In fact, he [George Michael] was loitering in public loos like some pre-war homosexual. It's one thing to keep quiet. It's another to pretend you're someone you're not.
Boy GeorgeI suppose all of those New Romantic clubs were quite up their own asses in a way. Well, Taboo was up its own ass in a different way, but not in terms of rules.
Boy GeorgeThe 1970s was probably the most exciting decade to be a teenager, from discovering Little Richard at the end of the 1960s to glam rock to punk rock to electro music. So much happened in that 10-year span. There were so many musical revolutions. Some were happening at the same time. You had disco going on behind punk. You had Michael Jackson. You had the Sex Pistols.
Boy GeorgeI don't know whether when I was 20 years old or 25 years old if somebody would have come along with incredible wisdom whether I would have really listened.
Boy GeorgeSex has never been an obsession with me. It's just like eating a bag of crisps. Quite nice, but nothing marvellous.
Boy GeorgeA lot of what I've been learning in the last two years is due to therapy - about my sexuality, why things go wrong, why relationships haven't worked. It isn't anything to do with anybody else; it's to do with me.
Boy GeorgeDon't talk about things you don't like. Talk about music that you love, books that you've read. I put a lot of recipes online.
Boy GeorgeTaboo was kind of celebrating trash, the kind of records you secretly loved, like Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, by Baccara [laughs] - things that you probably shouldn't like.
Boy GeorgeWhen you go onstage, you go on there to have a good time, and you smile and you engage with the audience and you invite them in.
Boy GeorgeWarren Street was at the high end of the New Romantic scene. They were mostly college art students and people who knew top designers.
Boy GeorgeLeigh [Bowery] affected a posh English voice and elongated his vowels, and you never knew if he was being sincere or mocking you. If I ever commented on one of his outfits he would snip, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Boy George. I do value your opinion." And then he would spin and make some ridiculous noise and mince off.
Boy GeorgeWhen Culture Club broke up, I hadn't been going out a lot because we'd been working all the time, so I suddenly had this period of leisure. And it was just around the time that the whole acid house thing kicked off in London.
Boy GeorgeVery few people can truly divorce themselves from what they feel emotionally and sexually.
Boy GeorgeI think for me one of the big things was realizing that being Boy George is my job. It's what I do.
Boy GeorgeTweeting is something you can do wherever you are, on your phone, on the computer, in an airport lounge. It's easy to do, and I do find it fun to communicate with people. It's quite nice that we can have almost direct contact with anyone in the world at any time. I don't know how important it is in terms of one's career. It seems to be pretty much superfluous in terms of that, but it's nice to communicate.
Boy GeorgeI remember going onstage on Broadway in this Leigh Bowery thing for a track like "Ich Bin Kunst." I've got breasts, this latex dripping down on my head, and I come out in a box. I just remember the audience looking really horrified because Rosie [O'Donnell] was trying to sell the show as sort of Pippin and Annie. She was saying it's a family show.
Boy GeorgeI'm not someone who can sing anything... And my favorite singers aren't people whose voice you would say is amazing. I'm a big Bob Dylan fan, a huge David Bowie fan... none of those people have orthodox, cabaret voices. These are people where what they're singing about is just as important as how they're singing it.
Boy GeorgeGay unions, what is that about? I haven't been invited to any ceremonies, and I wouldn't go anyway. The idea that gay people have to mimic what obviously doesn't work for straight people any more... I think is a bit tragic. I am looking forward to gay divorces.
Boy George[Arnold Schwarzenegger] is funny. Some great one-liners, some great banter between him and the contestants [on "The Apprentice" ]. And he's good!
Boy GeorgeWhenever there's an interview with me, I might read it, but I don't read the comments because they're so hateful sometimes. When someone writes something nasty, I just think, "If that's your contribution to my day, I really don't need your impoliteness." I'm lucky that people are very cool with me and I get a lot of love. I appreciate that.
Boy GeorgeFor me, I've gotten better at that since I've gotten older. I never was good at that when I was younger.
Boy George[Arnold Schwarzenegger] is really good at ['The New Celebrity Apprentice' show]. Totally different energy to our potential president, but he's cool.
Boy GeorgeLeigh Bowery was actually quoted as saying, "Flesh is my most favorite fabric." I've seen many a freak make a scene and go, but Leigh was a special kind of exhibitionist because he was dedicated and saw it as an art form.
Boy GeorgeAs a kid, I would've loved to get a tweet from David Bowie or Joan Rivers or Tom Cruise. It's great that you can communicate with people and it's instant.
Boy GeorgeI feel like my career has always been a series of collisions and accidents. Being in the right place at the right time. Having the right haircut. It's so mad to think that it happened in the way that it happened.
Boy GeorgePart of me looks at the gay movement now and worries that we're losing our individuality.
Boy GeorgeI exercise. I go to the gym every day. It's about respecting what you're doing. You're going on stage. You have to sleep. You have to be prepared.
Boy GeorgeI am thinking of George Michael's family, friends and fans. He was so loved and I hope he knew it because the sadness today is beyond words. Devastating. What a beautiful voice he had and his music will live on as a testament to his talent. I can't believe he is gone. I hope the Buddha will hold him in his arms. NMRK.
Boy GeorgeI'm much more careful now about who I let into my life, but I don't think you could ever change what you're attracted to. You can make choices if you want to be with those people.
Boy GeorgeThe Taboo scene was a kind of deconstructed version of the New Romantics. The Taboo crowd was using a lot of the visual ideas that had already been used. I remember the first time I spotted Leigh Bowery and Trojan parading around in clubs: They were in their "Pakis from Outer Space" look, and the makeup was quite similar to one of my old looks, because I was quite fond of wearing blue, green, or yellow foundation, and so I was pretty dismissive of them at first.
Boy GeorgeComparing Madonna with Marilyn Monroe is like comparing Raquel Welch with the back of a bus.
Boy GeorgeSeparation penetrates the disappearing person like a pigment and steeps him in gentle radiance.
Boy GeorgeAfter half an hour the drug hit me like a sensuous tidal wave. I turned into a tactile temptress and wanted to stroke the whole world. It gave me untold confidence.
Boy GeorgeI try to exist in a world where there is freedom of opinion, where you're allowed to make jokes. I don't want to live in some PC world where no-one's allowed to say anything.
Boy George