Boy George on the price of fame: ‘There were moments when I lost my mind’

Published

5 months ago

November 16, 2024

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Boy George is contemplating his relationship with fame. Intoxicating, often inescapable, he says he has not always found his decades in the spotlight easy

There has been a cost, he says. Much has been well documented. But in recent years he has been able to enjoy it all much more.

And it’s not real. “Fame is a figment of other people’s imaginations. You’re only famous because other people believe you are.”

Most will know Boy George the avant garde musician, flamboyant frontman of Culture Club, one of the biggest music acts of the 1980s. Big hats, big songs, big personality. He has found new fans more recently through appearances on reality shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and as a judge on The Voice.

He is also an artist, and fame is the theme of his latest collection of portraits.

Vivid, bold, punk, they are exactly as you might expect. He has painted his hero David Bowie, fellow music icons Madonna and Prince, as well as a self-portrait.

“I think of Boy George from the ’80s as a sort of cartoon character,” he says. “Because on the one hand, there was this public persona, which was one thing, and it was very recognisable. And then there was me behind it… I used to have a real problem with [fame] and I feel now I’m like, it’s just a job.”

The portrait of his younger self is a reminder of how his relationship with fame has changed.

“I never really took it that seriously,” he says. “There were moments when I lost my mind – we all know what they were. But I always kind of knew who I was.”

‘I was really lucky to have my family’

The star, whose real name is George O’Dowd, has spoken and written about his struggles with addiction in the past. In 2009, he was jailed for four months for false imprisonment.

In his last autobiography, he described it as a “stupid, aggressive and regrettable” incident that was over in “less than 30 seconds”. He disputes some of the details that came out in court, but called himself an “idiot who did too many drugs and made a massive mistake”.

George says his family helped him through the dark times. Despite there being more conversation than ever around mental health and the pressures on young stars today, he is not convinced the support is any better.

“I think in my case, I was really lucky to have my family… particularly my late mother. Whatever was going on, she was always there to kind of try and harness me into reality. And sometimes it took a bit of pulling and shoving, but I feel like my family have been so important to me in terms of, you know, keeping me sane. But it hasn’t always been an easy thing.”

Now in his 60s, as well as Boy George, he is plain old “George from Eltham”, southeast London; although plain is not really an adjective you would ascribe to him.

“As I’ve got older, I’ve kind of accepted I created this Boy George person, and I can either have as much fun with it as I can, or I can make it full of anxiety,” he says.

For his Fame collection, he chose Bowie because the artist “shaped my whole career, my whole childhood”. His relationship with Madonna, whom he has captured in her Madame X era from 2019 rather than one of her more famous earlier incarnations, “because artists continue to evolve”, is more complex.

They first met after he saw her in concert in New York, with fellow ’80s star Marilyn and two friends. They went backstage and he asked for a picture.

‘There’s never been warmth… on either side’

“She grabbed the boys and just sat them on her lap, which is kind of major,” he says. “She took control immediately. And I’ve got this great picture of Madonna and this guy that I kind of lost contact with.”

But he and the Queen of Pop never became friends. “Over the years we sort of met each other, but there’s never been any kind of warmth necessarily on either side,” he says. “But I am a fan… with me, if I like the music, I don’t necessarily have to be best friends with the person… I can like things without being petty.”

It was perhaps part and parcel of fame in the 1980s, he says.

“When you’re young, everything’s a competition. As you get older, you get a bit more confident about who you are and more secure and therefore you’re able to enjoy things without feeling threatened. So I think in the ’80s, all of us were in competition with each other… nowadays I’m kind of able to enjoy a lot of bands that I hissed at in the past, you know.”

Earlier this year, George made his Broadway debut, performing in Moulin Rouge. Now, he is getting ready for gigs with Culture Club again, alongside Tony Hadley and Heaven 17.

They will play their first two albums, Kissing To Be Clever and Colour By Numbers, in full. “[It’s] one of the reasons I agreed to this tour,” he says. “I knew we wouldn’t argue about what we were playing.”

There is also a biopic in the works. George has long said he would like Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner to play him and the campaign continues, he says. “In this day and age, why can’t have a woman playing a man? Why not break the rules? It’s kind of what I was doing 30, 40 years ago.”

And he is still releasing solo music. His latest track, Let The Flowers Grow, is a collaboration with Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy.

“A lot of stuff I release, no one really hears of it unless they’re like a mad hardcore fan,” he says. “I’ve released 54 tracks in the last year, probably more than any other artist. And I will continue to keep putting stuff out and being creative because it feels like breathing, you know, it feels really enjoyable and I feel lucky that I get to do the thing I love.”

He takes a beat. “I mean that. I really enjoy it now in a way that I just didn’t know how to 10 years ago, 20 years ago, because I was so busy worrying about what other people thought about this, that and the other.

“Now I’m like, I want to tell people how I feel more. I mean, I’ve always done that, but I feel like, when you start to understand yourself more and realise what makes you actually happy, then you are able to express yourself in a better way.”

Entertainment

Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Published

22 hours ago

April 5, 2025

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Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.

As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.

“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.

“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”

If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.

But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.

Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation. 

Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.

“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”

This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.

For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.

“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.

“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”

Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.

“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.

“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”

In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.

“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.

Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.

It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.

Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.

Entertainment

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

1 day ago

April 4, 2025

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Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

2 days ago

April 3, 2025

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.