Tearful Boy George opens up about putting himself in prison, ‘not apologising’ to assault victim and rivalry with George Michael
The singer reveals all in a warts ’n’ all chat with Piers Morgan on Life Stories
POP star Boy George went from topping the charts to rock bottom when he was jailed in 2009 for falsely imprisoning a male escort.
Now the Culture Club singer — real name George O’Dowd — has finally plucked up the courage to publicly address the scandal in a warts ’n’ all chat with Piers Morgan on his ITV Life Stories show tomorrow night.
George says he regrets the incident — but will not apologise for it, claiming it was fuelled by drugs.
The 55-year-old also discusses his battle with heroin, his feud with the late George Michael and paying for the funeral of fellow Eighties star Pete Burns.
Here we take a look at his remarkable rollercoaster life.
On George Michael...
George was left devastated when pop rival George died on Christmas Day.
But he often clashed with the former Wham! singer, sparking one feud which he called the worst of his career.
He told Piers: “We were not great mates. We knew each other very briefly in the early Eighties before Wham!.
“We had our squabbles. He was called George so he was my rival.
“We were kind of battling all the time. Every time we did see each other, we got on brilliantly.
“But I suppose our egos would not allow us to be friends.”
George believes his counterpart’s downfall came from refusing to allow others in.
He said: “Sadly with George, you could not get close to him. I know that people really tried.
“I know that people are trying to protect you but when you are in that situation, shutting people out is the worst thing you can do.”
On Pete Burns...
Another pop icon who died last year was George’s pal, the Dead Or Alive singer Pete Burns.
In October The Sun revealed how big-hearted George stepped in after Pete’s ex-wife Lynne said she was struggling to afford the funeral.
Asked if it was true, George said: “Yes. Pete was such an extreme character but he was someone I knew before I was famous.
“The first time I met him he walked up to me and said, ‘You ripped off my look’.
“I was like, ‘Who is this person?’. He looked me in the eye at a Camden club and I said, ‘I know everyone in this club.
“Don’t even try it or you won’t get out of here alive’.”
As with many of George’s encounters, great fallings out came before great friendships.
The singer said: “We did not speak for years. We used to say awful things about each other.
“He came towards me once and said, ‘Are you sure you are not northern? You are made of tough stuff.
“I can’t believe what you have been through’.
“That was sweet and a turning point for us.
“I was able to fully appreciate him from then on and we stopped having a go at each other.”
On being jailed...
George’s reputation was left in tatters when he was jailed for 15 months for falsely imprisoning a male escort while high on drugs.
He handcuffed Norwegian model Audun Carlsen to a wall in his flat in Shoreditch, East London, in 2007 and beat him with a metal chain.
Speaking about the incident for the first time, George said: “One thing people don’t know is that I was prosecuted on my own evidence.
“I sent myself to prison. I told the police why I did what I did. In hindsight I was having a psychotic episode. I was a drug addict so I can’t sit here and say my reasons for doing it were founded in any way.
“But I told the truth. I said, ‘This is why I did it. I was having a paranoid episode’. I have always denied beating the guy.”
George has never apologised to his victim and said: “I don’t think it would make any difference.
“I always felt like not talking about it was dignified.
“All of it was the drugs. There is no way on God’s earth this would happen if I had not been on drugs.
“I kind of took responsibility but in my way. It is in my nature to spill my guts. I never really tell lies and sometimes it has worked against me.”
On life inside...
George ending up spending four months in prison, where he says he was the victim of homophobic attacks.
He recalled: “When I was in prison a lot of my friends blew me away. But Stephen Fry wrote to me. It was very humbling.
“I had a few altercations with other prisoners who were homophobic but it was not a shock.
“I was not scared. I made friends with people. I worked in the kitchen which was great.”
Going to jail started his road to recovery from booze and drugs.
He added: “The best thing that happened to me was getting sober.
“My friend told me to go with him to a meeting and I went and it was awful but then I thought, ‘This is where I need to be’. By the grace of God I have stayed sober.”
On drugs...
George admits to spending much of the Eighties off his face on drugs.
He had a much-publicised heroin addiction, which was costing him up to £400 a day.
Asked if he nearly died, he replied: “Oh, I can’t answer that question. I was so in it. I was an addict and had no control.
“I was so lost in what was going on. It was not possible for me to have any kind of perspective. It has been a long, long journey for me.
“You are around it and it becomes normal. It might sound a bizarre comparison but if you put a plate of cakes in front of people they will eat them even if they are not hungry.”
Things got so bad that his younger brother David appeared on national television with Terry Wogan to beg him to stay off the drugs.
His dad even set fire to his living room in an attempt to make him talk about his drug use.
And Richard Branson let him use his Oxfordshire home to get him away from his addiction.
George added: “When you are an addict you are so lost in what you are doing you don’t appreciate people trying to help you.
“You just think they are trying to spoil you having fun.”
- Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Boy George is on ITV at 9pm tomorrow.