Despite the Culture Club reunion spluttering to a halt at the end of last year, it provided Boy George with a sort of happy ending after his recent troubles. Part one of 30 Years Man & Boy A Calmer Chameleon: The Boy George Story (Radio 2) is a pleasingly in-depth look at Culture Club’s career. Looking past Gary Kemp’s presenting style, which has a touch of the used car dealership about it, the programme has the commanding, serious feel of a BBC4 documentary. It’s a pleasant surprise, given that Culture Club’s musical legacy is often overlooked by the gatekeepers of the rock canon.
The “pink sheep” of his family, we learn that the seeds of Culture Club were planted for George with Bowie’s line in After All (“we’re painting our faces and dressing in thoughts from the skies”), Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and Tom Robinson’s Glad To Be Gay. Later, punk’s DIY ethos gives him the belief that he could make it as a singer and the iconic Blitz club (memorably described as a “hairspray infused jungle”) propelled him towards fame.
The early days of Culture Club, initially called The Sex Gang Children, sound like the most fun. “We were terrible but had a natural bond,” recalls bass player Mikey Craig. But George’s behaviour around the release of Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (he quit the band a day before the song got to number one), was a sign of trickier times to come.
Most interestingly, the programme provides an expert insight into the craftsmanship behind the run of classic Culture Club singles. Producer Steve Levine offers up a tender demo version of Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, while backing singer Helen Terry reveals the backbreaking hours in the studio creating Time (“we created hundreds of tracks,” she says). A snippet of the group working through Victims, however, reveals a band unravelling. “He wants to see himself on telly and go to parties!” screams guitarist Roy Hay mid-song as Boy George storms off in a hail of four-letter words. Roll on part two.
