Now on YT for a limited time. Enjoy.

I love that hair.

He was on heroin by this point, and you can tell. He's more gaunt, and he had cut off his hair.

Amazing that Don wouldn't have a "grown man in a diaper" on his show with Parliament, but he'd have a drag queen. Go figure.

ernestsewell said:

Double standards lol

ernestsewell said:

In fairness, Boy George had his clothes on and dressing more butch. Even his ex-boyfriend Jon Moss wasn't wearing the girlie short shorts anymore.

thanks for posting, actually listening to some Culture Club tonight. They were terrific, IMHO - underrated as a pop band. They are mostly known for their singles, but they had songs of killer album tracks as well.

Still think "waking up with the house on fire" was unfairly underrated.

Man, "Move Away" was a fave back then.

NoVideo said:

Even today, I'm disappointed that The Metal Song was never release as a single in the USA as it was in the UK.

TonyVanDam said:

agreed, the medal song and the dive would both have been terrific singles. There were several hits-that-should-have-been on that album.

One of my all time favorite groups. Every song I hear by Culture Club takes me right back to a wonderful place in the past. Wow, do I miss those days.

TonyVanDam said:

He was still a heroin addicted drag queen homosexual.

ernestsewell said:

I don't give a flying fuck what he was/is! If anyone had bet me that "Boy George and /or Culture Club" has performed on "Soul Train"...I'd have LOST my motherfucking shirt!!!

Thank heavens for YouTube!!!!!

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[Edited 2/14/10 18:49pm]

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

The point was that Don didn't let Parliament on Soul Train because one of its members wore a diaper. It's a double standard, and a stupid one.

ernestsewell said:

You forgot to mention white.

Did Culture Club have a big R&B following back then?

Cinnie said:

He had white people on there, the first being Gino Vannelli, and later David Bowie, and others.

bboy87 said:

Yes. If you listen to their music, especially their first couple of albums, listen past the pop sensibility to it, and it's nothing but regrouped reggae music. The same was true of Blondie and The Knack - those groups had a reggae beat behind it.

However, Boy George is one of the best R&B singers around, so yes they did have that fanbase. He had a great soul voice. Listen to those ballads like "Victims", "Time", etc, or a soul filled gospel tinged song like "Church of the Poison Mind" or "The War Song".

ernestsewell said:

I love alot of their music, but I've always wondered if they ever charted on the R&B charts....

bboy87 said:

Albums:
Kissing To Be Clever - #24 on R&B,
#5 on US Albums
#14 on Billboard 200

Colour By Numbers - #7 on R&B
#2 US Billboard 200
(#1 in UK)

Waking Up With The House On Fire - (Which was when George was getting into drugs, plus this album sounded unfinished and demo-ish like Dirty Mind did; it suffered greatly because of all of that)
#55 R&B
#2 UK
#26 Billboard 200

From Luxury To Heartache
#32 Billboard 200
#10 UK

bboy87 said:

I know a lot of Culture Club joints. My siblings loved their music.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Yep.

ernestsewell said:

Yes, it was bad news about his drug problem. But as for everything else, so what?!? BG was still a grown man with OR without make-up.

Cinnie said:

Oh that's no excuse. David Bowie was THE first white man on Soul Train. And even he butch up his image (meaning that Ziggy Stardust was so dead).

TonyVanDam said:

By the time he came on Soul Train, he had already retired that character anyway.

Timmy84 said:

With that said, who was the first male artist to appear on Soul Train with women's make-up on?

If I was a gambler, I would bet it was The Deele.

Timmy84 said:

Hell yeah, Culture Club had a black following. Boy George was already part of the UK northern soul community. As for the USA, some of Culture Club hit songs crossover on black radio.

TonyVanDam said:

No he wasn't. There's a misreport about it being Tower of Power, but that is in correct too. Gino Vannelli toured as the opening act for Stevie Wonder, was the first white artist to appear on Soul Train. To that point, a lot of radio listeners thought Gino was black, until he appeared on Soul Train. David Bowie came soon after.

Gino
Average White Band
Elton
David

(I think it was in this order, not too sure tho...)

Timmy84 said:

I heard Wham! made an appearance too.....