Boy George and Culture Club Get Political in Their First Music Video After 20 Years
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Boy George, the androgynous 57-year-old lead singer of the band Culture Club, just released the band’s first video in 20 years. The new Boy George song is a reggae-influenced slow jam called “Let Somebody Love You,” and the new Culture Club video evokes something between a Pride rally and a protest march, taking a political tone while pointing out there’s “so much to resist.”
In the new Culture Club video, Boy George visits a highway underpass to find many people divided into different groups, listening to speakers of different races, genders and beliefs.
Setting up a small stepladder, Boy George ascends above the crowd, singing, “I am fire, you are water / Nothing we can do … Love is revolution / War and famine too / Feed the hunger in your heart / Let somebody love you.”
As he sings, he unites the people. Then, midway through the song, the folks all bust out with colorful protest signs, though it’s a lighthearted protest, with most of its signs promoting love and individuality.
Eventually, everyone joins Michael as he leads them in a simple line dance.
Here’s the video for the new Boy George song, “Let Somebody Love You”:
Though there were plenty of preening androgynes with flamboyant plumage back in the ’80s, Boy George was truly the peacock’s tiara. His genderqueer style and smooth radio hits like “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” and “Karma Chameleon” helped keep him and Culture Club as part of the cultural conversation throughout the decade.
The new Culture Club video also reflects George’s changing life experiences.In 2009, Boy George served four month in jail for the assault and false imprisonment of Audun Carlsen, a Norwegian man who he handcuffed in his basement. Boy George blamed drugs for his actions. Since 2012, Boy George has practiced Buddhism, a spiritual system that stresses loving-kindness, as a way to stay sober.
Culture Club broke up in 1986, after Boy George finally admitted his ongoing drug addiction. Though the band reunited briefly in 1998 and toured in 2002, it didn’t properly reunite until 2014 when it started recording new material.
“Let Somebody Love You” will appear on Culture Club’s new album, Life, when it debuts on Oct. 26, 2018.
