Boy George

George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is a British musician, songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He is also a solo artist and was the lead singer of the band Jesus Loves You. Boy George's music spans several genres, including pop, new wave, soul, soft rock, disco and reggae.

Boy George grew up in Eltham, south-east London, and was part of the New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s to early 1980s. His androgynous look and style of fashion was greatly inspired by the glam rock pioneers Marc Bolan and David Bowie. He briefly performed shows with the group Bow Wow Wow under the name Lieutenant Lush. After that tenure ended, he formed his own group in 1981, first enlisting Mikey Craig, then Jon Moss, then Roy Hay. The group chose the name Culture Club. The band's first album, Kissing To Be Clever (1982), was a hit, with current sales of approximately 5 million copies worldwide. The band's second album, Colour by Numbers (1983), has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The group's hit singles include "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time (Clock of the Heart)", "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", "Church of the Poison Mind", "Karma Chameleon", "Victims", "Miss Me Blind", "It's a Miracle", "The War Song", "Move Away" and "I Just Wanna Be Loved".

Boy George was the lead singer of Jesus Loves You between 1989 and 1992, which produced the hits "Bow Down Mister" and "Generations of Love". He began his career as a DJ in the mid-1990s. Boy George commenced a solo career in 1987 and has 11 solo studio albums, five compilation albums and forty-eight singles. He has also released seven DJ albums, three EPs, and a soundtrack album. His solo hit songs include "Everything I Own", "Love Is Leaving" and "The Crying Game", from the soundtrack for the film The Crying Game. George has continued to perform with Culture Club, who have re-formed twice since initially parting ways in 1986. Outside of music, Boy George's other creative activities involve mixed media art, writing books, designing clothes and photography. He has also made several appearances in television, which include a fourth-season episode of The A-Team, the 22nd UK series of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in November 2022, eventually finishing in eighth place. In 2026, he provided uncredited vocals for Senhit's song "Superstar", which represented San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest that year.

Boy George has received several awards as a solo artist and as a member of Culture Club. In 2001, he was voted 46th in a BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. In 2015, Boy George received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Services to British Music.

Boy George was born George Alan O'Dowd at Barnehurst Hospital, Kent, England, on 14 June 1961 and raised in Eltham. He is the second of five children born to builder Jerry O'Dowd (born Jeremiah; 1934–2004) and Dinah O'Dowd (born Christina Glynn; 1939–2023). He was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family; his father was born in England of Irish descent and his mother was from Dublin. He has one older brother, two younger brothers and a younger sister. He also has an older half-brother, who was born out of wedlock in Dublin in 1957 when his mother was 18; she moved to London with him to start a new life and escape the stigma of being an unmarried mother.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.