Monday, April 13, 2020

Musical Monday - Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? by Culture Club


#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Never.
#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: February 2. 1983 through March 5, 1983.
#1 on the U.K. Chart: October 23, 1982 through November 6, 1982.

I was not much of a Culture Club fan in the 1980s. I'm still not. Their brand of soft rock was just never to my tastes. They are definitely skilled musicians, and Boy George has an .excellent tenor, but I just wasn't really a fan of the early-1980s trend of making what amounted to easy-listening music. They are good at it, but their music just never was my cup of tea.

However, this particular video deserves some derision. Even in 1982, a scene in which a bunch of characters appear in blackface was problematic. Now, after the passage of time, the scene just looks extra bad. What were they thinking and why did no one stop them and tell them this was a very bad idea? How did everyone just ignore this and let them get away with it? Were we all that clueless in the 1980s?

Previous Musical Monday: Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth
Subsequent Musical Monday: Who Can It Be Now? by Men at Work

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Down Under by Men at Work
Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

Previous #1 on the UK Chart: Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth
Subsequent #1 on the UK Chart: I Don't Wanna Dance by Eddy Grant

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

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