Boy George, King of Queens

Our interview begins four hours later than scheduled. Boy George has a good excuse: he got stuck in a lift with ten other people in Hampstead underground station and afterwards had to rush to an Italian singing lesson. It turns out George is recording a limited edition EP in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. The new release will feature him singing four songs in Italian, celebrating the great Italian ballads of the 1960s and backed by a full orchestra and choir.

“I’m singing some really famous songs like La Vita and Il Mio Mondo. People know the English versions, My Life and You Are My World, but those songs were originally Italian. Il Mio Mondo was written by Umberto Bindi and it turns out he was gay and had quite a hard time of it. So it’s kind of beautiful that I’m singing it because I feel like I’m paying tribute to him. I’m quite excited because I’ve always had a lot of love from Italy.”

I ask him about his new book. Having already released two written biographies, 1995’s Take It Like a Man and 2005’s Straight, what made him decide to publish King of Queens?  Read More