George O'Dowd's birthday
Published June 14, 2003
Born this day, June 14, 1961, "Boy" George O'Dowd turns 42 today. Happy birthday!
Culture Club has never gotten their proper due. They were marketed and perceived as a cheesy pre-packaged MTV creation. Mr. O'Dowd went right along with it. He leaned WAY too much into the silly androgyny gay gimmick stuff. They were pretty much cast as new Village People. It did work for them commercially, so there's that.
On the other hand, they never got appropriate credit for the quality of their best music. O'Dowd burned out on drugs and whatever personality problems fairly quickly, but for a minute there he was absolutely the shiznit.
Particularly, Colour by Numbers is one of the classic pop albums of all time. Pretty much every track presents pure beauty. "Karma Chameleon" of course was a huge hit, along with a couple of others. Smokey Robinson would have been proud to have written them. Moreover, even Smokey himself could not have sang them better.
Some of the album tracks, however, go off into gospel-type soul that Smokey never got to. There's no gimmicks or anything but beautiful deep soul writing and singing to "That's the Way" or "Black Money". Here's a special shout-out for Helen Terry's perfectly complimentary vocal contributions.
The box set is way too much for a short lived act. The hits album is fine, but you really need the Colour by Numbers album tracks. That's the first place to start. Don't forget to find yourself a copy of "Crying Game", though.
- George O'Dowd's birthday
- Published: June 14, 2003
- Type:
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Pop
- Writer: Al Barger
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I agree, Al -- Colour by Numbers is a great record. "Karma Chameleon" is just a perfect track, and so is "Church of the Poisoned Mind."
You know, it often occurs to me that people never really know when they're living in a golden age, or even a mini-golden age, because it takes awhile to make those assessments. But there were some great, great records around this same time -- 1981 - 1983. Cyndi Lauper's
She's So Unusual is another masterpiece; so is The Police's Synchronicity. So are Rick James' Street Songs and Prince's 1999 and Purple Rain. And like it or not, people, so is the Beige One's Thriller. And someday soon I'm just going to have to write a long post decrying the sad fact that no one much remembers Rickie Lee Jones' Pirates anymore, which is too bad -- it's one of the great rock and roll novels.
Funny thing, I listened to "Karma Chameleon" for years without realizing how dirty it was- though in my own defense I don't think a lot of other people got it either. However, about the 1,000th time I heard George singing "You come and go, you come and go-o-o" a little light went on. Oh, I get it now.
Yeah? Well what's up with all that "red, gold and green" business?
man, i hated Culture Club in their heyday...but then a few years ago they were on, uhm, maybe VH1 Storytellers?
so i'm sittin' there, ready to indulge in a little nostalgic namecalling....but then tunes like "Church Of The Poisoned Mind" and "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" get played...and i had to admit that they're fricken great pop tunes. oops.
Hi, I'm Aubin from Paris, France.
All I can say about Boy George & Culture Club is that I find their music TREMENDOUS. I always found that there's a big gap between their look and the real quality of their music!
It's funny because from one hand I knew their songs, from the other hand I knew Culture Club visually but I did not know it was them the creators of those stunning songs, maybe ones of the best from the 80s!
That's the Way, Changing Everyday, and It's a Miracle... my favourites right now after not listening to them for 20 years I have a renewed appreciation for George's great voice, (and Helen Terry is magnificent!) I like the horns, the carribean influence.. . it may not be something I admit to everyone but I quite enjoy going back to the 80's and hearing George again.
I have been listening to boy george's sexy voice for 19 years now. when my heart is broken I listen to boy George, and that sexy voice of his is enough to soften any heart. I listened to colour by numbers during my pregnancy. Georges voice calmed my son down. His music brings me inner piece.
Thanks for that testimonial, Kathy. I find "That's the Way" particularly calming.
Boy Goerge is awsome and hot! He has enspired me since I was little and went to one of his concerts. He was so beautiful!
Acho que o mundo jamais ouviu uma voz tão maravilhosa como a de BOY GEORGE! Sempre admirei e sempre amarei todas as suas músicas. É como se estivesse ouvindo o canto dos anjos.... Fico encantada toda vez que ouço sua voz. Simplesmente demais!!!!!!!!!!
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"Color" is tremendous but I think I like the first one, "Kissing to Be Clever," even more, with "Do YOu Really Want to Hurt Me" "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" "Time" etc. The band's reputation has definitely suffered due to the Boy's extravagant persona. They were great, and I also agree about "Crying Game" produced by the Pet Shop Boys who also aren't as appreciated as they should be.