On July 7, 80’s musical sensation Boy George and Culture Club will make as stop in San Antonio at the Tobin Center as part of a 45-city tour.
Since the group was first formed in 1981, Culture Club has sold more that 50 million albums and 100 million singles with hits like “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Karma Chameleon,” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya.” They are the first band since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits in America from a debut album.
The group was also notable for being the first multi-racial band with an openly gay front man, singer songwriter Boy George (George Alan O’Dowd). O’Dowd’s androgynous style of dressing became a notable fashion influence in the 1980’s.
The band’s original collaboration only lasted until 1986 when it disbanded. However, since reforming in 2014, they have been touring and working on new music.
In 2015, O’Dowd was presented with the Ivor Novello lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the music industry not only for his work with Culture Club but for his songwriting and for several solo albums.
In a 2010 article in The New York Times titled “Rock: British Culture Club,” music critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Culture Club blends soul, rock, funk, reggae and salsa into a music that programmatically reconciles white, black and Latin styles. Mr. O’Dowd made the group’s best songs – the Motown-flavored ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ and the Latin-inflected dance tune ‘I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’ – shine like jewels.”
Boy George and Culture Club, with special Guest Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, July 7 at 8 p.m. at the H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle. Tickets: $59.50, $82.50, $99.50, $174.50 and $225.00. Purchase tickets at this link.
