1980s pop icons Boy George and Culture Club are set to conquer Rome.
The gender-bending British singer-songwriter, who gave the world hits like “Karma Chameleon” and “The Crying Game”, will headline the city’s New Year’s Eve concert at Rome’s ancient chariot-racing stadium The Circus Maximus. The stadium, which has hosted the likes of Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen, has room for more than 100,000 people. The City of Rome is bankrolling the concert, so tickets to see Boy George are free. The Circus Maximus should be packed.
The gig only came together over the last week. Originally, the controversial right-wing Italian rapper Tony Effe was supposed to be headlining the New Year’s Eve bash, but, on December 16, amid a public backlash, on the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, canceled the performance.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter Roma, the mayor said city authorities had made a mistake inviting the rapper. “It was inappropriate because he uses offensive sexist, misogynous and violent lyrics, and because he is a divisive figure,” he said. “By contrast, Boy George and the Culture Club are all about inclusiveness, tolerance and really great music.”
Boy George, born George Alan O’Dowd, spoke exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter Roma ahead of his New Year’s Eve concert. He said he was psyched to be performing in Italy for the first time since 2010 and discussed two new films about his life: A documentary he is producing himself on the history of the Culture Club, and a biopic about his life.
Back in the ’80s, the singer was the quintessence of gender-fluidity, before we even had a term for it. But in his interview, Boy George, now 63, says he struggles with some of today’s language around gender.
“I’m slightly uncomfortable with the whole being put into a group thing. I understand that it’s the way people speak now. OK. But I don’t really feel like, I mean, LGBTQI+ Plus you, Plus me, Plus them,” he says. “I want to say that I belong to humanity, you know, and when my audience comes to my shows, I’m not out there checking what they are, you know. Are you this? Are you that? Of course not. I was different because I was lucky enough to come along before people thought they understood everything.”
George, we’re really excited about this concert on New Year’s Eve in Rome. Tell us about it. Are you psyched?
Well, I’m always excited to perform. We just finished a U.K. tour two weeks ago, so we’re ready. We’re match fit, as we say, so that’s good. And, you know, it’s always fun to go on stage, because you really never know what the audience is going to be like. But it’s my job, as the kind of leader of the band, to seduce people. So I always look forward to that part of it, to making the connection. Obviously, it’s going to be interesting because, you know, there’s a language barrier.
Surely there’s no language barrier with “Karma Chameleon” or any of your other hits?
When I perform, I talk a lot, you know, quite a lot. I’m a very talkative performer. So it will be interesting. I can speak a tiny bit of Italian, but not enough to have an intelligent conversation, but I’ll do my best.
Do you remember the last time you were in Italy? I think it was about 10 or 15 years ago at Gay Village in Rome.
I remember very well because I did a song called “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” and we were doing it in our set. And when I was performing it, I suddenly heard the crowd singing, but they were singing in Italian. And so I realized that this is a really famous Italian song, “io che non vivo (senza te).” And I thought to myself, I need to learn it in Italian. So I’ll be doing that one on Tuesday, Dec. 31 in Rome.
In Italian. Oh, cool. Will you be saying “Buona sera, Roma?”
Buona sera, Roma.
Coming back to coming to Italy. This is a country that has been going through all sorts of social upheaval, and rightwing policies that discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. But the mayor of Rome told me that he was very happy that you’re coming, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. He said that you represent tolerance, inclusiveness, and all of the values that are important to the mayor here in Rome. Is that part of your message?
From the beginning of this band, and of my journey as an entertainer, I’ve always regarded myself as a very open performer in terms of, you know, who comes to our shows. You know, in the beginning of Culture Club, it was quite confusing to see the audience that we got, you know, because before we were famous, our audience was club kids, kids wearing Vivienne Westwood, kids in makeup. And then almost overnight, it became a very mixed audience of girls and mothers and everybody, you know?
And I think that I am not pretentious, and I never was pretentious, and dressing up for me was a really personal thing. It wasn’t about what other people felt or what they were going to do. I mean, of course, I enjoy the reaction because why would you do something and want to be ignored? But I never did it necessarily to be antagonistic. I just did it because I like hats and I like beautiful clothes and I like colors and I like jewelry and I like music and, you know, architecture and sculpture and pots and pans and all of that stuff.
But I think the personality of a kid is set in stone sometimes when they’re born. And I was always going to be me. There was never going to be another version of me.
Do you consider yourself a trailblazer or a pioneer in the LGTBQ+ community’s self-awareness or its ability to be accepted by the mainstream?
I’m slightly uncomfortable with the whole being put into a group thing. I understand that it’s the way people speak now. OK. But I don’t really feel like, I mean, LGBTQI+ Plus you, Plus me, Plus them. I want to say I belong to humanity, you know, and when my audience comes to my shows, I’m not out there checking what they are, you know. Are you this? Are you that? Of course not. I was different because I was lucky enough to come along before people thought they understood everything.
You know, it’s very easy now to say, oh, you’re this, so therefore this is what I think of you. And actually, all human beings are multi-universes. You know, we are not our sexuality, we are not our culture. These things obviously are beautiful and we can celebrate these things. But we are more than that, you know? And it kind of disappoints me after all this time when people say, oh, is it just about that?
You know, because at the beginning of Culture Club, all the questions were about my hat and, you know, people talked to me like I was a fashion horse. I had no substance, it was all about clothes.
And I love clothes, but really, I don’t care about clothes. I care about people, I care about laughter. I believe that happiness is in the mundane. I’m very lucky to do what I do. I feel very blessed that I can go out and entertain people, but I’m a non-judgmental human being.
I think the trouble when you put things into a box and you say you’re this or you’re that or you’re Italian or you’re gay or you’re black or your white, it can shrink who you are to the point where people think they know everything they need to know about you, and you stop being a human being.
Boy George and The Culture Club on the cover of THR Roma
THR Roma
It’s very interesting and very important what you’re saying because you’re really saying that the whole world has been reduced to stereotypes, like woke or anti-woke, and there’s no sense of the natural beauty of your body.
But what if you were never asleep? What if you were never asleep in the first place? Then you would not have been woke up, do you understand? So to me, also, I feel like it’s a way of dismissing people, saying, oh, you care too much, or you care too little.
And, you know, I think as I’ve got older, I try not to have opinions about things I can’t change. So I’m not someone who sits around moaning about the world. I concentrate solely on my behavior, on how I treat people, how I am in my interactions with people I meet every day, what I’m like on stage, just how I treat people, because that’s the only thing I have control over.
Well, Rome is looking forward to you. Just before we go, one more question: You have two movies coming out, or that you’re working on, two movies, one a documentary. Tell me about that.
So there’s a documentary coming out about Culture Club, which is really about the beginning of the band and all of the stuff that went on in the band. But then there’s a separate movie which is about me. And I can’t say too much about it. I’ve got the script. I haven’t read it all. I started to read it. They want my feedback.
Is it fiction, a fictionalized story about you? Or a documentary style?
I feel like it’s all fiction in a way. It’s the truth, but it’s definitely theatrical and it starts with me as a kid, but I haven’t got into the whole thing yet. I’m still like working up the strength to read it, you know, because it’s so hard to look back into your life. You know, it can be very difficult to look backwards, you know.
I’m sure it’s a very good exercise, though. It’s very healthy.
I’m going to do it.
So do please do. We look forward to seeing those movies and most of all to having Boy George in Rome for the concert on New Year’s Eve.
Yeah, I mean, it’s beautiful one of my favorite cities in the world. You know, Rome is one of those places where you always find something else.
See if you can say to the Romans, “Buon Anno, Roma.”
Happy New Year. Buon Anno, Roma. Buon anno. I’m going to practice some stuff to say, obviously. I don’t want to be up there and not be able to say anything, but I can sing in Italian better than I speak.
Excellent. George, thank you so much for taking the time.
Ciao.