Culture Club Rocks the OC Fair

The concert gives fans a chance to take a trip down memory lane  

Costa Mesa, CA – In 1983, Culture Club sat on top of the world with their No.1 Billboard hit “Karma Chameleon.” 

With their infectious pop music sound, Culture Club, led by frontman Boy George, had tapped into the consciousness of Americans with their flamboyant sense of style and good-hearted music. 

The group quickly became a sensation. “Karma Chameleon” came a year on the heels of the group’s first mega-hit, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” which went all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1982. 

After these two monster hits, Culture Club caught fire and their rise to stardom went the meteoric way, and that’s straight to the top. The group eventually settled for six Top 10 hits during their heyday, including “Time,” “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” and “It’s a Miracle.” 

At the height of their fame, Boy George became more than just lead singer for the group, he became an A-1 celebrity personality with his irresistible charm and innovative sense of style. Boy George had what it takes to make you a star. 

He had swag. He had an engaging personality. He had a flair for the dramatic. More importantly, he had the necessary vocal pipes many people would be jealous over. 

The man could sing. More than four decades (43 years to be exact) after “Karma Chameleon” became tops on the Billboard charts, that hasn’t changed. Boy George and Culture Club are still going strong. 

Performing as the closing act of this year’s OC Fair, Boy George and Culture Club brought their eclectic style of music and fashion to the Pacific Amphitheatre and wowed the packed house. 

Despite rain taking up most of the day on Sunday, Sept. 6, the weather played nice by the evening time and dried up a bit by the time Culture Club hit the stage at around 8:45 p.m. 

Minus the show’s opening act, Culture Club still managed to give the crowd a tour back down nostalgia lane with their very lively performance. 

And let’s be clear: there is only one Boy George. His decades-long onslaught on the outlandish when it comes to his fashion wear and makeup, presented a different presentation to the band’s appeal. 

Boy George didn’t just push the envelope when it came to fashion and makeup application, he ripped it apart, shattering all kinds of norms along the way. But all that sideshow stuff aside, it wouldn’t matter one iota if Culture Club couldn’t produce some good music along the way. 

According to their discography, Culture Club has a total of 17 albums to their credit. Two, however, are the ones that engineered their biggest and more notable hits. “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” appears on the group’s first album “Kissing to be Clever.”

The English band’s other early album, “Colours By Numbers,” spawned “Karma Chameleon,” “It’s a Miracle,” “Miss Me Blind,” and “Church of the Poison Mind,” all fan favorites as evident of the reception each song received when Culture Club performed them.   

Staying true to his brand, Boy George came out and performed in a large fedora and a very colorful outfit that only he can wear. And that includes the Lil Wayne t-shirt he proudly adorned underneath the rest of his garments.

Outside of his fashion statement, Boy George came out and gave a really, really great show. His voice is as smooth and silky as it was back in the day when Culture Club was coming up in the musical ranks. 

Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects about Boy George is that he has a fabulous voice. The group’s New Wave, Reggae-Pop sound matches Boy George’s vocals perfectly. 

The concert itself was a perfect collaboration between the lead man and the great music behind him. Boy George’s energetic stage presence was matched by the excellence of his background singers trying to mesh with his vocal appeal to the tight musicianship that accompanied his singing.      

While he brought the fans back down memory lane, Boy George squeezed in a couple of numbers in which he paid homage to the group T. Rex and Marc Bolan (Children of the Revolution) and David Bowie (Let’s Dance), whom he cited as being musical influences. 

Both songs had the crowd on their feet. However, Boy George and Culture Club saved the best for last. On the second to the last number of the night, Boy George performed a funky, reggae twist to “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” as he incorporated one of his background singers as co-lead. 

Culture Club ended their parlay of fun in Orange County with “Karma Chameleon.” It was a fitting end to a superlative show.