Boy George to debut Fantabulosa show in Australia

Boy George has revealed why he is coming back to Australia, before he faces his former Culture Club member and lover Jon Moss in court.

Boy George will stage the world premiere of his “sparkling” new production Fantabulosa in Australia, two years after finishing his duties as the cheeky coach on The Voice.

The Culture Club co-founder has enlisted local guests including beloved drag queen personality Courtney Act, acclaimed singer songwriter Odette and award-winning alternative artist Mo’Ju for the show which will debut in Sydney and Melbourne in March.

The musical celebration will feature unique covers of “songs that mean something to me” including The Beatles Here Comes The Sun and the Gershwin classic The Man I Love as well as reimaginings of his own work.

Boy George will premiere his new Fantabulosa celebration in Australia next March. Picture: Dean Stockings / Supplied.

“This is going to be such an amazing thing to do. I’ve been talking about it for about two years; I think I made an announcement on The Voice about this show but that was before the pandemic hit,” he said.

The mischievous musician, who didn’t mind a “row” or two with his rival coaches during his two seasons on The Voice before it switched networks to Seven, said the forced hiatus from the stage had opened the floodgates on his creativity.

Boy George has spent the pandemic hiatus writing songs, making art and planning his stage show. Picture: Dean Stockings / Supplied.

As well as devising the Fantabulosa concept, he was written “hundreds of songs” over the past two years, and worked with a raft of collaborators including original Culture Club member Amos Pizzey, Erasure’s Andy Bell and his former Team George member Vendulka who now records as Aya Eves.

He has an ambitious plan to release 60 of his new songs online on December 6, the day he is scheduled to face his former lover and Culture Club member Jon Moss in court after a long-running legal battle.

Moss was booted out of the band in 2018 and filed a writ in the London High Court in 2019 seeking more than $365,000 in payments and profits.

Courtney Act and Boy George connected when the British pop star was living in Australia. Picture: Supplied / ABC.

“Basically he was fired from Culture Club and he wants to stop us using the name and he wants to get paid,” he said.

“What will happen will happen, and I’m not sitting here riled up and angry, I’m intrigued by the whole thing and I’m trying to watch it from an outside perspective and not be too emotionally involved.

“I wouldn’t even say I had a falling out with Jon. It’s like a tango, I can’t dance with him if he won’t dance back; I have to say in my own way I do love Jon and we will overcome this obstacle.

“Basically if he bounces back like a big gorgeous labrador, he can come back, and if he carries on being a doberman then he can’t.”

Now this is exciting me! pic.twitter.com/K2Zf6Tey3J

— Boy George (the truth is in your breath) (@BoyGeorge) October 27, 2021

Besides his new show and his prolific songwriting, Boy George has also staged two art exhibitions and shares his works in progress with his millions of followers on social media.

“With things like art, and Fantabulosa, it’s really about the audacity of doing it. Anyone can do it because it’s an expression of who you really are, but you just have to get off your arse and do the thing,” he said.

He is equally adept, if not a master, of the art of provocation online, not only engaging with his detractors but offering controversial pop culture commentary on everyone from the Royals to Strictly Dancing episodes.

When told it is difficult to discern whether he is Team Windsor or Team Sussex with his tweets, he laughed heartily and then played the winking diplomat.

What an insane concept. You leave your family (a royal one) because of love. It's just a thought concept that is far from love!

— Boy George (the truth is in your breath) (@BoyGeorge) October 26, 2021

“No … I think that Harry, particularly, went through something so massive we sometimes forget what he and his brother went through. I know his brother is the future king and everything, but Harry went through something so massive and so public that we sometimes forget how much of a little kid he was,” Boy George said.

“I talk about things (online) because it’s pop culture but Harry and Meghan are none of my business. Obviously I love the queen because she’s the queen and she’s just such an amazing stoic character.

“Whenever I am commenting on things, I’m always doing it from a place of perspective because I understand completely, but there’s no way on earth I could ever understand someone else’s motivations and why they’re doing what they’re doing but it’s good to talk about.

“And with Harry and Meghan they put themselves in the spotlight so we’re going to talk about them in the same way I get talked about. Other people’s opinions of you have nothing to do with you, I think.”

Acclaimed Australian alternative pop artist Odette will perform with Boy George. Picture: Supplied.

No doubt they’ll pop up in conversation during Fantabulosa, which kicks off just after the 2022 Sydney Mardi Gras festival before heading to Melbourne.

Boy George, who has a large Australian fanbase, sees the show as something for everyone.

“In terms of celebrating the LGBTQI community and its creativity, it does not exclude anyone; if you go into a garden, a lot of exotic flowers exist in the same space happily,” he said.

“So this celebration, the songs are from everywhere, straight, gay, whatever, it’s about community.”

Fantabulosa opens at Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney on March 11 and 12 and then plays at Plenary, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on March 18 and 19.

The Telstra Plus pre-sale opens on November 10 and general tickets are on sale from November 12 via www.ticketek.com.au