Culture Club “Colour By Numbers” 1983. Today, June 14th, is Boy George’s 60th birthday (b. George Alan O’Dowd, 1961) so I’m spinning Culture Club’s biggest and best LP. A massive smash, it hit #1 in the UK, #2 in the US and a ton of other countries; it’s considered one of the best albums of the 80′s. I absolutely adored Colour By Numbers in ‘83, so much that I was inspired to get a chameleon and name it “Karma” – of course. That single, “Karma Chameleon,” topped the charts literally everywhere except Poland (#8) and West Germany (#2). Culture Club also released “Church of the Poison Mind” (#2 UK, #10 US), “Victims” (Europe-only single, #3 UK), “Miss Me Blind” (North America only, #5 US) and “It’s a Miracle” (#4 UK, #13 US). The album is smooth new wave pop infused with British blue-eyed soul, a sound that was huge in the mid-80′s. Boy George is at his beautiful best: his voice rich and his look fabulously flamboyant – and so fun to recreate (I do believe I dressed up as Boy George for Halloween in October ‘83).