Culture Club: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Filmed live at London's Royal Albert Hall, this 2002 concert finds Culture Club celebrating its 20th anniversary with an infectious and expansive grandeur, all the while basking in the love of adoring fans. The show actually starts with a great joke on the audience: Boy George, looking not a day over 20, glides onstage in his once-trademark derby and beaded hair extensions, and delivers a warm and welcome vocal on "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" Before long, the startled crowd realizes he's an impersonator, and the real, fortysomething George O'Dowd appears, looking a lot less androgynous and a tad thicker than in New Romantics days. After smiling self-deprecatingly, the crooner launches into a pleasing set of white soul ("Cold Shoulder," "Miss Me Blind"), stark gospel ("That's the Way"), stirring raga-rock ("Bow Down Mister"), and even a classic (a lovely cover of Bowie's "Starman," complete with audience participation and muscular guitar by Roy Hay), as well as the big hits (including “Karma Chameleon” and “Church of the Poisoned Mind”). Presented in Dolby Digital 5.0 and stereo, the disc also features band and fan interviews, bonus footage from Boy George's 2002 musical Taboo, and a photo gallery. Recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)