Culture Club were at the height of their popularity when they released 'Karma Chameleon'. It was a number one hit all over Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. According to the band's frontman Boy George, 'The song is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing. It's about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back.'I didn't buy the single at the time of its release, in 1983, because it was continually played on radio and television. It made me hate the song. Now, more than a quarter of a century later, I can hear it again. And the price was right, of course...
My collection: 7" single no. 3586
Found: Kringloop Holland, Den Haag, March 3, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Karma Chameleon' / 'That's the way'
This is a classic, despite it being played to death then and now on classic rock/pop radio stations. The B-side, That's The Way, is a soulful winner for fans and non-fans alike (which is also included in the Colour By Numbers LP, Side A, last track). The single cover sleeve is quite an art itself, simple inexhaustible!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteAnd Phil Pickett (Sailor)was joint-composer of the song Karma Chameleon.
Regards,
Franca