Episode 44: Culture Club - Colour by Numbers (1983) Part 1

It's a new year, and Brian and Sarah are ready to get back into discussing classic albums! But first, they need to take care of a little leftover business from 2017. They announce the winner of their "Into the Gap" album giveaway, who was randomly selected from people who wrote in to the show and mentioned their favorite episode.  They also remind the listeners of the winner of the digital download for the Human League's "Dare" album. Then, there's no putting it off any longer-- they begin their look into an album by a group many listeners mentioned over the past year as being one of their favorites.  The group is Culture Club, and the album is the 1983 release "Colour by Numbers."

Part 1 - Album History

"Colour by Numbers" was the sophomore effort by Culture Club, but based on record sales and chart position for both the album and its many singles, it definitely didn't suffer from the "sophomore slump." Brian and Sarah trade statistics on the album's success for a while, and then they get into the making of the album and who was involved. Brian shares a lot of knowledge gleaned from the Boy George autobiography, "Take It Like a Man," but Sarah still manages to surprise him with some interesting facts and album reviews. Brian also muses about how short-lived Culture Club's success really was, although it didn't seem that way to him back in the day.

Part 2 - Personal History

Sarah goes first with her personal history and once again, doesn't have a lot to say. However, she finally explains why so many of these albums from the first half of the 80s weren't a part of her music collection. Brian, on the other hand, has a great deal of personal history with this album and with Culture Club in general.  But he wasn't the only Culture Club fan in his family, and in fact reveals that it was another member of his family who may have inadvertently sparked his obsession with the band. He also mentions yet another family member-- perhaps a surprising one-- who was a big Boy George fan.

Part 3 - Track by Track

The first song on side one of "Colour by Numbers" is the worldwide smash, "Karma Chameleon." Because of the iconic status of both the song and the video, Brian and Sarah have a lot of information and opinions to share. And because they've already talked a lot about the album history and personal history, track one is as far as they get for this first episode of 2018.

Karma Chameleon

See the video we discuss here:

Karma Chameleon

 

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