Boy George reflects on music, life, food and golf

Boy George, blues artist?

Boy George, second from right, and Culture Club.

No, the veteran solo artist and lead singer of the English band Culture Club isn’t making an album with Buddy Guy or going on tour with Eric Clapton and Gary Clark Jr.

But, at 55, the musician born George O’Dowd has more gravitas when he sings — as befits a performer whose life has been a series of highs (international hit records, fame, fortune) and lows (heroin addiction, prison, a violent father).

“I consider myself much more of a blues singer now,” he affirmed, speaking Wednesday from Los Angeles. “And when we do Culture Club shows, I say to the audience: ‘This song has turned into a blues song,’ particularly (1982’s) ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ and (1983’s) ‘Victims.’ Because, as I get older, and have more experience. So, yeah, I do think of myself as a blues singer, but I always think about the song. I probably will put more of that (feeling) into my music.”

George and Culture Club perform Saturday at the grand opening of Infinity, a new open-air performance venue overlooking the ocean at the Bajamar Golf Resort. The resort is located on between Tijuana and Ensenada.

Does George golf?

“No, never!” he replied, laughing. Roy (Hay, Culture Club’s guitarist and keyboardist) plays golf. And I always tell him: ‘Shhh! Keep it quiet!’”

Another laugh.

“Although,” he added, “Alice Cooper plays golf — and I love Alice.”

Culture Club’s 2016 North American tour continues through September and includes an Aug. 24 San Diego show at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. The band made its debut in 1981 in a nightclub in England, then scored its first hit in late 1982 with the reggae-tinged “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”

The group’s four core members — George, Hay, bassist Mikey Craig and drummer Jon Moss (with whom George had a tumultuous affair before, and during, the band’s heyday) — is augmented on this tour by an expanded lineup.

“I think my relationship with music is very strong right now,” said George, who in 2009 was sentenced to 15 months in an English prison, after being convicted for the false imprisonment of Audun Carlsen, a male model from Norway. He served four months, then was released for good behavior.

“I always judge my happiness by how much I listen to music,” George continued. “And I’ve been making a lot of playlists. I just made one called ‘Perfect Pop,’ which isn’t really pop, with songs by Richard Hell, Mink DeVille and Talking Heads; songs you never hear on the radio. When you listen to nostalgia radio stations, like when you’re in a car, it’s always the same songs, over and over. And so much music never gets heard, so I do playlists.

“So I measure my happiness by how much I listen to music. And, right now, I’m happy.”

George let out a wry chuckle when asked if he eschewed music altogether during his low points..

“Yes, there have been periods where the birds didn’t fly,” he replied.

Culture Club’s concert repertoire focuses on the band’s hits from the 1980s, with a few new songs interspersed. “I’m more excited about the new ones,” said George, who may soon be introduced to a new generation of Americans.

Starting in January, the perpetually colorful singer will be featured in the reboot of the NBC TV series “Celebrity Apprentice.” Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is replacing GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as the host.

“When I got offered the gig,” George recalled, “I thought: ‘Me and Arnold? That’s a great look. It’s so bonkers!’ And it was a lot of fun, actually.

“As far as reality shows go, I would say reality TV has nothing to do with reality. It’s life in a vacuum, but it’s fun, particularly ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ because you get to meet people you never met before. It’s entertaining for me, very entertaining.”

George recently lost 50 pounds, in large part due to taking up vegetarian cooking. But he chortled when asked if he is a vegetarian.

“Oh, no! I’m a Vulcan!” he said, before allowing that he mostly eats raw foods.

“I just eat healthy and try not to eat late at night. And I exercise as well. That’s a big change for me; I work out a lot.”

That George is still alive, let alone on tour, is remarkable in light of his near-fatal drug use in previous decades.

What does he wish he had done differently?

“I think I kind of wish I knew when to be quiet!” he said, laughing.

His tone grew more serious.

“I wish that I knew when to put the lid on and not say things,” he continued. “I’m lucky because I grew up in an era before social media. So a lot of my mistakes and peccadilloes aren’t out there for everyone to see. I feel lucky I didn’t have my career in the age of camera phones and all of that

“When you’re young young, you don’t listen to advice. When you’re 20, you think you know it all. Only when you get older do you realize you don’t and that you should have listened to what older people told you.

“I should end with the Sly Stone quote: ‘I have many regrets, I just can’t think of one right now!’ ”

george.varga@sduniontribune.com