written by Boy George, Jon Moss, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay

and Phil Pickett

produced by Steve Levine

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Guess what? It’s time for another milestone birthday! On June 14th,

2021, “Boy George” Alan O’Dowd hit his big, six, oh. (Oh, we kids of

the ’80s and ’90s are getting so old...) One of the most revered and

iconic songs of the entire decadent decade, by the correspondingly iconic and legendary Culture Club, fronted by George—himself one of the biggest, most famous idols of cross-dressing androgyny. He identified as bisexual in the ’80s, coming out as openly gay in his autobio Take It Like A Man.

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I chose “Chameleon” to build a Culture Club song page and commemorate George’s birthday because, at least commercially, in terms of sales or chart positions, it’s the group’s most massive smash hit, followed

very very closely by ’82’s “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me.” Similarly, “Chameleon” pushed its album Colour By Numbers—also commercially—above all the band’s others. Not to take away from the song’s other elements, either, but it just wouldn’t be nearly the same without that essential harmonica of Judd Lander’s in there. Like hundreds of other hits, I first raked in this song on various new wave/’80s compilation CDs, and so the titles and artists are clearly printed on the packaging. Had I heard it isolated without such sources, however, I might’ve fallen into the same little trap many American listeners did, becoming confused over a song that seemed to be—because of that quirky English accent—about... punctuation. (...“Comma Chameleon”?)

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I don’t know if I’d necessarily say “Chameleon” is my favorite Culture Club song... because like so many other prevalent ’80s bands—be they like CC from the new wave British invasion or otherwise—virtually all their material strikes the right chords with me. (Pun half-intended.) You know how it is with a band you really enjoy; you’re partial to all their hits, if just in different ways. There are lots and lots we’ve yet to cover here, of course, though it’s a lovely and fun adventure. They’ll come and go... they’ll come and go...

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Just try to run across an expansive published piece or television special spanning 1983-84 that doesn’t

mention Culture Club or “Karma Chameleon.” A truly quintessential and defining product of its era.

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Happy 60th, George.

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(Note on the lyrics: being American myself, and not in fact using the CBN insert—to be honest, I never got a copy, and don’t know if the lyrics are printed in there—I’ll be nabbing them from a different source, and for example, I’ll be spelling the word “colors” the traditional American way—without the ‘u’.)

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full version

music video

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The Club’s (and George’s) official website