BY: Fiona Russell Powell

"I do not fancy Samantha Fox. She does nothing for my crotch, she makes me feel sick."

George O'Dowd on fame, drugs, wealth, sex, George Michael, Alice Temple, Martin Degville...

I could describe George's three homes to you: One is a small, much-used mews flat in St. John's Wood with a large, pink, un-driven Cadillac parked permanently outside the front door. Another is an $800,000 apartment in New York next door to Duran Duran's John Taylor who can be heard hoovering at strange hours of the night, two blocks up from the Dakota. The last - and most recently acquired - is a former school on the edge of Hampstead Heath which is still being converted, guarded by George' s former fan/live- in housekeeper, Bonnie. George spent Christmas and the New Year there with his family and friends, including Marilyn and Philip Sallon. Kind and generous to a fault, George had expensive gifts for everyone, mostly Gaultier items purchased from Bazaar. The house in Hampstead - or rather the neighbours - caused some trouble recently when he applied for planning permission for an outdoor swimming pool. He invited them all to a tea party and told them of his plans for a pool: "They were quite nice but they were a bit jealous that someone of my age could afford to live there. They sent letters of refusal so I put in permission for a heated underground pool, and I won because it didn't occur to them that I'd ask for two pools. Anyway, I'd have built a snake pit instead - and I have the electricity supply for the whole street in my garden - which I told them. So, hopefully, I'll be getting my pool! " This gives you some idea of the way in which George operates. A typical Gemini, one minute he is up, the next weeping and wailing - for no apparent reason. Used to getting his own way, he can be willful and dictatorial. He blames the public for the fact that his new album is not doing as well as he hoped. When the one before performed a large bellyflop, George lost many fans and about a stone in weight. In Paris with Marilyn and Dencil for the Paris collections and parties, George ," got bored" after a rather tame surprise Gaultier party (such a surprise that Gaultier wasn't even there) and flew back to London less than 24 hours later! Ensconced once more in the pink and purple bedroom of the St. John's Wood flat, George curled up on his bed, equipped with all the provisions needed, and recorded the following interview on his professional tape-recorder, the one he uses for taping special messages for comatose patients in hospital, so it should wake you up at least.

FRP: At what age would you think it appropriate to drop the 'Boy' from your name?

GO'D. I'm planning to do a single, a song I wrote for Helen, and I'm going to drop the 'Boy' on that, which is a start I suppose . . . It's weird; when I first thought of that name, I never thought about the consequences . . . Of course, the older I get, the better the jokes will be for the people making them. I'm going to try to do it slowly so people won't notice. But I'm sure they will. This year I want to do some solo things . . . obviously I'm stifled in Culture Club. I can't do exactly what I want to, because if I could we'd probably have never got this far. Maybe I don't care anymore . . . I don't care if I do musical things that aren't hits, I just want to do a couple of avant-garde things that express what I want to say. I want people to realise that you can have a brain and still wear stilettos.

How did you cope with the Boy George backlash? How did feel when it looked as if it was all over?

Yes, you're right, it did look as if it was all over but it wasn't internally, I never worried inside . . . I've always considered myself cap- able of good quality singing, so I wasn't too worried. Everything has to change,'but prog- ression can be depressing. I've learnt that the whole thing is a pile of rubbish, all this hero-worship stuff. I don't want it. I don't want to be screamed at; if there's any fan left reading this, don't sit on my door, I don't want that kind of flattery. I'm so glad I don't get it anymore. I'm sure it'll happen again though. For a year I haven't been bothered at all and I've been really pleased. I prefer a 40-year-old housewife from Texas, who buys my records and occasionally writes a letter, who wants me as a substitute son or the daughter they never had; I prefer those really obsessed types. Nothing can faze me any- more; all the major tragedies that can happen to a band have happened to Culture Club. One of the doorstep girls fans who sat outside George's front door all day every day) was Susan Agnew who changed her name to Mitzi Lorenz. She ended up styling the video for "Move Away". She came round at four in the morning one day when I was fast asleep. I opened the window and she was drunk out of her head and screaming at me so I just poured a bucket of water over her. That's the sort of thing I had to deal with for over two years. But she's as cool as a cucumber now. When the Culture Club backlash happened, these girls who used to sit on my doorstep suddenly started ignoring me. You'd see them at the Mud Club and they'd be so cool to you. There was a girl called Beverley who slashed her wrists on my doorstep one day - just to be one better than the rest. It's going from one extreme to another. Who needs it?

Has fame changed you?

Fame happens in stages. What I think about fame is that if you don't go mad in the first six weeks, then you're going to be alright, you're pretty secure. Everyone does get affected by it initially, you do go a bit mad . . . I did run around throwing money in the air and I jumped up and down on the bed and cried and screamed. I thought it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me. When girls start giggling in hotel lobbies and chambermaids knock on the door for autographs there's a great sort of buzz, you feel very important. I think I had five minutes of megalomania, then I thought, right - it's time to get on with everything. We all act and pretend, we're all liars basically, but it's alright if you can still go home and look in the mirror and say you're a prat. The idea of fame can get out of hand if you believe your own publicity, like Margaret Thatcher or Sid Vicious. They read their press. Margaret Thatcher has been labelled the Iron Lady and that's what she's become. That whole fakirism - connected with being a star - I think I've avoided all that. I think the whole business is a pile of shit and a lot of the people involved are a pile of shit. I go out without my make-up on and all the fashion people start sniggering and say , 'Look at George, what a state.' They're such a pitiful load of idiots; they're so obsessed with chasing their own tails that they never get anywhere. One thing I've achieved, especially in the last year, since I started getting kicked in the teeth by the media, I realised not only that people close to me were hypocritical - everyone who was using me would say that someone else was using rne - but that I want to be used because some people who use me are a good laugh. But I'm in control of the situation. If you've got a friend who's got a car, you never order him to go somewhere. Suggest you go somewhere, it always works. Let them think they're making the decision, then you can manipulate things. I'm more fussy now about the people who use me. People still do it to me. I'm a bit too charitable for my own good sometimes.

At one point in your career, you had the ear of the world virtually, when "Karma Chameleon" was a huge hit. Do you regret that the song said very little, or rather, it could have said so much more?

When a song is a mega-hit, it's always immediately thought of as trash. It was all about the people around me who were a bunch of bloody crawlers, if only they could be like me, just a bit more honest. After all, how many more records can George Michael put out that sound as if he put as much effort into writing them as he does going to the toilet? To be truthful, I'm a bit jealous of George Michael because he seems to be more involved in the making of his records; it sounds as if he never leaves the desk whereas I'm the sort of person who, if Mikey's doing a bass part, I'll go to sleep under the desk and ignore it. When we did Band Aid and I heard George Michael, that was the first time I realised I'd got competition.

Why was "Waking Up With The House On Fire" such a disaster? You've said that you thought the album was dreadful...

Well, what happened with "Waking Up With The House On Fire" was that Roy was the only person in the band who was interested in machines like sequencers and computers. I hate them. In Red Bus Studios you couldn't move for machines. Anyway, Steve Levine and Roy got really friendly and nobody could get a word in edgeways, so although the songs were really good, once they got in the studio they were ruined, the production crucified the songs. I'm not blaming Steve Levine 'cos it's really chic to blame the producer. We were all lazy, and I refused to fight. I'd got to the stage where I just didn't understand what was going on. "Colour By Numbers" was so good that even people who hated me liked the album. We'd set such a precedent and we ruined it, we'd gone back on what we started trying to do. Basically it was complacency and laziness that killed that third album.

Tell me about your new album "From Luxury To Heartache". Sounds autobiographical . . .

The album is a celebration of misery. it's like Leonard Cohen skipping up the street swing ing a red plastic handbag. It's happy misery. On this album, a lot of the songs are really true. I've really put my heart into it, the songs revolve around a certain amount of feeling and torment I've gone through . . . I'm very sentimental, I think I have a Billie Holiday complex. I definitely love suffering. I think I thrive on misery, often self-inflicted misery.

During the last year you've taken up drinking and smoking, amongst other things. Have you been under a lot of stress lately?

I can't use pressure as an excuse, it's because everybody around me smokes. I really hate smoking, it's so bad for you and so stupid. Hopefully I will have stopped by the time this interview hits the streets. And drinking - I went through a binge in New York, trying to forget everything around me and getting really pissed. I went through a large part of last year feeling sorry for myself.

You don't seem to have had a high-profile amongst the people who support the Anti- Heroin campaign. Do you think it's a worthy cause?

I think unemployment can become a reason to become a heroin addict. If you've got no reason or no excuse to live, then taking smack or coke is the perfect way to avoid reality. The song "I Pray" on the new album is about drugs. There are harsher realities for people who take heroin and have no money than for some rich pop Star who's able to buy it or not buy it or can afford to have his blood changed. It's not a problem for them. It's more of a shame if some little kid in the Gorbals drops dead from being a smack addict.

Do you think drugs are a necessary part of growing up?

We all have a choice. You don't have to stick your head in an oven. But we are born inquisitive and we want to try everything, whether it's sex or drugs or whatever. I think dealers are real bastards. Anyone who sells drugs to people is really cruel knowing what drugs do to some people.

How much money is owed to you by friends?

A lot. Marilyn owes me a lot of money but that's between me and him. I don't lend people money, I always give . . . if you have friends and you fall out over money, it's awful, it's too painful. Money is the most hideous reason for having an argument.

Could you live without money again?

No, I wouldn't like to. I've tasted blood and I want more. I couldn't bear to live without money. At the same time I'm rather foolish with my money.

They say that having money is a full time job. Do you have financial advisers?

It's true about money being a full-time job 'cos you're always having to look over your shoulder to make sure no-one's taking advantage of you. I have people who help me out with my cash because I'm a peasant when it comes to the dollar; I've got no idea what I should invest in. I've got no pension scheme, I don't gamble; I'd rather give it to my parents.

How do you relax and how much money do you spend on relaxation aids?

I don't relax. I've thought of yoga and meditation, but I never relax. It's what makes me what I am. When I have boyfriends or girlfriends, after a while, they always try to calm me down, sedate me. I point out that what attracted them to me in the first place is that I'm a complete and utter maniac.

On that subject, how much money a year do you spend ....

Look if you keep going on about drugs, I'll punch you in the face!

I was going to say clothes!

I think I spend about £400,000 a year on clothes. If I spend money it's to get excited, if I go into Bazaar and spend £8000 on clothes I get such a high. It makes me so happy to run around Taboo in my labels.

Now that we're all older and wiser, can you tell me exactly what you did with that cup of tea that you likened, or preferred, to having sex?

I tipped it into a potted plant! That was just me sitting on the fence. I can't deny that, and there was a period in my life when I sat on the fence and it broke. But basically, I just wanted to avoid major embarrassments; I didn't want people to know who I was going out with. Also, I used to really think that I was ugly, I did not think I was sexy. People don't drop their knickers for me, I never seem to be able to pull people just on the strength of being Boy George so I've stopped trying now. I used to believe in all the wrong things, I believed in the stardom but I didn't believe in George - what was underneath the glitter. I used to be really uptight. I wouldn't go on the beach but if I had a good body I probably would have planned it to get pictures of me in swimming trunks in The Sun the next day. I used to disguise my paranoia, I was very bullshit on the surface. I'd pick up somebody and then go to bed with my shoulder pads in and not take my shirt off.

Do you have a fetish?

There are quite a few things I get up to but I believe in the privacy of your own home. The exciting thing I like about having a long relationship is that you lose your inhibitions; you can get up to all sorts of things with Polaroid cameras and rubber sheets and mirrors on the ceiling. I'm very suburban in a lot of ways; I definitely like adventure in bed. I don't like to be bored but I don't like to be dominated - I don't play passive or active roles, I just do what comes naturally. But I definitely do enjoy having sex more than I used to. l've definitely opened up a lot more. Sex is a wonderful pastime, I enjoy it more than eating. I wish I could say more but you know that I can't . . . I love watching people getting undressed, I like sex with all the lights on and sex in the daytime. Anyone who went out with me when I was 15 would definitely think there's been an improvement.

Is there any truth in the story which has been in the daily press lately, about your affair with 18 year old model Alice Temple?

There was something between us but at the moment I'm not speaking to Alice because I think she's made a lot of mistakes and right now I can't forgive her. She made Jon Moss look like a dog. Alice is quite free to talk about what she likes but she has no right to talk about my personal life. Unfortunately, she assumed there was a lot more to our relationship than there was. When you're Boy George you forget when you're acting and when you're not acting. I did have a little fling with Alice and I think quite a lot of her but this whole thing in the media has put me off the idea. I'm not seeing her or answering any of her phone calls at the moment. The reason I like Alice is because she looks like a boy. I know I say I'm bisexual but obviously I have a preference. Everybody has a preference; most people say they're bisexual as an easy way out - a lot of pop stars do it. I can understand people saying, "Oh, he's just saying that 'cos he doesn't want people to know he's a complete and utter poof and stop buying his records," but that isn't true in my case. For a start, I'm 24, and ever since I knew about sex, once I developed my sexuality and realised I had a right to make my own decisions about what I did with my own body, then I immediately started thinking about having sex with boys . . . A lot of people say to me, "Why don't you write songs like Bronski Beat do?" I thought it was a wonderful song and a relevant video, but I haven't suffered like that, I've never been queer-bashed and l've never had any problems about sleeping with men so l'm not going to write songs about it, but I do feel that what I do is important, it's socially political. So long as there's anyone around who despises individualism, I'll carry on doing what I'm doing. I once said that having sex with a man was like eating a bag of crisps. 'Cos it was - I was nervous but it didn't give me months of heartache and problems. What I'm saying is that I don't believe in bisexuality; people use that word just as an excuse. There are certain types of women that I fancy and there are a hell of a lot of men that I fancy. But typical types of women annoy me and I don't find them at all attractive. I do not fancy Samantha Fox, not in the slightest, she doesn't even titillate me. I don't get turned on by naff things, she does nothing for my crotch, she makes me feel sick. I'm into tomboys and girls with funny hair- cuts. I also like women like Diana Dors and Joan Collins 'cos they're camp and sexy. If someone in the group fancies an ugly girl it gives me the creeps. Some people make me feel sick and I can't believe how anyone could find them attractive. For instance, if I talk to a boy who I think is cute and then find out he's an idiot, then I can't go to bed with him . . . I hate groupies, I hate any man or woman that throws themselves on a band. Anyone who will put out to a group is, in my opinion, scum. It doesn't matter if they're good-looking or ugly, I still despise them. It's like when we were recording the LP, there were three girls who were friends of the roadies and they cooked dinner for us - I couldn't eat it. They were such crawlers, I hated them. Any of the band being friendly to them annoyed me. In the end I stopped them from coming into the apartment. I detest groupies.

When was the last time you cried?

I'd say that I've cried at least every two days for the last four years. Since I started Culture Club all I've done is cried. I get very frustrated. Jon makes me cry a hell of a lot. Jon Moss has probably made me cry more times than anyone I've ever known in my life. Obviously I'm being evasive about it, but I really really love Jon . . . One thing about me that has always been a problem is that I expect too rnuch from people.

Tell me about your long friendship with Martin Degville of Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

Years and years ago I met Martin Degville and the reason I liked him is because he was the first person I met who was really eccentric. I remember seeing him at one of the punk weekends in Bournemouth. He had a massive white quiff and fabulous clothes with broad shoulders and all that. I really wanted to speak to him but I didn't dare. Then a few months later I went up to Birmingham and I met him in Barbarellas and eventually I moved into his house and I worked for him on his clothes stall for a year. The clothes looked quite good but they were really badly made. He used to pay me £3 a day and he charged me two days wages for rent . . . We used to call him Colonel Sanders - have you noticed Martin always gets nervous around Christmas time? Anyway, I used to bring home about £90 a day 'cos I was better at selling the clothes than Martin - he used to frighten people away. I decided if he wasn't going to give me any more money then I'd charge more for the clothes and keep the difference Eventually I felt guilty so I told him and he went mad - such an Ebeneezer - and we fell out after a year 'cos I was becoming more popular than Martin in Birmingham, basically because I was prettier than hirn. Let's face it, he couldn't pull a cart if he tried. He was jealous because I had sex with loads of people and he couldn't get any. Anyway, Martin had a big glass door to his bedroom which was always covered with clothes so you couldn't see through but one day there was a tiny gap which I could see through and I saw Martin stuffing money under the floorboards. Scrooge in high heels! When we finally fell out, me and Myra broke into his bedroom and took the lot and moved to London. That was the last time I saw him until a few months ago.

Do you think that after three years or more of sugar-sweet, squeaky clean pop stars, 1986 will herald the return of the rebel rocker?

I think things like that are just wishful thinking, dreams for NME writers. To you and I, Sigue Sigue Sputnik are not outrageous, but to some little kid in suburbia they're probably the most outrageous thing ever seen. Basically, Sigue Sigue Sputnik are just a collection of everything that has happened over the last few years, hyped to oblivion and spread like shit over the nation. There's so much wishful thinking in the music business. There's nothing new. l'm always desperate for something to happen, I want something to explode, but it never will. Look at John and Yoko in the Sixties doing a bed-in, Brian Jones dying of a drugs overdose, people driving limousines into swimming pools - it doesn't happen anymore, it's not interesting anymore. Pop music isn't new, no music is new. Prince is wise not to do interviews. He's probably the most boring person you've ever heard; he's got nothing to say and he takes so long to say it, it's like sitting next to an old man at the pub!

Is there anything in British society today that you think has the rebel instinct?

A lot of cynical people would say, "What's new about Boy George?" There's been generations of provocative, outrageous people like Ouentin Crisp and Oscar Wilde, so in a lot of ways I've been stifled because I would be a lot more of a problem if I wasn't in Culture Club. If I was let loose I'd be a very dangerous young man. I can't make certain statements that I'd like to. When I started Culture Club, I wanted to provoke some kind of attitude, to stir things up, which I managed to a certain degree but still society and the media has stifled me.

You broke the rules with your 'gender-bender' image. What rules can anyone break these days?

I don't think there are many. I sleep with men and I would love to go to a premiere in a ballgown on the arm of a man. It would give me such a thrill; I'm sure it would annoy millions of people and I'd love to do it. A lot of people who pretend that they want to break the rules don't at all. Most rebels are such liars. There's a lot of things that people don't know about me, which would completely upheave the perception of what Boy George is. The ultimate rebel ends up dead. All the best people in pop, the legends, are dead. Some people say I've sold out but I haven't, I've cashed in.

What makes the world go round?

Stupidity