Must admit, i was kind of reluctant to listen to Culture Club, for the same reason i didn't listen to George Michael for years. is because of all the bad stories i heard about them, and i heard more about that then there music, and that's usually a bad sign.

After my aunt convinced me to give Wham! & especially Faith, listen Without Prejudice etc. I became addicted to George and now i'm a huge fan=]

Figure i should give boy George & Culture club a chance, i bought an album with 10 of there hit's and i have fallen in love with this band!, i am surprised... people told me Boy George produced nothing but techno esque stuff.... what?

Culture Club is full of Soul, blues, funk, reggae and pop as well it's an awesome combination!, so my question is what are your opinions on there albums?

Besides there hit's, i downloaded Black Money & Romance Revisited and i love those two track's Black Money is my favorite Culture track so far.

So where do i go from her?, is it worth it to buy all there albums?, if not which one's do you reccomend?

Ow and is any of Boy George solo albums worth it? i have heard mixed reviews

Thank's

'Colour by Numbers'. Really, it's their best album. Lost of hits on it.

But mainly because it has 'Victims' on it. Just a brilliant song.

Marrk said:

'Colour by Numbers'. Really, it's their best album. Lost of hits on it.

But mainly because it has 'Victims' on it. Just a brilliant song.

Victims is an incredible song i love it!, That would actually be my 2nd favorite of there's so far.

Boy George's solo albums are a bit hit and miss, but "Cheapness and Beauty" is definitely worth picking up. It's by far his best solo album, very powerful record.

NoVideo said:

Boy George's solo albums are a bit hit and miss, but "Cheapness and Beauty" is definitely worth picking up. It's by far his best solo album, very powerful record.

I Heard his cover of Crying game which was very good!

... but... i found his solo album yum-yum at amoebas used for a buck i said hey why not!, it was awful=0 it was all hecto and the lyrics where awful, and his voice was electronic most of the time.

I Mean he went from culture Club to that??? i respect when artist's go different routes but that cd was just bad.

Gunsnhalen said:

NoVideo said:

Boy George's solo albums are a bit hit and miss, but "Cheapness and Beauty" is definitely worth picking up. It's by far his best solo album, very powerful record.

I Heard his cover of Crying game which was very good!

... but... i found his solo album yum-yum at amoebas used for a buck i said hey why not!, it was awful=0 it was all hecto and the lyrics where awful, and his voice was electronic most of the time.

I Mean he went from culture Club to that??? i respect when artist's go different routes but that cd was just bad.

yeah, the Yum Yum album is terrible, but that doesn't represent all of his solo work. Cheapness and Beauty is an amazing record, I'd highly recommend getting that one.

Regarding George (not really a Culture Club fan), I feel that the acoustic "U Can Never B2 Straight" album is his creative peak. Grab that one with "More Than Likely", "Why Go", and "Everything I Own" and u have got a helluva listen ahead of u

All their albums are hit and miss, sometimes big misses, so I just mack the singles, which stack up to an incredible aray of soulful pop. Boy George was a very good singer.

"Sold" is my favourite solo album by BG, followed by the Martyr Mantras by his Jesus Loves You project.

I was a fan back-in-the-day.

Colour By Numbers is definitely a must-have.

I also liked "From Luxury To Heartache" (their last album before breaking up) for its quirkiness, and for the longest time, "Heaven's Children" was my fav song of all time. ( I was young)

Unfortunately, I can't listen to my vinyl collection (need a turntable!!!) and can't find a CD of FLTH.

One of the acts that turned blue-eyed soul, new wave and androgynism/ambiguity into a joke during the early-80s ...

the way I dislike this band is so intense that you could define it as "beyond hatred"

JoeTyler said:

One of the acts that turned blue-eyed soul, new wave and androgynism/ambiguity into a joke during the early-80s ...

the way I dislike this band is so intense that you could define it as "beyond hatred"

How were they a joke in the 80's? I think they only became a joke later because of Boy George's out of control antics which I don't agree with. I seriously dislike him for the person he has become but they made some great records in the 80's. Yes, their songs were poppy, but that allowed them to reach more people. Most 80s new wave music was very commercial and about making money. How are they a joke and Duran Duran and the Human League aren't?

For many gay people, Boy George was the first image of a gay man or a drag queen who they ever saw in the media. I don't like him now, but back then he helped make many gay teenagers feel comfortable about themselves and feel like they weren't freaks and they could do something with their lives. Even now, how many successful gay draq queens have they been in the music business? He did help people come out of the closet and not hate themselves for being gay. That is not a joke to me and not something that can be forgotten no matter how many horrible things he did or said later in life.

Also, there was a message of tolerance since the band had George, a gay Irish man who more makeup, a bisexual Jewish drummer, a black Jamician and a white guy. How many bands had that mix? And if you actually listen to their lyrics, there was definitely a message of multiculturalism and tolerance before it was fashionable. Not a joke at all if you really study it.

George's public and legal troubles undermined their music if we're gonna be frank.

when i was young and dumb didnt know he was man but honey i loved me some miss me blind,church of the posion mind,time clock of the heart was the all they still rock 2 me so i feel em

'Waking Up With The House On Fire' was the first album i ever owned so got a soft spot for that album, even though it's got plenty of filler. Both 'The War Song' and 'Mistake No.3' are classics.

Each of their albums are quite different. I got the remastered cds a few months ago which have got some great bonus tracks on.

I think a new 'Greatest Hits' CD/DVD set has just been released, which is probably the best collection of songs and videos. George really was ahead of his time with the image thing, shame he burnt out so soon.

rlittler81 said:

'Waking Up With The House On Fire' was the first album i ever owned so got a soft spot for that album, even though it's got plenty of filler. Both 'The War Song' and 'Mistake No.3' are classics.

Each of their albums are quite different. I got the remastered cds a few months ago which have got some great bonus tracks on.

I think a new 'Greatest Hits' CD/DVD set has just been released, which is probably the best collection of songs and videos. George really was ahead of his time with the image thing, shame he burnt out so soon.

Yes, I love that their records are all so different. But I think that also held them back as well as George's personal problems. Unfortunately, the music business doesn't always encourage change and creativity. The more successful artists for the most part tend to stick to one signature sound. Maybe it was hard for them to decide what type of record to do next since they didn't have one sound.

When Bruce Springsteen does a new record, he knows it's going to be a rock record so he can get on with it easily. With a band like CC it's not so easy to decide what to do and I guess that lead to a lot of disagreements within the band.

rlittler81 said:

'Waking Up With The House On Fire' was the first album i ever owned so got a soft spot for that album, even though it's got plenty of filler. Both 'The War Song' and 'Mistake No.3' are classics.

Each of their albums are quite different. I got the remastered cds a few months ago which have got some great bonus tracks on.

I think a new 'Greatest Hits' CD/DVD set has just been released, which is probably the best collection of songs and videos. George really was ahead of his time with the image thing, shame he burnt out so soon.

I agree with you on "Waking Up With the House on Fire". It is loaded with terrific pop songs. The production is a little plastic and dated, but overall a solid 80's pop album that should have been more successful. By the time it was released George's personal issues were detracting from the music.

Let's take Joe to the woodshed. Leave him in there with a raving mongoose.

They were a great pop group, George had a good Philly Soul voice... I lost interest at the tail end of their career but when they started out they were ace

"Time (Clock Of The Heart)" is one of the best songs of the 80s Just a perfect song!

Kissing to be clever is my fav, Its an awesome album if it werent for ill tumble for you i could listen to it from start to finish! then colour by numbers...

[Edited 9/29/10 18:15pm]

I thought really, really hard about this off and on in the last 20 minutes, and I can honestly say that I have absolutely no opinions on Culture Club.

Culture Club made a lot of great songs, but their albums are a little spotty. Still, the good stuff is lots of fun.

I was a big fan up until around 2005(LOVED his musical Taboo and even travelled to NY to see the doomed version) when I met Boy George at his "straight" book signing. He was a total arse that day A few weeks later,the whole NY insident kicked off.

[Edited 9/29/10 19:18pm]

I grew up with them, and bought their singles as a 6 and a 7 year old. They were great in their time, but they are a bit tired now. Boy George is just spooky now.

i feel obliged to note that boy george appears on mark ronson's new album "record collection" on a track called "somebody to love me". its a really funky house number (he does not sound like a robot) and it features george lamenting on growing older and finding someone compatible.

its probably the best track, but its a pretty solid album regardless. articles note that at recent shows the performance with george has been the highlight.

jeidee said:

i feel obliged to note that boy george appears on mark ronson's new album "record collection" on a track called "somebody to love me". its a really funky house number (he does not sound like a robot) and it features george lamenting on growing older and finding someone compatible.

its probably the best track, but its a pretty solid album regardless. articles note that at recent shows the performance with george has been the highlight.

Agreed, it is a terrific song. I saw the performance on Jools Holland and it was fantastic.

SoulAlive said:

"Time (Clock Of The Heart)" is one of the best songs of the 80s Just a perfect song!

Timmy84 said:

George's public and legal troubles undermined their music if we're gonna be frank.

Totally agree.

I still own their first three albums, purchased in the eighties. My opinion of them in hindsight is that they were a better band, who wrote better songs, than a large portion of their contemporaries. That is, no doubt, why they were so popular a the time.

My opinion now is that it's too bad both they and George weren't able to keep their shit together. Crying Game showed that people were still interesting in George as a singer. But we'll never know what could have happened now because a) they didn't stay together and b) George became a joke - a drugged out caricature of his former self.

Marrk said:

'Colour by Numbers'. Really, it's their best album. Lost of hits on it.

But mainly because it has 'Victims' on it. Just a brilliant song.

True dat. But my favorite song came from their "Waking Up With The House On Fire" Album, Mistake #3. Maybe because it sounds rather Princely.