Culture Club

Only in the '80s could a band with a flamboyantly androgynous singer and a pop/R&B/reggae amalgam rocket from underground club culture to superstardom in the blink of an eye. In 1981, George O'Dowd - soon to become a household name as Boy George - was a New Romantic club kid with a glamorously gender-bending look, who briefly worked with Bow Wow Wow. When that situation proved to be a non-starter, he formed Culture Club with guitarist Roy Hay, bassist Mikey Craig, and drummer Jon Moss. They conquered the world straight out of the gate with their 1982 debut album, Kissing to Be Clever, and the blockbuster worldwide hits "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" and "Time (Clock of the Heart)." When they first appeared, George caused some confusion, as some people took him for female before learning his name-a BBC DJ famously remarked on-air "That girl has an amazing voice" after spinning "Hurt Me"- but he quickly became a pop icon nevertheless. The band achieved even greater success with its second album, 1983's multi-Platinum Colour By Numbers, which sported the international No. 1 smash "Karma Chameleon," among other hits. Culture Club's third album, Waking up With the House on Fire, was also a Platinum seller in the U.S. and U.K. but contained only one real hit, "The War Song." Subsequently, the breakup of a romantic partnership between George and Moss caused George to turn to drugs, and the resulting changes in his behavior affected both his relationship with the band and the making of 1986's From Luxury to Heartache. Between the aforementioned issues, the album's poor commercial performance, and George's arrest for heroin possession, it's unsurprising that they broke up in 1986. George began a long solo career the following year. Hay eventually became a composer of commercials and soundtracks. Craig started his own label, SLAMM. Culture Club reunited in 1998 for a tour, and released a new album, Don't Mind If I Do, the following year. They came together again in 2014, and four years later Life was released, with the band credited as Boy George & Culture Club.