Shot! Culture Club in Brighton
Five years to the day since he last played Brighton, Boy George was back, with a cultured performance that took it to church
This was an evening all about the power of the brand and the benefits of scale. Let me explain.
Back on 13 November 2013, Boy George played Brighton’s Concorde 2. I was there that night to witness what I recall was a pretty good show. George was promoting his solo album and of course among the new tracks, unsurprisingly, he also included a few Culture Club classics and even threw in the odd cover (T Rex’s Get It On)
Fast forward exactly five years and George was back in Brighton. This time, the intimate Concorde 2 gave way to the city’s biggest venue and he was once again fronting Culture Club.
Now bearing the modified moniker, Boy George & Culture Club, this was in fact the band’s fourth coming. Their heyday of course was when they burst onto the scene in the 80’s, with a string of worldwide hits between 81 and 86. After an acrimonious split, they reunited in the late 90’s, split again and got back together once more in 2014.
That attempted reformation was captured in the warts n all documentary From Kharma to Calamity and ended with a UK tour being cancelled at the last minute. Brighton Centre was one of the dates that never took place and all thoughts of the band doing anything together again appeared to be over.
As George readily admits, Culture Club is “a living, breathing soap opera.” And he’s right. This tour — 11 shows across the UK, following a summer of dates in America, contained another fascinating plot twist.
Original drummer and George’s former love interest, Jon Moss, was missing. Moss had played during the US leg, but was apparently fired by George just weeks before the UK tour. Moss himself is more than miffed, claiming there was no apparent reason for his expulsion and threatening legal action. George, on the other hand put it this way: “Jon is taking a break from Culture Club” adding “the door is open in the future.”
Whatever the reason for his absence, all I know is he wasn’t missed. In fact, George made no mention of him at all. The two other original members Mikey Craig and Roy Hay were there, but to be honest, both were fairly anonymous. This was unquestionably the Boy George show.
That’s hardly surprising, although it has to be said all the musicians on stage contributed greatly to the success of the show. However, the exemplary performers weren’t the guitarist or bass player, but the saxophonist and backing singers.
The sax added so much oomph to the songs as did the four vocalists — I’ve tried to get their names, but could not find them — who were given more time in the spotlight than backing singers are usually afforded. Indeed, on many of the songs all the musicians joined George in a joyous line at the front of the stage.
If I’d been closer — my seat was up in the nosebleeds — I’d have appreciated how George’s outfit tied into the black and white stage graphics. Clearly, this production hadn’t just been thrown together. Neither had the 15-song setlist.
George opened with God & Love, one of five tracks from the new album. The two standouts from it were Runaway Train and especially the gospel imbued Different Man where the ensemble really took it to church. George said he wrote the song having heard that Sly Stone, one of his musical heroes, was living in a car.
Culture Club’s breakthrough song Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? appeared at the halfway point, sounding as fresh today as it did 35 years ago. Of course, George’s voice has changed since then. Still soulful, it’s now deeper and huskier. But for someone who has just turned 57, he looks and sounds way younger than his years.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the inclusion of no less than four covers, especially as prior to the tour George had said he wasn’t interested in nostalgia. ”It’s like purgatory to be constantly doing the same thing over and over.”
Nonetheless, Wham’s I’m Your Man appeared in the middle of Church Of The Poison Mind, while Bowie’s Let’s Dance was one of four encores, as was the T Rex classic Get It On, which George had also played five years earlier during his solo show.
The big difference this time was the difference appearing as Culture Club and on a bigger stage made. If anyone doubted whether Boy George has still got it, this sold-out show unequivocally proved he still does.
Rarely do I mention support acts in my reviews, but this time I’m making an exception. On a night of nostalgia there were two. I’m skipping Belinda Carlisle as I thought she was nothing more than OK, but opening act Tom Bailey deserves a commendation for his performance, without doubt one of the best from a support I’ve seen in a long, long time.
From the moment he took the stage, wearing a white suit and backed by an all-female band also sporting all white outfits, the former Thompson Twin put on a 40-minute performance that would put many a headliner to shame.
It was loud, very loud. Louder I’d say than Culture Club. And Tom had the audience from the very first song. Bearing in mind, this was his first UK tour for 25 years, that was impressive. As was the fact he had decent lighting and even some screen visuals.
Given that the Thompson Twins last enjoyed success in the 80’s, it was also remarkable how well the songs stood the test of time, none more so than 1983’s Hold Me Now which proved a fitting closer, with the entire audience singing the chorus acappella.
Just like Boy George, it was proof that, no matter how long they’ve been away, there’s still life in some artists. I’ll leave the last word to George himself, a lyric from the title track of the new record: “I know I’m crazy, but just a little sane, I get to take this ride again.”
Setlist: God & Love | It’s A Miracle | Let Somebody Love You | Time (Clock Of The Heart) | (The Truth Is A) Runaway Train | Everything I Own (Bread cover) | Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? | Victims | Different Man | Miss Me Blind | Church Of The Poison Mind/I’m Your Man (Wham! cover) || Life | Let’s Dance (David Bowie cover) | Get It On (T Rex cover) | Karma Chameleon
“To me, shooting live music is all about capturing the personality of the performer and the emotion of their performance. And then creating an iconic image.”
Behind the image: It’s rare for me to go to a gig and not shoot the band. This one however was declared a ’no camera’ show by Boy George. That meant that while the audience could use their camera phones, no professional photographers were accredited. The images in this review were provided by Culture Club’s PR company. George was wearing the same outfit in Brighton, with the exception of a white top hat, rather than a black one. All the live shots were taken at the Nottingham gig. I have given them my own individual look in post-production.
My thanks to Hush PR for arranging the review ticket.
