Boy George是八十年代英国新浪漫时期最具号召力的流行偶像,一个男扮女妆的漂亮人物,疯魔万千乐迷的英国乐队Culture Club的灵魂人物,世界名牌时装店Boy London的老板。Boy George自小被母亲象女孩子一般带大,长大后打扮、举止都象女孩子,但他却偏偏称自己为“男孩乔治”。在成为歌手前,他曾是英国相当有名的橱窗设计师。1981年,Boy George组成新浪漫乐队Culture Club,乐队成员还包前Clash/Damned乐队鼓手Jon Moss、键盘手兼吉他手Roy Hay及贝司手Michael Craig。这支乐队的音乐风格主要是以现代电子浪漫音乐为基调,并集结雷吉、灵歌等音乐元素。音乐很浪漫很欢快,但你会发现它的内容其实是冰冷和阴暗的。1982年,乐队有两首歌曲同时打入美国与英国榜前3名,它们分别是“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me&(你是否真想伤害我)和“Time(Clock of the Heart)”[时间(心灵之钟)] 。
BORN: June 14, 1961, Bexleybeath, Eltham, Kent, Englan
British singer Boy George combined a strong, soulful singing voice with a provocative sense of fashion, both of which were first brought to the attention of English and American audiences in the group Culture Club, for which be served as lead singer from 1982 to 1986. The group wrote and played impeccable pop music, and Boy George's androgynous persona -- heavy makeup, outrageous costumes -- gave the group a distinct video image in the dawn of MTV.
That very distinctiveness, however, made the group date quickly, and at the same time Boy George encountered highly publicized personal difficulties. He re-emerged as a solo singer in 1987 with Sold, which contained a UK #1 cover of Bread's &Everything I Own,& but was unable to duplicate this success in the U.S. Boy George enjoyed four British singles chart entries in 1987 and another three in 1988. His second album, Tense Nervous Headache (1988) was not picked up for release in the U.S.; his third, Boyfriend (1989) was a Europe-only release, though Virgin Records cobbled the second and third albums together to present a second U.S. album, High Hat (1989).
In 1991 came The Martyr Mantras, another patchwork album largely made up of previously non-LP dance singles. In the U.K., it was credited to a new group, Jesus Loves You, and released on Boy George's own More Protein record label, though Virgin in the U.S. billed it as a Boy George album. By 1992, Boy George had faded at home, and in the U.S. his solo career had never taken off. Then he was brought in to sing a version of the '60s chestnut &The Crying Game,& in a production by the Pet Shop Boys, as the title song for a movie that became the sleeper hit of the winter of 1992-1993, resulting in his first substantial U.S. hit as a solo artist.