Boy George’s new memoir ‘Karma’ reveals details about his life and career.Photo:Karwai Tang/WireImage; Mango
Karwai Tang/WireImage; Mango
Singer and style iconBoy Georgehas never been shy, so it should surprise no one that his new memoir,Karma: My Autobiography(Mango Publishing) lays out all the details on everything fromhis violent childhoodgrowing up in South East London, his four-month prison stint, andhis rocky relationshipwith Culture Club drummer Jon Moss.
“I’ve just stuck to things that I think were funny observations about meeting other people,” George says ofKarma. “It’s just kind of more chatty — it’s not a history book."
Often acerbic, frequently funny, the man who was born George O’Dowd, reflects on more than four decades in show business — and he’s far from finished. He’ll appear as nightclub impresario Harold ZidlerinMoulin Rougeon Broadway starting this February.
Here are some of the biggest, best and juiciest revelations inKarma.
He grew up battling bullies and dodging violence at home
Boy George has never shied away from the spotlight.Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Unashamed abouthis appearance and sexuality(he knew he was gay from age 6) in 1970s South East London, he had to dodge gangs of right-wing youths and schoolyard bullies and continues to keep his wits about him when out and about today. “I’ve still got a radar for trouble,” he tells PEOPLE.
Home was often violent, too. His father Jeremiah, a builder, had a terrible temper. Once he came home and found his father wielding a knife, his mother Dinah under the kitchen table. “Violence in marriage was accepted back then, it seems,” he writes.
When he lived in a squat in central London as a teen, his parents came to visit him, but he was out. Seeing the cut-outs of gay porn and newspaper headlines that adorned one wall, they left a note: “Nice wallpaper. Love you, son.”
Culture Club’s popularity soared after he appeared on theTonight ShowwithJoan Riverssitting in for Johnny Carson. “At that point I remember thinking, ‘My life is completely glamorous.’
He struggled with drugs and spent time in prison
Boy George has lived a lot of life in his 62 years.Getty
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for George. He fell into heroin abuse. And — at the height of his family’s intervention to get him to clean up his act — his father set fire to some clothes in the singer’s apartment, saying he was going to burn the place down with both of them in it, in order to shock him into coming out of his room.
George served four months in prison in 2009 (he was released early with an ankle monitor) after being convicted offalsely imprisoning and assaulting a male escortin 2007. He shared some of his prison time with the lateAmy Winehouse’s husband Blake Fielder-Civil. They had coffee in his cell, and Fielder-Civil “played me [Winehouse’s] version of ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’ “Blake had that Sid Vicious vibe about him and I could see why Amy fell for him…. They were star-crossed lovers, a tragedy waiting to happen.”
George was assigned a “coveted” job in the prison kitchen. “Anyone known for throwing around knives may struggle,” is his wry take on landing the job. “One of my quiches scored high praise,” he writes, and recallsPink’s “So What?” being played and everyone singing along. “Making good vegetarian curries came easy, even with the animal-food vegetables they supplied. Those carrots had an attitude and the knives weren’t sharp enough to take them on.”
He notes that he received lots of letters, including a “sweet” one from actor and writer Stephen Fry.
Other celebrities sometimes snubbed him — but not royalty
His run-ins with other celebrities haven’t always gone his way.Rick Kern/WireImage
Rick Kern/WireImage
Complimenting him on his outfit, she said, “That must have taken forever.” He quipped back, “I didn’t do it myself, love.” He asked if the princess could meet his mom, and “They spent 10 minutes chatting. She told Mum I was a true survivor.”
He was ushered to her dressing room and she said she hadn’t recognized him when she gave him the cold shoulder earlier. “Are you saying you would have been nice to me if you knew who I was?” We parted on awkward terms,” George writes. And the next time they saw each other a few years later, at a U.K. show, “She looked straight through me.”
He’s trying to lead a healthy lifestyle
George isn’t afraid of aging, and has made recent diet changes.Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty
The singer has “struggled with my weight” most of his life, he writes inKarma– but says he believes he has finally got it under control. “Well, I’m on Mounjaro. Isn’t everyone?” And he adds in his trademark acerbic style, “Trust me, anyone who was fat last year and is now skinny is on the wonder drug.”
He has recently given up dairy and wheat – and not for the first time. “I walk most mornings and stretch daily. I talk to myself and I try to be positive.” He also writes he has never had Botox and “might be the only person in show business with my own face. I’m not frightened of getting old.” But he has had his teeth fixed. “Even though people say they preferred my old teeth, my response is, “Give me your address and I’ll send them to you.’”
And he makes a “confession,” as he puts it. “I had three hair transplants around 2015-1018 – two in Ireland and a final one in LA.”
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A former bandmate (and lover) sued him over the Culture Club name
For more on Boy George’s life and an excerpt from his new memoir, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, out Friday, or subscribehere.
George’s memoir,Karma, is now available wherever books are sold.
source: people.com
