Boy George is considering his relationship with fame. Intoxicating, typically inescapable, he says he has not at all times discovered his a long time within the highlight straightforward
There was a price, he says. A lot has been properly documented. However lately he has been in a position to take pleasure in all of it way more.
And it is not actual. “Fame is a figment of other people’s imaginations. You’re only famous because other people believe you are.”
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Boy George has created a brand new artwork assortment, titled Fame
Most will know Boy George the avant garde musician, flamboyant frontman of Tradition Membership, one of many greatest music acts of the Eighties. Large hats, massive songs, massive persona. He has discovered new followers extra not too long ago via appearances on actuality reveals resembling I am A Superstar… Get Me Out Of Right here! and as a decide on The Voice.
He’s additionally an artist, and fame is the theme of his newest assortment of portraits.
Vivid, daring, punk, they’re precisely as you may count on. He has painted his hero David Bowie, fellow music icons Madonna and Prince, in addition to a self-portrait.
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The gathering options pictures of David Bowie, Madonna and Prince, in addition to a self-portrait. Pic: Dave Parry/ PA
“I think of Boy George from the ’80s as a sort of cartoon character,” he says. “Because on the one hand, there was this public persona, which was one thing, and it was very recognisable. And then there was me behind it… I used to have a real problem with [fame] and I feel now I’m like, it’s just a job.”
The portrait of his youthful self is a reminder of how his relationship with fame has modified.
“I never really took it that seriously,” he says. “There were moments when I lost my mind – we all know what they were. But I always kind of knew who I was.”
‘I used to be actually fortunate to have my household’
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Tradition Membership on stage performing in 1982. Pic: Ron Wolfson/ Rock Negatives/ MediaPunch Boy George/ IPX/ AP
The star, whose actual identify is George O’Dowd, has spoken and written about his struggles with dependancy up to now. In 2009, he was jailed for 4 months for false imprisonment.
In his final autobiography, he described it as a “stupid, aggressive and regrettable” incident that was over in “less than 30 seconds”. He disputes a few of the particulars that got here out in courtroom, however referred to as himself an “idiot who did too many drugs and made a massive mistake”.
George says his household helped him via the darkish instances. Regardless of there being extra dialog than ever round psychological well being and the pressures on younger stars right now, he isn’t satisfied the help is any higher.
“I think in my case, I was really lucky to have my family… particularly my late mother. Whatever was going on, she was always there to kind of try and harness me into reality. And sometimes it took a bit of pulling and shoving, but I feel like my family have been so important to me in terms of, you know, keeping me sane. But it hasn’t always been an easy thing.”
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The Bowie portrait options the star in his well-known Tokyo Pop physique swimsuit from the Aladdin Sane tour, designed by Kansai Yamamoto, pictured right here throughout an exhibit on the Brooklyn Museum in 2018. Pic: Mary Altaffer/ AP
Now in his 60s, in addition to Boy George, he’s plain previous “George from Eltham”, southeast London; though plain shouldn’t be actually an adjective you’ll ascribe to him.
“As I’ve got older, I’ve kind of accepted I created this Boy George person, and I can either have as much fun with it as I can, or I can make it full of anxiety,” he says.
For his Fame assortment, he selected Bowie as a result of the artist “shaped my whole career, my whole childhood”. His relationship with Madonna, whom he has captured in her Madame X period from 2019 quite than one in all her extra well-known earlier incarnations, “because artists continue to evolve”, is extra advanced.
They first met after he noticed her in live performance in New York, with fellow ’80s star Marilyn and two pals. They went backstage and he requested for an image.
‘There’s by no means been heat… on both facet’
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George first met Madonna throughout her The Virgin tour within the mid-Eighties. Pic: AP/ NewsBase
“She grabbed the boys and just sat them on her lap, which is kind of major,” he says. “She took control immediately. And I’ve got this great picture of Madonna and this guy that I kind of lost contact with.”
However he and the Queen of Pop by no means turned pals. “Over the years we sort of met each other, but there’s never been any kind of warmth necessarily on either side,” he says. “But I am a fan… with me, if I like the music, I don’t necessarily have to be best friends with the person… I can like things without being petty.”
It was maybe half and parcel of fame within the Eighties, he says.
“When you’re young, everything’s a competition. As you get older, you get a bit more confident about who you are and more secure and therefore you’re able to enjoy things without feeling threatened. So I think in the ’80s, all of us were in competition with each other… nowadays I’m kind of able to enjoy a lot of bands that I hissed at in the past, you know.”
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Tradition Membership are touring later within the 12 months, together with Tony Hadley and Heaven 17
Earlier this 12 months, George made his Broadway debut, performing in Moulin Rouge. Now, he’s preparing for gigs with Tradition Membership once more, alongside Tony Hadley and Heaven 17.
They may play their first two albums, Kissing To Be Intelligent and Color By Numbers, in full. “[It’s] one of the reasons I agreed to this tour,” he says. “I knew we wouldn’t argue about what we were playing.”
There may be additionally a biopic within the works. George has lengthy mentioned he would love Sport Of Thrones star Sophie Turner to play him and the marketing campaign continues, he says. “In this day and age, why can’t have a woman playing a man? Why not break the rules? It’s kind of what I was doing 30, 40 years ago.”
And he’s nonetheless releasing solo music. His newest monitor, Let The Flowers Develop, is a collaboration with Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy.
“A lot of stuff I release, no one really hears of it unless they’re like a mad hardcore fan,” he says. “I’ve released 54 tracks in the last year, probably more than any other artist. And I will continue to keep putting stuff out and being creative because it feels like breathing, you know, it feels really enjoyable and I feel lucky that I get to do the thing I love.”
He takes a beat. “I mean that. I really enjoy it now in a way that I just didn’t know how to 10 years ago, 20 years ago, because I was so busy worrying about what other people thought about this, that and the other.
“Now I am like, I need to inform folks how I really feel extra. I imply, I’ve at all times performed that, however I really feel like, once you begin to perceive your self extra and realise what makes you really joyful, then you’ll be able to specific your self in a greater means.”
