Boy George barely recognises his "insane" younger self from when Culture Club found fame in the 1980s.
The 54-year-old singer occasionally looks at old photos of himself from the group’s hey day and reads interviews from that period and admits he doesn’t know who that person is compared to the individual he is now.
In an interview with News.com.au, the ‘Karma Chameleon’ hitmaker said: "You can only be who you are now. I wouldn’t know how to be that person, as great as he was in some ways; I bear no resemblance to him. I watch interviews he did and think, ‘What are you talking about?’ Oh my god, I was so insane. But I do look at some of the photos and think, ‘You look quite good there.’ "
George – who has overcome battles with drug and alcohol abuse – has been back with Culture Club since 2014 and he believes that the band have never played better and his voice has never sounded better.
And ‘The Voice’ coach thinks that many of the group’s songs have a deeper meaning for him now than they did when he first wrote them.
He explained: "I think there are songs you grow into and songs you grow out of. Songs like ‘Victims’ and ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?’ still resonate and are in some ways, more emotional. When you are 19, you are writing about love and you have no idea. Fast forward to 54 and you have a very different perspective and that enables you to perform these songs with more depth and experience."
George is delighted his songs have stood the test of time and he is always delighted to see that the fans attending Culture Club concerts is as diverse now as it was in the 80s.
He said: "I definitely saw a few people who were waving the flag for individuality in Adelaide the other night. The thing is with Culture Club, we always attracted everyone; there were outsiders and mums and kids and now even a few husbands who were the boyfriends dragged along years ago. Now they look happy to be there instead of the geezer who would never admit to being a Culture Club fan."
Boy George: My younger self was insane
