Current mood: FLUPPY
Category: FLUPPY Music
Take It Like A Man - By Boy George & Spencer Bright
Pub: Pan Books
Before reading this book, I'd never liked Boy George...
Specifically: I'd never understood Mr G to have any discernible musical talent and I'd never liked his vocal delivery. Furthermore, I can't stand musical acts that are fashion acts - bands who's whole thing fails completely without the image, the clothes and the right clubs etc etc
I've never doubted Mr G knew how to dress to shock. That he knew how to take drugs, how to be ambiguos and how to cause big fire pop contorversey galore, but Culture Club were in my minds ear, crap, and Georges forays into dance music and Djaying haven't set me ablaze either....
So quite why I ended up reading this biography, is something of a mystery...
I guess I perhaps thought it time for a reassesment of his legacy - that once I understood him a little better, I'd find lyrics that would enthuse me enough to download an LP and start on a Culture Club phase and advocation thereof on this 'ere BLINGER...
Another reason, was that I spent some time with a couple of people who were in on his whole scene a few years back and was curious as to whether they would come into this book....
Well, neither of these folk appeared directly by name, but many of the people they spoke of did and because of the colour and madness of all the characters both famous and not, I found this book to be good entertainment...
Coming in at over 600 pages, Take It Like A Man is a big bastard of a read, and was about 200 pages too long for my liking. It was however a page turner and with the exception of the overinfalted coverage of Georges descent into junkiedom, was very enjoyable throughout...
Overall, I found Mr George to be a reasonably likeable narrator, who appeared to be an honest and unrepenting chap - a man of complications, with a straight approach to a rather bewildering and unusal life, that's never seen him far away from the public eye.
As always, I read with extreme jealousy as, in this case, he recounted being chased through the streets by fans, performing infront of millions, cracking jokes at the recording of Live Aid etc.
Yes boss, once again, I found myself wishing I'd perhaps enjoyed a wilder and more drugged and dirty life as a young man, particularly when I was wasting my teenage time trying to save a world that doesn't care to be saved..
But all this so, nothing I read lead me to believe my intial estimation of Boy George's or Culture Clubs musical importance was wrong. Indeed, Mr G appears to almost acknowledge this himself at various points throughout the book...
Yes boss, despite having a quite enormous pop career, secondo me Culture Club are still an entirely forgettable lipstick pop act and I certainly wouldn't recommend you go do a retrospective of their tunes with much hope of discovering genius.
However, if you're interested in the comings and goings of 80s pop excess, or simply want a good and easy book to bed down with, I reckon this one is definately worth a go...
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Unclassics
By Morgan Geist
Release date: By 26 October, 2004 |
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