Boy George: “Laughing at yourself is essential!”
He’s one of our biggest music icons, who successfully turned his life around after battling heroin addiction and spending time in jail. Now, as Boy George prepares to turn 60 this month, Closer looks back at his trials and tribulations, and what he’s learnt along the way… ‘NORMAL CAN BE GOOD’
Boy George struggled with drug abuse and had highly publicised brushes with the law, but he says his childhood was the “epitome of normality”.
Born George Alan O’Dowd, he grew up with his Irish Catholic family in Eltham, south east London, and had four siblings. “There was the telly, the record player, the vegetable patch,” he said. “I always had the feeling I wanted to rebel against the sterility of it all, although I did soon realise that sterility is a perfect breeding ground for love, affection and security.”
‘DEFY THE RULES’
Boy George spent lockdown alone but worked this time to his advantage, crediting it with helping him to fall back in love with music. He even managed to write 60 songs during this period, and he’s now releasing them to mark his 60th birthday this month. “It’s been an interesting year for me because I finally understand why I do what I do now. The gift of this year is falling back in love with music in a way that I haven’t since I was about 16. At the moment, I’m defying all the rules with music. I’m at a point where I really don’t want anyone else’s advice!”
‘BE REALISTIC WITH DATING’
In his 1995 autobiography, Take It Like A Man, George spoke about being gay, and revealed he’d had secret relationships with punk rock singer Kirk Brandon and Culture Club drummer, Jon Moss. He’s now thought to be single, and says age has changed his attitude to romance. “If someone’s going to put their imprint on my life, they have to be pretty damn special,” he said. “I don’t want another dysfunctional relationship. When you’re older, you have to be more realistic. I like odd-looking people – I love a big nose, humour, someone who’s got balls and a sense of themselves.”
‘DON’T TAKE THINGS SERIOUSLY’
From dreadlocks to killer make-up and oversized hats, Boy George was one of the defining fashion icons of the ’80s. He was famed for his flamboyant sense of style, which was heavily influenced by David Bowie, rock, punk and disco. And he says not taking things too seriously is the key to happiness. “Being able to laugh at yourself – for what you wore, what you did, what you said – it’s absolutely essential,” he said. “To this day, I’m still laughing.”
‘MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR DEMONS’
He had a £400-a-day heroin habit, but quit drink and drugs over a decade ago. He stopped eating meat, practised Buddhism and earned a judging role on The Voice in 2016. “Until you say, “I’m an addict,” you can’t make peace with those demons. I went to see counsellors [but] wouldn’t say it. When I finally did, it was like, ‘What a relief! That’s what I am!’”
‘KEEP SOME THINGS PRIVATE’
His famous quote is that he would rather have “a cup of tea than sex” but the singer admits that he’s become more guarded about his private life with age. “I’ve spent my life oversharing,” he said. “I think when you’re young you want to tell everybody everything about yourself. I’ve learnt to keep things a bit private as I’ve got older and I don’t necessarily tell everything to everybody, because not everybody deserves to know your innermost secrets.”
‘EVERY MISTAKE IS A POSITIVE’
In 2006, Boy George was sentenced to five days’ community service in New York, after admitting to falsely reporting a burglary. Three years later, in 2009, he served four months of a jail sentence after allegedly handcuffing and falsely imprisoning a male escort. But the singer – who says that “every mistake is a positive life lesson” – turned his life around. “I’ve never blamed anyone for anything that’s happened and accepted the consequences,” he has said. “I’ve had to take responsibility for the life I’ve chosen. I had to rebuild my life, and that’s what I’ve done.”
‘TIME GIVES PERSPECTIVE’
Casting is underway for Karma Chameleon, a biopic based on George’s life. And hearing the script made him realise how much he’s changed. “One of the most powerful things that happened to me in lockdown was having the film script read to me,” he said. “I didn’t think it would give me a new perspective on things that I believed in the past, but I thought, ‘Maybe I didn’t understand what I was feeling at the time.’ Time gives you a chance to look back and say, ‘I’m not that person any more.’ There are parts of me that are similar, but I’m a different person now. I watch old interviews and laugh.”
‘I’ve had to take responsibility and rebuild
my life’