Back in 1983 Culture Club scored one of their biggest hits when they released Karma Chameleon.
The band had released their debut album Kissing to Be Clever in October 1982. Their first singles White Boy and I’m Afraid of Me, failed to chart, but they scored a number 1 hit with their next single Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?
They followed it up with Time (Clock of the Heart), I’ll Tumble 4 Ya, and Church of the Poison Mind, but Karma Chameleon, which features on their second album Colour by Numbers would become their signature tune.
Today the tune celebrates its 40th birthday and tonight Culture Club will kick off their Australian tour at RAC Arena.
The song spent six weeks at the top of the English charts, made its mark as the highest selling single on 1983 in the UK, and it’s still ranked the 39th biggest selling single of all time. Globally it sold 7 million copies, giving the band a number 1 hit in Australia, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway and many other nations.
Boy George has previously shared that he wrote the song while on holiday in Egypt, and the other members of the band were hesitant to record it because it sounds so much like a country song.
The song’s memorable video is set in Mississippi in 1870.
OIP Staff
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