Culture Club - Waking Up With The House On Fire - And What Princess Margaret Said...

Here's a great ad for the 1984 Culture Club album Waking Up With The House On Fire. And Boy George has a stunning new hairdo. Can't be bad, mateyboots. Mind you, it wasn't all goodies for George that year. On meeting him, Princess Margaret declared: "I won't be photographed with that over-made-up tart." Absolutely charming!

The trouble with Boy George though is that he was all image and not a lot of substance. His music was far from original and his look... well, what the hell did it all mean? Other male performers had worn make-up and 'gender bending' clothes aeons before the Boy and so, although it all seemed mildly surprising to the early 1980s pop scene, the Boy became a pretty dolly for little girls to buy and a purveyor of cutesy songs.

Still a helpful presence for the gay community in the era that AIDS was freshly discovered, but more than a teensy bit overrated in all other respects.