NEWS
Boy George: 'I remember bunking off school to go and see Bowie coming back from Berlin'
26 February 2025
The highly anticipated debut episode of Lulu’s podcast The Lulu Podcast: Turning Points featuring fellow UK entertainment legend Boy George is out now. You can listen to the episode on Spotify here. In this episode, the old friends chat away as George discusses his connection to David Bowie, his upbringing, his parents’ relationship, and how these things shaped him into the man he is today.
On Bowie:
L: “People looked at me differently once I worked with Bowie, that’s for sure…”
BG: “Because I think Bowie was one of those people that if he liked you, it was like oh - I’m absolutely cool, don’t even try to consider that I’m not”
BG: “I remember bunking off school to go and see Bowie coming back from Berlin - he arrived at Victoria station in the big sort of Cadillac, and I remember being photographed and I remember thinking I might get in trouble because I’m being photographed if my mum sees it…”
BG: “I used to send him emails - I’d send these tirades of love and worship, and I’d get a line back”
On his family + upbringing:
BG: “I did everything I could not to be like my Dad but turned out that I was the most like him of anyone - the gay version of my Dad. I went out of my way not to be like him, and I guess I soaked it up because you can’t not.”
BG: “I wanted all the things that my parents didn’t have… there wasn’t much love… there was a tolerance… my parents did love each other no question, they just didn’t respect each other. So I grew up thinking that was normal – that screaming and shouting was what you did in a relationship and that constituted love.”
On himself and his relationships:
BG: “Why do I do what I do? I never know why I do what I do.”
BG: “It was doomed from the minute we laid eyes one each other – it was never going to work. I was this mad insecure queen from south London, he was a posh boy from Hampstead whose parents didn’t approve – and who knew how to have a relationship, even under the microscope.”
BG: “I am actually shocked when people really just don’t like me and I’m like - but you don’t know me, if you knew me you couldn’t possible dislike me as I’m not dislikable but there are some people that just roll their eyes”
BG: “Sometimes it’s avoiding that default behaviour – don’t tell me what to do and all that stuff – I don’t know about you, there was a point in my early career where I used to kick off all the time and have these massive tantrums you know because I think sometimes it felt like I was in charge if I said no and I wasn’t going to do it - and I always did it.”
On acting:
BG: “I want to learn to act, be a bit more confident, don’t want to feel those nerves when I’m on stage… and I didn’t realise you could get better at that, you have to practice.”
More weekly episodes to come featuring guests of the likes of Brian Cox, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard E Grant, John Legend, and more.
On Bowie:
L: “People looked at me differently once I worked with Bowie, that’s for sure…”
BG: “I remember bunking off school to go and see Bowie coming back from Berlin - he arrived at Victoria station in the big sort of Cadillac, and I remember being photographed and I remember thinking I might get in trouble because I’m being photographed if my mum sees it…”
BG: “I used to send him emails - I’d send these tirades of love and worship, and I’d get a line back”
On his family + upbringing:
BG: “I did everything I could not to be like my Dad but turned out that I was the most like him of anyone - the gay version of my Dad. I went out of my way not to be like him, and I guess I soaked it up because you can’t not.”
BG: “I wanted all the things that my parents didn’t have… there wasn’t much love… there was a tolerance… my parents did love each other no question, they just didn’t respect each other. So I grew up thinking that was normal – that screaming and shouting was what you did in a relationship and that constituted love.”
On himself and his relationships:
BG: “Why do I do what I do? I never know why I do what I do.”
BG: “It was doomed from the minute we laid eyes one each other – it was never going to work. I was this mad insecure queen from south London, he was a posh boy from Hampstead whose parents didn’t approve – and who knew how to have a relationship, even under the microscope.”
BG: “I am actually shocked when people really just don’t like me and I’m like - but you don’t know me, if you knew me you couldn’t possible dislike me as I’m not dislikable but there are some people that just roll their eyes”
BG: “Sometimes it’s avoiding that default behaviour – don’t tell me what to do and all that stuff – I don’t know about you, there was a point in my early career where I used to kick off all the time and have these massive tantrums you know because I think sometimes it felt like I was in charge if I said no and I wasn’t going to do it - and I always did it.”
On acting:
BG: “I want to learn to act, be a bit more confident, don’t want to feel those nerves when I’m on stage… and I didn’t realise you could get better at that, you have to practice.”
More weekly episodes to come featuring guests of the likes of Brian Cox, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard E Grant, John Legend, and more.
