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at’s what Culture Club has always
done. We’ve always celebrated the music
that we grew up with and the impor-
tance of those cultural reference points.
If you don’t celebrate those classic
sounds, you end up with something very
generic and kind of uninspiring. You’re
referencing music that was made in a
very di erent political climate, at a very
important time in our social history, and
that’s why I think it’s so important to
celebrate that stu .”
A is sure
to salute his childhood idols, Cul-
ture Club is steadily approaching
legendary status itself, thanks to a
sound that remains as fresh as the
day it debuted more than three
decades ago, plus a mound of col-
orful, boundary-breaking, gender-bend-
ing MTV video clips that continue to
make a mark on the YouTube genera-
tion, accompanied by an un inching
sense of self-expression and being a
brave voice for the marginalized of any
stripe. at’s not to say the amboyant
frontman seeks to relive those days of
nonstop superstardom, nor does he
even remember that much of what went
down, but the now -year-old certainly
doesn’t shy away from acknowledging
those roots or the consistent career
they’ve provided.
“I would say that the ’ s was like
getting in the eye of the storm,” George
recalls. “One minute you’re sort of a
small club band. e next moment
you’re playing stadiums around the
world. It’s a massive transition, and of
course you’ve got all the attention that’s
thrown at you. I would say that the ’ s
was utter madness, but I don’t remem-
ber too much about it. I just feel like,
‘Yeah, I know that happened, I see the
videos, I see pictures.’ [Laughs.] People
tell me stories and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I sort
of vaguely remember that.’ I suppose
I’m having so much fun now that I kind
of look back at that time as the things
that helped me become the person I
am now. I do not feel any really strong
connection to the person that I was back
then. I look at some of my interviews
and I’m just like, ‘Who are you? What
are you talking about?’ [ Laughs.] And
sometimes I say, ‘Oh my God, I was
so funny.’ It’s really hard sometimes to
connect the person you were years
ago with the person that you are now. …
I do feel very di erent now, I feel more
joyful, I really appreciate what I do, and
I love playing live.
“I am always excited about every
show that we do because every show is
like a one-night stand,” George contin-
ues. “You never know what’s going to
happen. You never know if what you
did last night will work tonight. I like to
engage with the audience. I like to draw
them into the show. I’m not someone
who stands up there and just sings. I’m
very gabby, not to the extent of someone
like Adele, but I’m not far o . I try to be
informative; I like to explain what songs
are about and also talk about the history
of the band and have some fun with
the audience. My main aim is to draw
people in and make them feel a part of
the show, because they are.”
But perhaps the million-dollar
question relating to this pair of Ravinia
shows falls into the words of George’s
late, great, and famous friend Joan Riv-
ers, who would be champing at the bit to
simply nd out “who [or what] are you
wearing?”
“I don’t believe in editing myself, and
I don’t look back with any kind of shame
about anything I’ve worn. I’m more
concerned about what I’m wearing now,”
o ers George with another round of
giggles. “You’ll have to see. It’s not really
easy to explain what I wear. It kind of
has to be seen to be believed. e good
news is that when I come from my
dressing room to the stage, I still get
some really strange looks from people,
and that is very reassuring!”
Andy Argyrakis is a Chicago-based writer/
photographer whose credits include the Chicago
Tribune , Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Daily
Journal , Illinois Entertainer, Hear/Say Now, Concert
Livewire, Chicago Now, Redeye , Metromix, Paste,
Down Beat, , , Fuse TV, UP TV,
Pollstar , and Celebrity Access. He also is the founder
and content curator for .
NICHOLAS WILSON
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 20 – SE3TEM%ER 2, 2018 34