Culture Club new album and tour news

I imagine it will be 3/4ths 80's hits (Karma, Time, Victims, Black Money, Do You Really..., Move Away, Church) and 1/4th a combination of songs from the new album, George solo songs, and misc. stuff.

 

I guess. That's how their setlist was in the last 90's reunion tour. But that was a big bone of contention among them. George always wants to do more newer songs and less of the older stuff. His solo tour was around 80% stuff from the new album.

 

I think the rest of the band is smart enough to know that 85% of the audience just wants to hear the hits.

 

Are they promoting an album without a release date?

Not everyone checks youtube for examples of a singing voice. Even people here are surprised his voice has been shot for over a decade.

BG wants this present as a creative entity not a strictly nostalgia circuit thing. I do see it selling well as it's one of the surprisingly few acts from that era where all original members actually want to be in the same room together and perform, despite only toured once in the past 30 years..

 

It doesn't matter what George does or doesn't want. To 98% of the people who go to those shows they're a nostalgia act and the people attending just want to hear the 80's hits. They don't want to hear Everything I Own, Bow Down Mister, Starman, Your Kisses Are Charity, I Just Want To Be Loved, The Crying Game, or any of the songs from the new album.

Hell, I'm a fan and even i don't particularly want to hear any of the songs from the new album!

 

I hear you about the new album. But what's wrong with playing songs like Starman and I Just Want to be Loved? On their last tour, those got great responses. Roy's guitar on Starman is fierce. Who doesn't love David Bowie? I Just Want to be Loved was a Top 10 in England. However, I agree please no George solo songs like Bow Down Mister or the Crying Game, because it's a Culture Club tour. The Crying Game however great a song it may be does not work live especially with his current voice. It just drones on and is horrible live. They did it on the last tour a few times and it was awful. I cannot stand Bow Down Mister, with that Hare Krishna crap. It to me is his all time worst song but he loves it for some odd reason.
It hardly makes sense to make a new album and not play a single song from it. I think they should play around 3 songs from the new album.

 

The Crying Game only sounded good in 1992. It sounded bad on Vh-1 Storytellers (and that was 17 years ago!). His voice just can't handle that song anymore.

I'm just saying that most people at the concerts won't recognize the non-hit songs. I like nearly all of the George solo stuff and deep catalog CC songs.

 

The weird thing is that he rarely sang the Crying Game live when it first came out and his voice was better. In the US tour he did in the mid 90's I saw he didn't do the Crying Game because he said "it was too hard to sing live".
I hope in general they do more uptempo things not too many ballads. His last solo tour was so boring because he insisted on doing so many acoustic and ballad stuff.
People want to have fun and dance at concerts especially outside ones like these venues. I want Roy and Jon to turn up those guitars and drums as loud as possible so I won't be too distracted by George's horrible voice. Limit any acoustic guitar songs. His solo guitarist John Themis loves his acoustic guitar and always want to do that. So boring. I would like to smash that guy's acoustic guitar in pieces.

 

Does anyone know if Zee will be at these shows? Hope so!

 

I think so. She said she would be on her twitter. Honestly, she does nothing for me. I get there are people that like that kind of gospel screaming but it's not my thing. I know this is heresy as a CC fan, but I never liked Helen Terry either.

 

*gasp!*.

 

I'm a weirdo, I know. My favorite non-George member of CC is Jon who everyone is supposed to hate, and I don't like Helen Terry who everyone is supposed to love.

 

For me Helen Terry was a huge part of Culture Club, especially on the album Colour By Numbers.

 

I always thought that Jon's drumming was great and an underrated part of the sound.

 

Yeah, she makes quite a few of those songs really memorable to me.

 

Honestly one of the reasons I don't like her is she has said in various places how basically she was ashamed of Culture Club and that kind of pop music was below her. She had a lot of sour grapes about how they didn't pay her enough. She seems bitter to me. Everyone praises her but she didn't like Culture Club or their music. She always wants to forget she was even in the band. She acted like she was too good in be in a pop band.
Plus, I like a softer singing style. Not a fan of over the top screaming. Not my thing. But I accept a lot of fans love her.

 

I really do think that George has some of the most delusional fans of any artist. Much worse than little monsters. Have you seen some of the super fans that follow him on twitter or Facebook? They say he is super sweet and never says any unkind word about anyone. LOL Any anyone who makes even the most minor criticism of his music is evil and they go after them.
Madonna is my all time favorite artist, but I can admit she's not perfect and has her diva moments and don't like every thing she's done. I don't get some of his fans. They are not right in their head!

 

I am really glad I don't pay attention to his social media activity or the fans there! Ugh...

 

And some of them follow him around to every concert. I'm sure they will be at the CC dates. So you can't avoid them unfortunately. They get angry at ticketmaster if it won't give them front row seats! It's their God given right to be right up close to George! Before, they were telling him he was great on his own and didn't need Jon, Roy and Mikey, but now they are rushing to buy CC tickets! Their insanity knows no bounds!

 

Mikey's bass work makes a lot of those songs really great. sigh.

 

I was never wild about Helen Terry myself - she just seemed to oversing much of the time...

 

totally..

personally i felt she took them up a level....

 

so his voice is totally gone now?

 

I'd say so, yes. I don't think there's any way to reverse the damage that's been done.

 

he can't sing any of the songs close to what they used to be?