walking upstream…
Culture Club
sourcesWikipedia23 · AllMusic · Music Existence
Culture Club coalesced in London in 1981 when singer Boy George, drummer Jon Moss, bassist Mikey Craig, and guitarist Roy Hay found in each other an unlikely alchemy: Moss's rock-and-Motown record collection, Craig's Jamaican rocksteady roots, and George's magpie love of glam and soul. Their 1982 debut, 'Kissing to Be Clever,' turned that mix into featherweight, reggae-inflected pop-soul, while George's flamboyant, gender-bending style — makeup, braids, kimono-like robes — made the band a fixture of early MTV and tabloid Britain alike. 'Karma Chameleon' became one of 1983's biggest global hits, but internal tension, much of it between George and Moss, splintered the band by 1986. They have since reunited on and off, touring well into the 2020s.
the sound in question
1983
Karma ChameleonCulture Club
walk the tributaries ↓
David Bowie1970s · Art rock / Glam rock
Boy George has said seeing Bowie was 'the beginning of me going, Oh my god, I'm not alone' — an early, formative permission to be visibly different that fed directly into his cross-dressing, gender-fluid stage persona. AllMusic's account of the band notes that as a teenager George was pulled toward 'the glam rock of T. Rex and David Bowie,' and that theatrical, identity-as-performance streak runs through Culture Club's whole aesthetic, from androgynous album art to lyrics that play with disguise and transformation.
listen: upstream & heresource: Radio X ↗
1974
Rebel RebelDavid Bowie
1983
Karma ChameleonCulture Club
listen forPlay Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel,' a genderless come-on sung to someone whose parents 'don't know if you're a boy or a girl,' next to Culture Club's 'Karma Chameleon' — both ride a breezy, hook-heavy pop chassis while the lyric turns identity itself into the song's central, shape-shifting joke.
Smokey Robinson1960s · R&B / Soul
Wikipedia's account of the band's reception notes that critics described Culture Club's sound as 'recycled Smokey Robinson' and 'classic Motown' — a nod to how directly Boy George's plaintive, high tenor drew on the Motown falsetto tradition Robinson helped define as the Miracles' frontman and a chief Motown songwriter. Drummer Jon Moss has separately described his own record collection running to 'Motown singers like Marvin Gaye,' and that shared soul foundation gave the band's biggest ballads their aching, torch-song quality.
listen: upstream & here
1965
The Tracks of My TearsSmokey Robinson
1982
Do You Really Want to Hurt MeCulture Club
listen forSet Robinson's 'The Tracks of My Tears' beside Culture Club's 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' — both ride a warm, mid-tempo groove and a wounded, high falsetto that smuggles real heartbreak inside a deceptively sweet melody.
Prince Buster1960s · Ska / Rocksteady / Rhythm and blues
Bassist Mikey Craig has described growing up on 'Jamaican rocksteady in the late 60s and early 70s,' a taste sharpened by a childhood trip to Jamaica, and has said the band built songs by testing combinations like 'a reggae bass line with a rock drum, or vice versa.' Prince Buster's early-1960s sides were foundational to exactly that Jamaican sound-system tradition — the rocksteady-into-reggae bedrock Craig cut his teeth on — and his rolling, offbeat basslines are an ancestor of the bouncy, skank-inflected bass Craig brought to Culture Club.
listen: upstream & here
1964
Al CaponePrince Buster
1983
I'll Tumble 4 YaCulture Club
listen forHear the loping, offbeat skank of Prince Buster's 'Al Capone,' then listen for that same bright, bouncing rhythm-section lift under Culture Club's 'I'll Tumble 4 Ya' — both let the bass and off-beat guitar chop do the dancing while the vocal stays light on top.