Boy George joins Kate Thornton to talk about Culture Club's new tour and using AI
Tickets for the Culture Club tour are now on sale
Last updated 21 hours ago
Just hours after tickets to see Culture Club on their UK tour went on sale, Boy George joined Kate Thornton on Greatest Hits Radio to talk about the new tour, and using AI.
The band will be going on tour in December this year, with tickets available from Aloud.com now, and as Boy George revealed, he's hoping they can return some of their songs to their original sounds.
Culture Club's 'The Singles Tour'
When Kate asked if there was a song that he never tires of performing, more than 40 years after the band's song 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' topped the charts, Boy George answered: "When we did ‘Everything I Own’ originally it was very different to the way we do it now.
"There are a couple of things on this tour that I want to try and get them as close to how they were when we made them, because you know, when you’re playing live a lot, things get 'blues-ed out', they get a bit loose and jammy.
"And I’m like ‘Let’s get them tighter’. ‘Everything I Own’ is kind of very different on the record to the one that we play live, so we try to get it exactly, even the voice. It's a little bit like clipped and different and it’s fun doing that sometimes, going actually, what have we added, let’s get rid of it and get back to a more pure sound."
The band now consists of Boy George along with Mikey Craig and Roy Hay, with the singer reflecting on touring as a trio. He told Kate how on their last US tour they were all on the same bus, but he had his own space at the back of the tour bus.
"The tour we just did in America, me, Mikey and Roy were on the bus together and it was pretty good," he explained.
READ MORE: Tickets for Culture Club's 'The Singles Tour' are now on sale
"I've got the back room though, so I can disappear. But you know, I think we're better at communicating now. You can say 'no' to things and you can do it in a nice way. I mean, no is never a nice word, is it? If you want to do something and someone else says 'no', but there's a way of saying 'no' that is less 80s."
Joking about the number of times he's left the band, Boy George revealed how he doesn't let a bad mood come with him on stage now.
"For me when I walk on that stage, whatever's gone on is done. Do you know what I mean? If I've had a row with someone, it's got to go. That really happens now, but you know I don't take my bad moods on stage with me. I used to, I used to think, 'Oh integrity, I’m in a mood everyone’s going to have to suffer,' but no, not anymore."
Boy George uses AI to create music
AI has been in the news a lot recently for a number of reasons, and Boy George has revealed how he's uses it to create music, but also have fun. Admitting his used AI to create a video of him stealing Madonna's Coachella outfit, he said: "I did a really funny AI video where I nicked her (Madonna's) clothes.
"And I put it up and I thought, she'll either hate it or she'll think it's funny. And she followed me! It was a moment because my phone rang off like 8 o'clock in the morning, all my friends going, 'Donna's following you. And I was like, 'Oh my God, that's genius'.
"So, you know, I was like, she's got a sense of humour, which is great. You know, I love that."
READ MORE: Interview - Melanie C reveals how she ended up giving George Michael a pep talk
However, when is comes to using AI to create music, Boy George revealed he uses it too. He explained: "I have my art studio and then I have my computer. I can work on a track while I'm painting. I don't have to kind of... you know, because the AI thing is so advanced now. You don't have to ring up Roy and go, 'it's 4 in the morning'. Obviously he's not going to come over. I don't need him!"
When asked if it will replace the band, he continued: "No, because you still need to play it with the band. It's a great writing tool, you can prep it all.
"And also there's something about not having someone else in the room sticking their nose in, saying, 'Oh, you can't say that' and 'That's too this and that's too that'.
"So you try things and you can get rid of it. If you don't like it, you just get rid of it and start again. And it is so fascinating what you can blend together. But you still have to use your imagination. Of course you do."
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