I knew Boy George from when he was 15. He used to come round my house and we went to punk clubs together. He was always chatty and charming. He talked about gay sex, how it happened, literally the mechanics of it, in great detail which fascinated me. He also said, in our bus journeys on the 134 or the 43 from Highgate to the West End, that he fully assumed that he would end up married with kids. I wonder if he misses that?
I had a huge 18th birthday party when my parents were away that went out of control. 300 people turned up: rival crews of teds, punks, rockabillies, bikers, clubbers turned up. The police were called. My playlist alternated between genres and the different gangs would take over the dance floor when 'their' music came on. This party were legendary. Looking back, it was all a bit West Side Story.
I, a punk with pink spiky hair, was going out with a ted, we were even in the News of The World. If I went to clubs with him, I'd get threatened, I'd need security to go to the toilet. On the other hand, when he, a mini Elvis with lacquered quiff, would be adored when he came to punk clubs with me.
George came to my party. At about 3am, I went upstairs to bed. At least 50 people were still downstairs, they wouldn't leave or didn't have transport home.
I was told the next morning that my friend George wanted to spray paint graffiti on my parents living room walls. I got into so much trouble anyway when my parents came back a week later, even though my brother and I had spent the entire week trying to clear up and clean, and I was upset that he wanted to do this.
The next time I saw him was at the Blitz. He'd become properly cool.
Hmm I should be writing all this on my own substack shouldn't I?
Oh wow! He talks about those bus journeys and some women friends (Eltham, was it?) from those days in his autobiography - will have to see whether you’re name checked! And yes that’s what struck me - he was having absolutely loads of sex at the time he became famous, he just made a clear choice to not have that be his thing. For totally understandable reasons, given the climate, but v much unlike Frankie Goes To Hollywood or Bronski Beat. And yes you should! I was too young and too mainstream for the Blitz but it’s a source of legend and fascination for people like me.
An absolute delight Rowan. Thank you. I do remember that TOTP appearance. It was exactly as you said. My mum came in and I said ‘you see that girl?’ And he said ‘yes’. And I said ‘it’s a boy’. And she didn’t really believe me at first. Ha ha. Still a brilliant song.
Ha! I thought he was a girl, I think. Or at best I was totally unclear. I do remember some of my classmates being extremely confident that he was a boy and feeling extremely unsophisticated by comparison
The only reason I knew is that I’d seen him somewhere and squirrelled away the info in the hope I could use it at some point to annoy my parents. Mission accomplished!
Great article Ro. I distinctly remember that episode of Top of the Pops and George’s appearance just bouncing off my consciousness and understanding
Thanks Jon. Yeah, it’s like our moon landing.
I knew Boy George from when he was 15. He used to come round my house and we went to punk clubs together. He was always chatty and charming. He talked about gay sex, how it happened, literally the mechanics of it, in great detail which fascinated me. He also said, in our bus journeys on the 134 or the 43 from Highgate to the West End, that he fully assumed that he would end up married with kids. I wonder if he misses that?
I had a huge 18th birthday party when my parents were away that went out of control. 300 people turned up: rival crews of teds, punks, rockabillies, bikers, clubbers turned up. The police were called. My playlist alternated between genres and the different gangs would take over the dance floor when 'their' music came on. This party were legendary. Looking back, it was all a bit West Side Story.
I, a punk with pink spiky hair, was going out with a ted, we were even in the News of The World. If I went to clubs with him, I'd get threatened, I'd need security to go to the toilet. On the other hand, when he, a mini Elvis with lacquered quiff, would be adored when he came to punk clubs with me.
George came to my party. At about 3am, I went upstairs to bed. At least 50 people were still downstairs, they wouldn't leave or didn't have transport home.
I was told the next morning that my friend George wanted to spray paint graffiti on my parents living room walls. I got into so much trouble anyway when my parents came back a week later, even though my brother and I had spent the entire week trying to clear up and clean, and I was upset that he wanted to do this.
The next time I saw him was at the Blitz. He'd become properly cool.
Hmm I should be writing all this on my own substack shouldn't I?
Oh wow! He talks about those bus journeys and some women friends (Eltham, was it?) from those days in his autobiography - will have to see whether you’re name checked! And yes that’s what struck me - he was having absolutely loads of sex at the time he became famous, he just made a clear choice to not have that be his thing. For totally understandable reasons, given the climate, but v much unlike Frankie Goes To Hollywood or Bronski Beat. And yes you should! I was too young and too mainstream for the Blitz but it’s a source of legend and fascination for people like me.
An absolute delight Rowan. Thank you. I do remember that TOTP appearance. It was exactly as you said. My mum came in and I said ‘you see that girl?’ And he said ‘yes’. And I said ‘it’s a boy’. And she didn’t really believe me at first. Ha ha. Still a brilliant song.
Ha! I thought he was a girl, I think. Or at best I was totally unclear. I do remember some of my classmates being extremely confident that he was a boy and feeling extremely unsophisticated by comparison
The only reason I knew is that I’d seen him somewhere and squirrelled away the info in the hope I could use it at some point to annoy my parents. Mission accomplished!
I’m impressed by your strategising