Hot off the back of sold out shows and rave reviews across the USA and Australia, Culture Club are returning to our shores for another run of shows. Australia adores Culture Club – both the mayhem and success of their June tour has cemented our love affair with the iconic 80’s pop band. The tour will feature the original line-up: singer Boy George, guitarist/keyboardist Roy Hay, bassist Mikey Craig and drummer Jon Moss. Says the band “after the success of our June visit and the huge warm welcome we received from our Australian fans, we have decided to come back and do it all again – you simply can’t get rid of us that easily!’’
Culture Club have been wowing audiences across the globe as part of their worldwide tour. Musically, they are sounding better than ever as they are joined by extra percussionists, keyboard players, backing singers and a horn section. This bigger line up has added a whole new element of warmth and sound to their live shows, of which, are consistently receiving glowing reviews. Culture Club have continued to stay relevant and are as remarkable now as they were back then.
Of all the exciting groups to come out of the alternative music scene in the early 80’s, Culture Club became the first to achieve arena headline status. The adulation from around the world as well as soaring record sales that followed the release of their classic single “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” saw Culture Club explode on a global level. Over the course of their career, they have had 50 million record sales to their name. The band went on to achieve stunning success with their debut album Kissing To Be Clever, and in particular scored three Top Ten hits in the US – becoming the first group to hit that milestone since The Beatles. ‘’Time (Clock of the Heart)” has also been included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.
There is a stellar line up of Australian 80’s support acts to turn this tour into a whole other level of fun – it’s going to be a seriously HUGE show and you can expect it to be chock-a-block full of the smash hits we all know and love! Tasmania will see Kids In The Kitchen, Pseudo Echo & Real Life and Barossa Valley will have 1927, Pseudo Echo & Real Life. In the Hunter Valley – 1927, Pseudo Echo, Kids in The Kitchen, Wa Wa Nee & Real Life. Melbourne will stage 1927, Pseudo Echo, Eurogliders, Wa Wa Nee & Real Life.
1927 are known for enduring hits such as That’s When I Think of You, Compulsory Hero, ‘To Love Me, Scars, Don’t Forget Me, and, of course, If I Could. They made a devastating entry into the ears of its listeners with the Quintuple Platinum selling album …ish in 1988, which earned the band a slew of ARIA Awards as well as a lot of fans along the way. Following up …ish with the multi-platinum second album The Otherside, a self-titled third album, and countless live shows at home and abroad, the last couple of decades have certainly earned 1927 legendary status. Not content to rest on their laurels, after more than ten years, 1927 released a new studio album Generation i last year. It may just be the band’s finest album yet.
Real Life formed in Melbourne during the early 80’s. After working six nights a week, building a local following for a couple of years, they released their first record Send Me An Angel, from their first album, Heartland. The song was a big hit in most parts of the world. Other singles from that album were Openhearted, Catch Me I’m Falling and Always. Real Life released their second and final album with the original line-up in 1985 titled Flame, which spawned such hits as Face To Face.
Pseudo Echo formed in 1982, releasing their first album, Autumnal Park, in 1984 which skyrocketed the band to household name status across the country. Their second album, Love an Adventure, spawned another string of hits including its title track, Don’t Go, Try, Living in a Dream and their remake of the Lipps, Inc. song Funkytown. This particular song brought the group their biggest international success and spent seven weeks at No. 1 in Australia from December 1986. In 2012 Pseudo Echo celebrated their 30th anniversary and this year released their sixth studio album, Ultraviolet.
Kids In the Kitchen took Australian audiences by storm, which saw them rise to the top of the charts, as their music stood squarely within the New Romantic movement that dominated the music scene in the mid-1980’s. Forming in Melbourne in 1983, Kids In The Kitchen enjoyed strong chart success with four Top 20 hits on the Australian Singles Chart, “Change in Mood” (1983), “Bitter Desire” (1984), “Something That You Said” and “Current Stand” (both 1985). The related album, Shine (20 May 1985), reached No. 9 on the Australian Album Chart.
Wa Wa Nee broke the Australian tradition of pub rock in the mid-’80s with a combination of expertly packaged funk-pop, designed for a mass audience. Wa Wa Nee’s ascent of the Australian charts began with the April 1986 release of the single Stimulation, which peaked nationally at No. 2 on the Singles Chart. Three further singles also made the Australian Top 20 and their self-titled debut album yielded platinum sales of over 70,000 and a Top 30 hit in the US with Sugar Free. Sadly the band called it quits in 1988 though founding member, Paul Gray, has continued working as an in-demand writer, producer and musician between reformation shows.
Featuring Grace Knight on vocals and Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals, Eurogliders took the charts by storm in the 1980s. Audiences were blown away, and Grace Knight captivated fans with her ‘manic ballerina’ stage persona. In 1984, Eurogliders released their album This Island, which spawned their No. 2 hit single, Heaven (Must Be There). Heaven also peaked at No. 21 on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and appeared on the Hot 100. Another Australian top ten album, Absolutely, followed in 1985, which provided three further top ten singles, We Will Together, The City of Soul and Can’t Wait to See You. Grace and Bernie, along with their superb band, have reunited to once again captivate audiences with their sophisticated and high-energy brand of pop.
When you go to a Culture Club show, you can expect to have loads of fun and
be fully immersed into a huge party atmosphere –
then add to the mix this super 80’s line up, what more could you ask for?
Grab your friends and be sure to get your tickets quickly so you don’t miss out!
Tickets on sale for all shows on Wednesday 19th October at 9.00am
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CULTURE CLUB
ENCORE TOUR DATES
Tuesday 6th December 2016
Jupiters Theatre, Gold Coast
Tickets available from 10.00am, Wednesday 19th October
Support act: TBC
Friday 9th December 2016
Seppeltsfield Winery, Barossa Valley
Tickets available from 9.00am, Wednesday 19th October
Support acts: 1927, Pseudo Echo and Real Life
Saturday 10th December 2016
Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley
Tickets available from 9.00am, Wednesday 19th October
Support acts: 1927, Pseudo Echo, Kids In The Kitchen, Wa Wa Nee and Real Life
Sunday 11th December 2016
Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Tickets available from 9.00am, Wednesday 19th October
Support acts: 1927, Pseudo Echo, Eurogliders, Wa Wa Nee and Real Life
CULTURE CLUB NOTES:
· The group achieved stunning success in the 80’s, scoring three Top Ten US hits from their debut album, Kissing to Be Clever and becoming the first group to hit that milestone since The Beatles
· The album, Kissing to be Clever, went platinum in the US and Culture Club then went on to sell over 100 million singles, 50 million albums worldwide, with Top 10 hits in every country—with smash hits including “Karma Chameleon,” “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” and “Time”
· They are considered one of the most representative and influential groups of all time. In the 80’s they were the first multi-racial band with an openly gay front man, Boy George
· They are the first band since Beatles to have 3 songs from their debut album 1982’s Kissing to Be Clever reach the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 – including “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock of the Heart)” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”
· Their second album Colour By Numbers, sold over 10 Million albums and went Triple Platinum in the UK and Quadruple platinum in the US. It currently sits at number 96 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Albums of the 1980s”
· Colour By Numbers, sold 4 million copies in the US and another 5 million worldwide at its time of release
· “Time (Clock of the Heart)” is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll
· “Karma Chameleon” became best-selling single of 1983 in the U.K. and was one of the Top 20 best-selling singles worldwide of the 1980’s
· In November 2014 the band released, More Than Silence, their first single together since 1999 from their upcoming album Tribes, which is expected to released early 2016
