Boy George celebrates his 60th birthday today and dropped a couple of new songs: Drive, co-written and produced by longtime collaborator Roland Faber (aka Kinky Roland), and Boy Maybe, co-written and produced by Benny D. On a couple of listens, the pulsing beat and slightly melancholy vocals of Drive is a similar vibe to the recently released The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread and is currently my favourite of the two. Boy Maybe is more uptempo and a grower. Great video, too.
Boy George has been on a creative roll recently, releasing new songs and new versions of Culture Club classics, as well as a solo album, Cool Karaoke Vol. 1, with a second album, Summer In The Shade, also due in 2021. I wasn't - and I'm still not - particularly a fan of Culture Club, but I really connected with 1988 solo single No Clause 28 and his singles and album as Jesus Loves You in the early 1990s, a commercially and critically underrated act. Since then, I've dipped in and out of his solo singles and guest spots, but this is up there with his best songs. His voice is also sounding richer and deeper than ever. Happy birthday, George!
