Fact #64019
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Jon Moss (songwriter, Culture Club) : George had this idea and he sang it to me. He said he wanted it reggae-ish and I wanted it more lovers, a bit smoother than it turned out. Steve Levine, our producer, was there as well and he helped us out with a bit of the sound.
So we had the words and the melody – not quite the same melody we ended up with. Then Roy put down the keyboards and that was really nice, though there were a few things that needed to be changed. Mikey got that brilliant bass line. And it’s funny, when I went into the studio I didn’t even know what I wanted to put on the track. So I just did it the way it came out – that was done in one take. And the rest was done in the studio where I did the mix with the producer.
Steve Levine (producer) : Around 1982 to 83, I think analog recording got really good. That was probably about the peak, when we were running 48-track, two-inch machines. Studers and MCIs were mainly the machines I used – Studer maybe being slightly better – but generally speaking, those two lots of machines gave you a pretty good level of control. However, the massive disadvantages were that – particularly at that time when I was working with Culture Club – the backing vocals were multi, multi, multi-tracked up and you’d still have to bounce them down and the quality would go down a little bit.
Of course, they had a brass section in there and, particularly as there were lots of stabs, you could hear the print-through, no matter how you recorded it.
You’d work on track one and then a month later you’d get the tape out and work on another track and there’d be print-through all over the tape. So those things kind of annoyed me and also George was constantly changing his mind.
(Source : http://www.audioprointernational.com/features/159/INTERVIEW-MPG-chariman-Steve-Levine)
Steve Levine (producer) : Drummer Jon Moss wanted to have the effect of a dual rhythm, and so we got my LinnDrum to play the backbeat of the tracks and he played over that. That was the beginning of the sound of Culture Club, even though Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? was done with a CR78 drum machine, rather than the Linn.
(Source : http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/dec96/stevelevine.html)
Boy George : I was furious that Virgin wanted to release Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, because it was too personal. It was really about Kirk (George’s boyfriend, Kirk Brandon of Theatre Of Hate), although I’d had a succession of boyfriends who said they were straight. Pretty soon into the relationship Jon (Cluture Club drummer Jon Moss) slept with a girl, so the song was really about all those kind of boys.
Petula Clark : Do You Really Want To Hurt Me is the kind of record that could have been a hit years ago. His is a curious mixture of unusual looks and very straightforward records, which is clever. I like what he does and if he wrote me a song I would certainly record it.
Rod Stewart : He’s got the most soulful voice I’ve heard in years.
Tom Jones : I’ve heard Boy George and I like his record.
George Martin (producer, The Beatles) : Boy George is one of the most memorable people of the new breed of talent. He has a much better voice than half the others around, and definitely has a future.
(Source : not known)
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So we had the words and the melody – not quite the same melody we ended up with. Then Roy put down the keyboards and that was really nice, though there were a few things that needed to be changed. Mikey got that brilliant bass line. And it’s funny, when I went into the studio I didn’t even know what I wanted to put on the track. So I just did it the way it came out – that was done in one take. And the rest was done in the studio where I did the mix with the producer.
Steve Levine (producer) : Around 1982 to 83, I think analog recording got really good. That was probably about the peak, when we were running 48-track, two-inch machines. Studers and MCIs were mainly the machines I used – Studer maybe being slightly better – but generally speaking, those two lots of machines gave you a pretty good level of control. However, the massive disadvantages were that – particularly at that time when I was working with Culture Club – the backing vocals were multi, multi, multi-tracked up and you’d still have to bounce them down and the quality would go down a little bit.
Of course, they had a brass section in there and, particularly as there were lots of stabs, you could hear the print-through, no matter how you recorded it.
You’d work on track one and then a month later you’d get the tape out and work on another track and there’d be print-through all over the tape. So those things kind of annoyed me and also George was constantly changing his mind.
(Source : http://www.audioprointernational.com/features/159/INTERVIEW-MPG-chariman-Steve-Levine)
Steve Levine (producer) : Drummer Jon Moss wanted to have the effect of a dual rhythm, and so we got my LinnDrum to play the backbeat of the tracks and he played over that. That was the beginning of the sound of Culture Club, even though Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? was done with a CR78 drum machine, rather than the Linn.
(Source : http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/dec96/stevelevine.html)
Boy George : I was furious that Virgin wanted to release Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, because it was too personal. It was really about Kirk (George’s boyfriend, Kirk Brandon of Theatre Of Hate), although I’d had a succession of boyfriends who said they were straight. Pretty soon into the relationship Jon (Cluture Club drummer Jon Moss) slept with a girl, so the song was really about all those kind of boys.
Petula Clark : Do You Really Want To Hurt Me is the kind of record that could have been a hit years ago. His is a curious mixture of unusual looks and very straightforward records, which is clever. I like what he does and if he wrote me a song I would certainly record it.
Rod Stewart : He’s got the most soulful voice I’ve heard in years.
Tom Jones : I’ve heard Boy George and I like his record.
George Martin (producer, The Beatles) : Boy George is one of the most memorable people of the new breed of talent. He has a much better voice than half the others around, and definitely has a future.
(Source : not known)