowery's career is described more straightforwardly in a 2002 documentary The Legend of Leigh Bowery, directed by Charles Atlas.












hilarious footage of leigh having tea:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult...deo1.shtml

I know all about Leigh Bowery. It was fine to wear it in the musical when he was playing Leigh. But I think it was really ridiculous for him to wear that style of makeup all the time in his personal life when he wasn't performing. It didn't help people's opinion of him at all.

Glindathegood said:

while i am a fan, the boy has always been an opportunist. he will do almost anything to get back into the limelight, even if it means ripping off leigh's legacy on and off stage.

cborgman said:

But you can say that of any celebrity. They all complain about being famous and the tabloids. But they desperately want to stay in the limelight and keep the spotlight on them and people talking about them. I love Madonna to death, but she's exactly the same way.

Glindathegood said:

i could never live like that, but if it works for them...

cborgman said:

You do what you have to do to survive in your career. If a celebrity is not in the spotlight, their earing potential goes down. I've done things I didn't want to do to survive in my career and to make more money. That's just the way the world is.

Glindathegood said:

if ripping leigh keeps him alive, more power to him. i honestly dont care

cborgman said:

cborgman said:[quote]

sosgemini said:

brilliant.