Driving down the road the other day, the song Karma Chameleon started playing on the 80’s channel. This isn’t my favorite channel, and when a song like this comes on my normal reaction is to – very quickly – change the channel. But on this particular day I was feeling a bit generous, so I decided to give it a listen. Being a genuine fan of all types of music, I always find something enjoyable in a song, especially when I’m able to listen with an unbiased ear.
My first thought was to acknowledge that I probably hadn’t heard this song in almost 30 years. My second thought was to admit this was a catchy little tune. There’s not much for lyrics, and musically it’s rather simple. But that deep, funky beat along with the reggae keyboards give it a lot of character. And somehow – amazingly – it’s complemented perfectly with a harmonica that sounds like something right out of a campfire scene in Blazing Saddles or City Slickers. Very creative. I found myself bouncing a little in my seat.
The Hazards of MTV
I thought back to the early 80’s when Culture Club first hit the scene in the U.S. There was a bit of a stir created by Boy George – a tall, colorful, Irish cross-dresser. But it turned out that he and the band were a perfect fit for the brand new media that was currently exploding on the music scene – MTV. This channel aired music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and seemed to hold no boundaries. As I listened to Karma Chameleon on the radio, I could just picture their silly video, with Boy George prancing about an 1800’s riverboat in full costume.
This, in turn, gave me a sudden flashback to something I hadn’t thought about in years. It was a story about one of my teenage friends. We’ll call him “Bob”, “Bob Jones”. Bob and his younger brother were huge sports fans. And I mean HUGE. After much begging and promises of good grades and their best behavior until the end of time, the two had finally convinced their dad into subscribing for cable TV, which had just recently arrived in our neighborhoods. Their dad was…well, let’s just call him a rather intense individual. Think of the drill sergeant from the movie Full Metal Jacket and you’d have a pretty good idea.
Drill Sergeant Dad was good and determined to monitor his boys’ TV viewing habits, treating their new cable access more like a probationary subscription.
A few weeks later, I checked in with Bob to see how things were going. I knew they were REALLY excited about having access to all those new sports channels. So I thought I’d give him an opportunity to tell me all about it. Unfortunately, Bob solemnly informed me that the situation didn’t go as planned.
It turns out that Bob and his brother were watching MTV one afternoon, not too long after they got hooked up with cable. They thought they were safe because their dad wasn’t due home for a couple hours. Tragically, on this day Dad came home early. He strolled into the living room, took one long look at the TV, and then completely lost it. Dad just happened to catch a scene from a Culture Club video.
It seems that witnessing Boy George in full costume, singing and moving animatedly like only Boy George can do, was a bit too much for ol’ Dad. The next minute, the cable box was yanked – cable and all – right out of the wall. Dad walked out of the room without saying a word. Thus, ending the great cable TV experiment in the Jones household.
I really felt bad about what happened, but was unable to hold back my laughter as Bob was telling me the story. He claimed that this was the only time they ever turned on MTV, and only out of curiosity after hearing so much about it at school. Bad timing I guess. But here I am, 30 years later, laughing again at the memory while driving down the road with this song playing in the background.
Fortunately times have changed. I’d like to think that we now live in a world where people like Mr. Jones have at least some level of tolerance for things that they don’t understand. But times were different in 1983.
My Conclusion
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised as I listened to Karma Chameleon the other day. I should probably reconsider a few other Culture Club songs as well. Being more of a hard rock/heavy metal fan in the 80’s, I had written off this band as your average trendy pop group, just the latest fad in a horribly over-synthesized decade of music. But looking back, I see there was definitely some talent there.
This wasn’t their only hit. But this particular song was a really big hit, worldwide. It became the #1 song in 16 different countries. Amazingly, it even makes the list of top selling singles of all-time, selling over 5 million copies. Nearly as much as Michael Jackson’s Thriller single. Who would have thought?!
I’ve lost touch with my friend “Bob” over the years, but I’m sure he’s out there somewhere, probably by now with his own teenage kids. And I bet those kids are allowed to watch whatever they want. Maybe even a silly video featuring Boy George dancing on a riverboat… from a time long before they were born.
Here’s a little flashback video from 1982. In the interest of full disclosure, you’ve officially been given an earworm alert.
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