INTERVIEW BY Mike Gee | 01 mars 2007
Neither does he want to ask: How come I, a man who sold 35 million records between 1982 and 1986 when my band Culture Club ruled the charts, ended up a heroin addict with no major record contract (not that he wants one) and a peculiar place in the hearts and minds of the public? Nor, how come nobody else I've been involved with has the guts to come clean about their homosexuality the way I have?'
So, yes, George Alan O'Dowd, now 44, has lived a somewhat eccentric, perhaps erratic, life, yet he remains an endearing figure to many people: in 2002 he was named as one of the 100 greatest Britons in a poll run by the BBC. DJ, fashionista he has his own label B-Rude, artist, performer, commentator he remains fashionably unfashionable and unfashionably fashionable. To his critics he is an overweight former drug addict; to his fans he is one of the more richly talented figures to grace English music and culture in the past two decades.
Today, he is in Berlin where he is due to DJ for fashion god, Hugo Boss, the next day at a fashion week party that alone says something about the kind of pull this likeable man has. As he talks, he is immediately friendly and somewhat loquacious without being overbearing or egotistical. There is a sense of an underlying resolve and suspicion though, perhaps best echoed at the end of the interview when he says, You've been very good, really well-behaved. What could be patronising is simply a matter of fact. Obviously, the questions he just answered weren't the questions he didn't want to hear. So, okay, no questions about his past drug problems, but then again, why would you? Pop stars with drug habits are two a penny. Their confessions are no different to those of any other poor sod hung up on one kind of junk or another. They just do their business in better places that's all.
And you get the feeling with Boy George that these days he would like his life to be very much his business. He moves quickly to counter any possible misinterpretation by the interviewer. For instance, B-Rude, which recently opened a new store in London draws an immediate I wouldn't take the name too literally. It's more to do with what offends others. People don't offend me. It's not about being rude to people, or encouraging that.
He is also somewhat modest. He's just co-written and released a new single, Time Machine, with double Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter, Amanda Ghost, who co-wrote the smash hit, You're Beautiful, with James Blunt. The duet is a dark, heavy ballad that contrasts the George voice still gloriously high and soulful with Ghost's darker purr. It's his first commercial release in eight years.
It isn't coming out in the UK, he says matter-of-factly. It's just digital. Radio 1,2, don't play my stuff and I've done a few other records which didn't get much airplay.
I've known Amanda since she was 18; she was a fashion colleague who went to the club I went to. One day I heard her sing and said why don't you sing and give up fashion.
She did and label giant, Warners, recognising that here was a genuine talent, signed the daughter of a Spanish mother and Indian father. Her debut album, Ghost Stories, was a patchy but under-rated affair and Ghost slipped off the radar as soon as fast as she appeared. Six or more years later she is now being hailed as one of the best songwriters in the world and has just finished writing the new Beyonce single. George says of the Warners deal, She was given too much too soon and Warners did nothing with her. But she's a smart girl and explored other areas of the business.
As far as Time Machine is concerned, the Boy almost makes out like he's the supporting act. However, it does offer the perfect opportunity to ask where he'd go if he was given one chance to travel anywhere in a time machine.
I'd probably go back in time and visit Jesus, he says, and clear up a few things. I'd go and question him about Leviticus [it contains many laws some of which to concerning sexual conduct including a few that are often interpreted as referring to male homosexuality, ask him a few things about Fred Nile. I'd also ask him: Do you really talk to George Bush? I'd go, C'mon do you really talk to these people ... ?'
He talks to me all the time though I just don't listen. I'm like all good Catholics: I hear what I want to hear.
Currently, he's been hearing some sweet reggae grooves as he works on a new solo album with legendary dub artist and producer, Dennis Bovell, and he's a big fan of young British pop/soul singer Amy Whitehouse and the NY-based electroclash duo, Avenue D. I don't think much of what is going on in the charts though, he says. The last person I got excited about was Jeff Buckley. The major record companies have derailed music. Kids have no sense of the past, of the great body of music there.
He has also come to admire Kylie Minogue having gotten to know her when she asked him to design some clothes for her current world tour.
Ooh, I'm a big Kylie convert, he says. I did some costumes for the tour and we've been working on some music with her. We've been working on something for a documentary she's doing.
She's a very well-mannered lady. When we made the costumes and she got them, Kylie rang to thank me. It's rare for a person to do that. People don't usually bother. I appreciate that she did. I've got very good manners and I like politeness. And I like Kylie.
Enigmatic as ever, Boy George remains a contrary loner; a true karma chameleon.
Catch Boy George
this Friday March 2 at the Metro.
http://www.beat.com.au/100/article.php?id=693
Publié par dominic à 14:20:26 dans boy george | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens
SYDNEY GAY & LESBIAN MARDI GRAS DJ SET 3 MARCH 2007 - SX Australian interview | 28 février 2007
Peter Hackney speaks with Boy George,ahead of his trip to Sydney for the Sydney
Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Once upon a time there was a boy...
Born in 1961 in Eltham, a rather bland slice of English suburbia, he was
fey child who was regularly taunted; called a poof from the age of six. He was
a plucky kid, however, with big dreams and the mettle to reach them. Not for him
the pedestrian life of commuting or shop-keeping or dole-collecting that seemed
pre-ordained for everyone in Eltham.
By the late 1970s, he was a fixture
on the London club scene, his androgynous style and theatrical flair catching
the eye of music svengali Malcolm McLaren (of Sex Pistols fame) who, in 1980,
cast him in new wave band Bow Wow Wow. Such was his popularity that the other
members got jealous, and he left to form his own group, Culture Club. In 1982,
they released their debut album, and within months our boy was flying in the pop
stratosphere, breathing the rarefied air shared by Madonna, Michael Jackson and
Prince.
The hero of our fairy story (pun definitely intended) is, of
course, none other than Boy George.
And while we recall that George
spiralled to Earth in 1986, in a vortex of drug addiction and scandal, there's
no denying that he's since earned lasting respect and is now a genuine queer
icon: singer, songwriter, author, actor, newspaper columnist, queer rights
activist, fashion designer, photographer, radio presenter and DJ, Boy George is
a creative powerhouse. And come March 3, Sydney will get a taste of this unique
star (its first in 8 years) when he jets into town for the queerest spectacle of
all, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Someone once said to me,
Like prostitutes or monuments, if you stay around long enough, you'll
eventually get respect', says George, speaking to SX from Paris, where he's
shooting a Hugo Boss campaign.
I think that you just have to be a bit
bloody-minded about things, because whatever I've done and I've done lots of
things in my life I'm not frightened to do new things if I think I can do them
well.
George's incarnation as DJ, one of the many things he does well,
is the premise for his forthcoming trip to Sydney. The star will be spinning
around (as a particular friend of his might say or sing) at the Mardi Gras
Party on Saturday, March 3 George's second Mardi Gras, the first being in
1995, when he sang live.
Reminded of the snootiness that surrounded his
first forays into DJ-ing, George recalls, It was the same thing when I started
singing! The detractors have had to eat their words, however, and watch him
become a superstar DJ', one of a handful who can headline virtually any party
they want, anywhere they want, anytime they like.
So how does George
describe his style as a DJ? I would say that I have no style, he laughs.
Someone in America once said about my DJ-ing, Oh, you know, Boy George has no
style.' It was meant as an insult, but it's actually true. I'm not a sort of DJ
who plays a certain type of music. I'm not a trance DJ, I like to mix things
about, because I got into dance music around the time of acid house when you
could be in clubs in Ibiza and hear things like Phil Collins, and all sorts of
mad things in the middle of a dance floor. You could be at a foam party and
suddenly You Can't Hurry Love' would come on, or some old northern soul
record.
Despite persistent debate in Sydney over the continuing
relevance of Mardi Gras, George is firmly of the opinion that it still has a
place, and he waxes lyrical with his Mardi Gras memories: I think it's
important for us to have a day where we can come and scream and dress up and act
silly, he says, I really do ... Last time I was there it was raining, which
was a bit of a shame because obviously everyone got their costumes destroyed,
but what struck me was that it was so well organised. I was very impressed by
the attention to detail, the fact that they made a real effort. It wasn't just
me on a stage singing they built this fantastic set and made costumes for me.
It was really, really impressive.
George has made numerous visits here
over the years, and recently, fans were treated to a portrait of his first
Australian sojourn with the release of the Culture Club Live in Sydney DVD. As
George tells it, his notorious '80s cohort Marilyn smoothed the way for that
first tour, albeit unintentionally.
Marilyn went ahead of me, he
recalls, and proceeded to make himself extremely unpopular. What happened was
that people were expecting me to be equally obnoxious, so he did me a huge
favour.
George confirms queer legend which maintains that Marilyn was
given a black eye on Oxford Street by a disgruntled fan (Yes, he was kicked in
the face) and dismisses rumours that bruising in question was the product of
make-up.
Where that idea came from was that obviously the black eye went
down, and when Marilyn flew back, he got my friend Kim Bowen to touch it up' to
make it look quite bad again. But he was hit, you know. And I don't agree with
that. I remember there were bumper stickers saying I kicked Marilyn', which I
didn't think was all that impressive.
In fact, despite their seemingly
Blanche & Baby Jane' relationship, George in 2007 seems nothing but
magnanimous towards Marilyn, whom he's still close to. Discussing a recent SX
interview, in which Marilyn referred to the heroin overdose death of a musician
at George's home in 1986 (It was George whose career should have been ruined by
heroin, not mine!), George comes across as tolerance personified.
I
don't know what to say about that really, he sighs. It's not a very
intelligent thing to say. But I don't really care. I've known Marilyn a long,
long time. There's been plenty of things that I've read like that and in a way,
I kind of understand. I know it's his insecurity, you know? We're sisters under
the skin. Whenever I confront him about these things he says (adopts hurt,
indignant tone), No, no, I never said that!' You know, what can you do?
I try not to say nasty things about him because he is quite fragile at
times, he continues. I think those sort of comments are a way of making
himself feel better, I suppose.
But one person George has nothing kind
to say about is Madonna (or McDonna, as he likes to call her). George, who has a
long history of sniping at the Kabbalah devotee, says he's mystified by the gay
community's continuing reverence for her and speculates that the singer is still
popular with gays because we're taught to hate ourselves.
It's such a
strange thing, he opines. I mean, I understand the adoration of strong women
because I saw my own mother pushed around by my father. Growing up, I loved the
likes of Joan Collins, Shirley Bassey. I loved divas, I loved these strong
women, and I think when Madonna first appeared that's what she was. In her early
days, she was quite spectacular there was something more real about her then.
With songs like Papa Don't Preach', there was a certain kind of knowingness to
what she did. But at a certain point she became bourgeoisie. Now, I just think
she's a complete phony.
George's stance on Madonna is understandable.
While Madonna has sustained her commercial success, George's recorded music has
been relegated to a cult following despite the fact that in recent years, he's
recorded some of the best material of his career, including the hypnotic Song
For a Boy' in 2005, and this year's brilliant Time Machine'. It seems unfair
that Madonna's botoxed parody of herself is continually rewarded, while a
genuine musician, who actually writes his own songs (not change a word, take a
third' writing) has his music sidelined.
Not that George necessarily
harbours sour grapes against people who are more commercially successful: while
he's cheekily bitched about her in years gone by, he's now close friends with
Kylie Minogue, even designing the trousers she wore on her recent Showgirl
Homecoming tour. I sat up for two nights making those trousers, he reports.
George's friendship with Kylie dates back to 1999, when La Minogue
approached him to make a contribution to her coffee-table book, Kylie. I wrote
back and jokingly said, Kylie unlikely', and she actually put that in as my
contribution. And at that point I thought, I quite like her, actually', he
laughs. She has a sense of humour.
But it's not all frothy anecdotes
with George. The performer has a more serious side, and in Britain he's a
regular commentator on queer issues; a respected talking head' on subjects like
gay marriage, equality and cottaging (or doing beats', as we say here). He's
also a committed vegetarian, whose animal rights sensibilities means that his
fashion label, B-Rude, is fur and leather-free.
On gay marriage, he tells
SX: The issue of gay marriage seems ludicrous when we still live in a society
that refuses to even accept that kids are born gay! But I do think that it's a
civil rights issue and that if you pay your taxes and contribute, you should be
entitled to the same rights as everybody else, including marriage. My problem
with gay marriage is that a lot of the thinking behind it is that if we act more
like straight people, they'll tolerate us more. And I don't see why we
should!
On cottaging: Obviously, for some people, it's fascinating and
exciting, but I don't think, with the internet, there's any need for it any
more. I'm more of a cotton sheets queen myself, he quips. He can't resist
adding: I must admit, I get a bit of a giggle over my coffee and morning papers
seeing the latest pics of [George Michael] stumbling out of a bush.
As
for the gay community itself, a celebration of which he's about to take part in,
George says: I don't really fit into the stereotypes of the gay community. I
don't have a square jaw or a perfectly gym-toned body. You know, I'm a bit of a
sort of oddity. I exist in a sexual no-man's land. I'm one of those homosexuals
who's always felt slightly on the outside.
For what it's worth, George, we
love you just as you are.
Boy George will appear at the 2007 Sydney Gay
and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party as headline DJ in the Hordern Pavilion on Saturday,
March 3. Visit www.mardigras.org.au for
tickets.
Publié par dominic à 20:28:08 dans boy george | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens
Herald Sun - "Boy, Tell Us What You Think" | 28 février 2007
![[image]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b389/kristinebg/pic.jpg)
Article from:
IF the federal election was tomorrow, there is no way music legend Boy George would support Prime Minister John Howard.
The gay star yesterday slammed the Prime Minister for banning same sex marriage and civil unions.
"Politics should not be an arena for spreading hatred, politics should be a place to spread harmony," he said.
"It's depressing when you have politicians like this.
"I think John Howard would be lucky to have a gay child, the curtains would be fabulous."
Refreshingly candid, the '80s superstar was brutally honest about being found guilty of possessing a small amount of cocaine and sweeping New York streets in front of the media as part of his community service last year.
"A lot of people don't know what the police did to me," he said.
"They were hideous.
"At one point I was taken to Bellevue hospital and I cut my foot and I was chained to a bed at the hospital.
"It was like what have I done? Michael Jackson is roaming the streets, O.J. Simpson killed his wife, let's get real here.
"As for the service, I really got into it. I thought if you're going to do it, you may as well do it properly."
He revealed he has written two songs for Kylie Minogue. Boy George got a call from Kylie herself last year after seeing him in concert in London and being impressed with one of his costumes. She asked him to make a copy of it for her recent tour.
"I was very touched by that," he said. "I got this text from someone that said la la la, because that's what I always say to her.
"I didn't know who it was but the phone rang later and she put on a silly voice.
"She wanted me to make a replica and she came around with a box of jewels.
"I think she was quite amused that I made the trousers myself.
"I made them with my niece and I think she was really shocked."
Boy George had nice things to say about Channel 10's breakfast hosts David Reyne and Kim Watkins, after interviewing him for today's show.
"They were lovely, much better then some of the breakfast telly hosts overseas."
He is in Melbourne for a DJ gig at the Metro on Friday night and will head to the mardi gras in Sydney on Saturday night.
Tickets from the Metro gig can be bought on the night.
thanks kristine for post this article.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21303280-28957,00.html
Publié par dominic à 20:13:02 dans boy george | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens
NOUVELLES PICTURES GEORGIE GAYDAR | 28 février 2007
Publié par dominic à 14:09:48 dans boy george | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens
ENGLAND PINKPAPER FEBRUARY 2007 | 28 février 2007
Publié par dominic à 13:52:39 dans boy george | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens
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