Boy George

Boy George, born George Alan O'Dowd on 14 June 1961 at Barnehurst Hospital in Kent, England, is a British musician, songwriter, DJ, and Broadway composer. Raised in Eltham, he is the second of five children born to builder Jerry O'Dowd and Dinah O'Dowd. His family background was working-class and Irish Catholic, with his father born in England of Irish descent and his mother originally from Dublin. He attended Middle Park Infant School and later Eltham Green Secondary School, where he has said he was dismissed at age 15 after dyeing his hair orange. Before his music career, he worked as a fruit picker, a printer, a makeup artist, and a model.

As a young man, O'Dowd became a participant in the New Romantic movement that emerged in the UK in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He frequented Blitz, a London nightclub run by Steve Strange and Rusty Egan, alongside his friend Marilyn. His androgynous aesthetic was shaped in large part by glam rock figures David Bowie and T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan, as well as artists including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Roxy Music, and Patti Smith. His distinctive style attracted the attention of music entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren, who arranged for him to perform with Bow Wow Wow under the stage name Lieutenant Lush. After departing that group, he formed a new band with bassist Mikey Craig, later joined by drummer Jon Moss and guitarist Roy Hay. Originally called Sex Gang Children, the group settled on the name Culture Club and formed in 1981.

Culture Club signed with Virgin Records for UK and European releases and Epic Records for North American distribution. Their debut album, Kissing to Be Clever, was released in 1982 and reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 14 in the US. The single "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" hit No. 1 in multiple countries, and the album produced two additional Top 10 US hits, "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," making Culture Club the first group since the Beatles to place three Top 10 hits in the United States from a debut album. Their second album, Colour by Numbers, topped the UK charts and reached No. 2 in the US, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. "Karma Chameleon" peaked at No. 1 in 16 countries, spent six weeks at No. 1 in the UK, and was the best-selling single of 1983 in Britain. Additional hit singles from the band include "Church of the Poison Mind," "Victims," "Miss Me Blind," "It's a Miracle," "The War Song," "Move Away," and "I Just Wanna Be Loved." On 25 November 1984, O'Dowd contributed a lead vocal to the Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?," recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill. Culture Club initially parted ways in 1986 and have since reformed twice.

O'Dowd launched a solo career in 1987 and has released 11 solo studio albums, five compilation albums, and 48 singles. His solo hit songs include "Everything I Own," "Bow Down Mister," "Generations of Love," "Love Is Leaving," and "The Crying Game," which appeared on the soundtrack for the film of the same name. Between 1989 and 1992, he also served as lead singer of the band Jesus Loves You. Beginning in the mid-1990s, he developed a parallel career as a DJ, releasing seven DJ albums. His music spans genres including pop, new wave, soul, soft rock, disco, and reggae. In 2015, he received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Services to British Music. In 2001, he was ranked 46th in a BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

On Broadway, O'Dowd performed and composed between 2003 and 2019. He starred in the play Taboo, for which he received both a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics, both in 2004. He also appeared in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Outside of music and theatre, his creative work includes mixed media art, writing books, designing clothes, and photography. In November 2022, he appeared on the 22nd UK series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in eighth place. He is also set to represent San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 alongside Italian singer Senhit.