Retro Spins: Culture Club - Colour By Numbers

Culture Club's impact in 80's pop culture was massive. Their first two albums, Kissing To Be Clever (1982) and Colour By Numbers (1983) featured multiple chart toppers, a handful of which went to number one. As such, it's a shame it was so brief.

For a band which had so much going for them, it was disappointing to see them fall apart between 1984 and 1986. Their third album, Waking Up With The House On Fire (1984) was poorly received, and failed to provide much commercial success. It didn't help that Boy George had been struggling with an addiction to heroin. From there, album sales continued to plummet with their last entry in the 80's, From Luxury To Heartache (1986). This album did even worse than the prior.

So let's forget about those last two albums, for now anyway. Instead, I want to focus on what I think is probably their most successful album of all time, 1983's Colour By Numbers. It features hits such as; Karma Chameleon, It's A Miracle, Church Of The Poison Mind and Miss Me Blind.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Stormkeeper, I didn't personally find much more here. The rest of the album is a little boring. Further, the remaining tracks simply can't hold a candle to the powerhouse of the singles. It makes them almost feel like throw away songs.

As a whole, it was okay, but it didn't wow me. I was actually really surprised by that. I honestly expected to be blown away.

I'm still very interested in hearing more from the band. Mostly the latter 80's albums, which I don't think I've ever heard before. More so because of Freddie Mercury praising Boy George as a singer to watch. In that regard, I want to really believe there is much more to the band than just the hits.

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