October 10, 1983: The British band Culture Club release their album Colour By Numbers. It includes "Karma Chameleon," which hit Number 1 the following February.
I was not a fan. I turned 14 while the album was in its initial run, and I was no more prepared to accept them than the metalheaded "ginkers" at my school who hurled homophobic insults at the group and their fans. On their earlier album, Kissing to Be Clever, they had a song titled "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" For a lot of rotten people, the answer was, "Yes."
In hindsight, I can now understand that the group, and lead singer Boy George (George Alan O'Dowd) in particular, meant a great deal to people who were searching for ways to define themselves and their identities, and saw in Boy George a kindred spirit. He made them – Cliché Alert – a band that mattered.
But I'm still not a fan of their music. Nor was British music journalist Dave Rimmer, who titled a book Like Punk Never Happened: Culture Club and the New Pop.
Boy George fell into various forms of addiction and legal trouble, but, at last check, was out of trouble and drug-free. He, guitarist Roy Hay and bass guitarist Mikey Craig continue to tour as Culture Club, with the addition of Darren Lewis on keyboards. Original drummer Jon Moss was fired from the band in 2021, and it was acrimonious. He has been replaced by Meryl-Anne Evanson.
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October 10, 1983 was a Monday. On ABC Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-14 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
Baseball was between its Playoffs and the World Series, which the Baltimore Orioles went on to win over the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games. The NBA season started 18 days later. There were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. And the Montreal Canadiens beat their Provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques, 6-4 at the Colisée de Québec.
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