After Dinner Speakers: Boy George, Madeleine K. Albright, Gina Bellman

Born 14th. June, 1961, in Eltham, Kent, England. British pop star and disc jockey. His original name was George Alan O'Dowd. He began on the pop music scene as one of the 'New Romantics' and his appearances in clubs such as Billy's, Blitz, Heaven, and Hell were published in magazines like Blitz and The Face. His cross-dressing style caught the attention of Malcolm McLaren who took him on to appear as Lieutenant Lush with Bow Wow Wow. Boy George then joined up with the disc jockey Mikey Craig to form the band In Praise of Lemmings. They were then joined by the former drummer of Adam And The Ants, Jon Moss, and the guitarist and keyboard player Roy Hay when the band was renamed Culture Club. Boy George became a national talking point when he appeared with Culture Club on the BBC 1 television programme Top of the Pops on 4th. February 1982 with their song Did You Really Want to Hurt Me. Boy George's flamboyant style, his outfit, and his make-up led to a great deal of tabloid press coverage who assumed him to be homosexual. He was also often accompanied by a gender bending side-kick Marilyn. In fact in the 1980s Boy George was somewhat coy about proclaiming his homosexuality publicly. On the Russell Harty television chat show he famously said that he would prefer a cup of tea to sex. Culture Club had number 1 hits in the UK charts in 1982 with Do you Really Want to Hurt Me? and in 1983 with Karma Chameleon. Boy George fell in love with Jon Moss but it was a difficult relationship. By the time of the release of Culture Club's third album at the end of 1984 Boy George was on the slippery slope of drug abuse. In 1986 a scandal broke when the keyboard player Michael Rudetski from New York died of a heroin overdose while staying at Boy George's home. This led to Boy George being convicted for the possession of drugs. He soon kicked the heroin habit. At this time Culture Club was dissolved and Boy George began a solo career. In the spring of 1987 he had a UK number 1 with Everything I own. He took up a career as a disc jockey and also started writing a column for the Daily Express. He was vocal to his opposition to Section 28 and released records condemning the law. He started to be known for his gay activism. On 10th. May 2000 he spoke at a meeting in Westminster Hall about his upbringing and his homosexuality. On 11th. May 2000 he appeared on the BBC 1 television programme Question Time and challenged both Stagecoach tycoon Brian Souter and shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Angela Browning, on their support for the retention of Section 28. See press cutting. In 1989 he formed his own record label More Protein, and he fronted the band Jesus Loves You. In 1999 the band was reformed as Club Sandwich and went on tour.