BOY GEORGE LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Boy George is a busy man. When our interview call comes through he's in Stuttgart getting ready to DJ for a Hugo Boss party, the previous night he was in Florence, tomorrow he'll be back in London. Not that DJing is the only thing on the cards these days for the former Culture Club frontman, he's also got a new single to a lunch, 'Time Machine', his clothing label, B-Rude (which has just opened its first shop), and is planning to tour his musical. It's perhaps no wonder then, that the thought of a long trip to Australia makes him sound a little wary. George has been to Australia before, but admits that it's a struggle coming to the other side of the world. "It's such a long journey," he laments, "but whilst I'm there I always have a good time." As for that new single, 'Time Machine' may well prove a future favourite for Boy George fans. It's a moody, sultry duet with Amanda Ghost - who was responsible for co-writing James Blunt's world beating 'You're Beautiful'. George takes a little bit of credit for this, saying that it was he who convinced Amanda, the cousin of a friend, to ditch fashion college for music. Both Amanda and George are preparing new solo albums. In George's case, his new release will herald a return to reggae, with an emphasis on combating some of the homophobic attitudes he finds so repugnant in many reggae songs. Indeed, whilst he's particularly angry about a song called 'No Apologies', he notes that even Diana King's crossover hit, 'Shy Guy', refers to a 'batty boy', a derogatory Jamaican term for a gay man. "That word, which is such an offensive word, is used so often in reggae music and nobody addresses it," he says passionately. "If you were to make a record like that about any other minority, you would be killed." For George, the idea that music is used to preach hatred is abhorrent. "When I was a kid, music was the thing that saved me... inspired me... made me want to sing... be proud of what I am." And for all the television programs and movies featuring gay characters, he still considers homophobia to be a widespread problem, arguing that the superficial co-option of gay culture has been less liberating than it is cracked up to be. "People think that we live in this sort of nirvana where everyone understand gay people cause there's a few gays on TV," he says. Whilst he welcomes artists like Will Young and Scissor Sisters - "anybody who comes out and says that they're gay is a great thing" - he isn't too convinced of their gayness. "None of their songs are about being gay... 'I don't wanna stop dancing' is not a gay song. No one's singing about being gay, no-one's celebrating their sexuality. It's not the same thing." He is, however, convinced of the gay credentials of a certain Ms Minogue, for whom he personally made "those trousers with Dame Edna on" for her Showgirl Homecoming tour, and whom he confirms he has been working on a song with. "She's just very sweet," he says. "I've met her a few times over the years, but I never realised what a great singer she is. She came in and demoed this song that we wrote and she has an amazing voice, she can sing great." "She came along to this show," he recounts, "and she got up and she made everyone dance, and I just thought that was a very sweet thing to do. She really made the show. Everyone got up and they were dancing. The rest of the night was fantastic." With any luck, Kylie, who has long admitted to her school girl love of Culture Club, might just pop up at one of his Australian appearances By Natalie Larios Boy George will be DJing at The Met on Saturday February 24. You can hear his new single 'Time Machine' at myspace.com/iamboygeorge back to top ^

BACK TO ARCHIVED INTERVIEWS