Waking Up With The House On Fire - Album
Waking Up With The House On Fire (Album) by Culture Club
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Artist Biography For Culture Club
Culture Club Was A Popular 1980s Pop Group Perhaps Most Noticeable For Their Gender-Bending Frontman George O'Dowd Known By His Stage Name Boy George. The Other Members Of The Band Were Roy Hay On Guitars And Keyboards Mikey Craig Playing Bass And Jon Moss Ex Damned London Adam And The Ants On Drums. Their First Album 1982's Kissing To Be Clever Became A Major International Hit Spawning The Hit Singles "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" Which Went 'all The Way' In The BBC-Charts In Late 1982 "Time Clock Of The Heart " And "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". Unique In His Eccentric Manner Of Dress And Androgynous Look Boy George Became A Worldwide Celebrity. Their Second Album 1983's Colour By Numbers Also Did Extremely Well Giving The Band Its Second Number One Hit In The UK With "Karma Chameleon." Karma Chameleon Reached No.1 In Many Countries And They Even Starred In UK's Top Of The Pops In September 1983. However Trouble Was Brewing Within The Culture Club Camp. Unknown To The Public George Was Having An Affair With Drummer Jon Moss. The Affair Which Lasted Over Four Years Was Often Problematic And The Pressure To Hide The Relationship Started To Take Its Toll. The Band Also Started To Lose Its Place Musically. Their Next Album 1984's Waking Up With The House On Fire Was A Major Disappointment. Though The Band Gained A Small Comeback With 1986's From Luxury To Heartache Thanks To The Hit "Move Away" Both George's And Jon's Fights Created Much Tension Eventually Leading To The Breakup Of The Band. Around This Time George Also Became Addicted To Heroin Which Created A Frenzy With The Tabloids. Eventually George Would Let Go Of The Habit And Begin His Solo Career. A Minor Hit From The "Hiding Out" Soundtrack Called "Live My Life" Peaked At U.S. #40. While George Scored Several Hits In Europe And Finally Hit The U.S. Top 20 With 1992's "The Crying Game" He Was Never Able To Reach The Success He Achieved With Culture Club. In 1998 The Band Put Their Problems Aside And Decided To Do A Reunion Tour. Kicked Off With A Performance On VH1 Storytellers The Tour Was A Major Success. Shortly After Culture Club Recorded A New Album Titled Don't Mind If I Do. Though Never Released In The U.S. The First Single "I Just Wanna Be Loved" UK #4 Was Featured On A Compilation Based Around The Storytellers Performance. The Band Went On To Tour For A Few More Years. Recently However Culture Club Has Been Inactive Largely Due To Boy George's Concentration On His Successful Career As A DJ. In Late 2006 Culture Club Announced A Reunion - Albeit Without Boy George As Lead Singer.
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Biography - Culture Club
Culture Club Was A Popular 1980s Pop Group Perhaps Most Noticeable For Their Gender-Bending Frontman George O'Dowd Known By His Stage Name Boy George. The Other Members Of The Band Were Roy Hay On Guitars And Keyboards Mikey Craig Playing Bass And Jon Moss Ex Damned London Adam And The Ants On Drums. Their First Album 1982's Kissing To Be Clever Became A Major International Hit Spawning The Hit Singles "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" Which Went 'all The Way' In The BBC-Charts In Late 1982 "Time Clock Of The Heart " And "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". Unique In His Eccentric Manner Of Dress And Androgynous Look Boy George Became A Worldwide Celebrity. Their Second Album 1983's Colour By Numbers Also Did Extremely Well Giving The Band Its Second Number One Hit In The UK With "Karma Chameleon." Karma Chameleon Reached No.1 In Many Countries And They Even Starred In UK's Top Of The Pops In September 1983. However Trouble Was Brewing Within The Culture Club Camp. Unknown To The Public George Was Having An Affair With Drummer Jon Moss. The Affair Which Lasted Over Four Years Was Often Problematic And The Pressure To Hide The Relationship Started To Take Its Toll. The Band Also Started To Lose Its Place Musically. Their Next Album 1984's Waking Up With The House On Fire Was A Major Disappointment. Though The Band Gained A Small Comeback With 1986's From Luxury To Heartache Thanks To The Hit "Move Away" Both George's And Jon's Fights Created Much Tension Eventually Leading To The Breakup Of The Band. Around This Time George Also Became Addicted To Heroin Which Created A Frenzy With The Tabloids. Eventually George Would Let Go Of The Habit And Begin His Solo Career. A Minor Hit From The "Hiding Out" Soundtrack Called "Live My Life" Peaked At U.S. #40. While George Scored Several Hits In Europe And Finally Hit The U.S. Top 20 With 1992's "The Crying Game" He Was Never Able To Reach The Success He Achieved With Culture Club. In 1998 The Band Put Their Problems Aside And Decided To Do A Reunion Tour. Kicked Off With A Performance On VH1 Storytellers The Tour Was A Major Success. Shortly After Culture Club Recorded A New Album Titled Don't Mind If I Do. Though Never Released In The U.S. The First Single "I Just Wanna Be Loved" UK #4 Was Featured On A Compilation Based Around The Storytellers Performance. The Band Went On To Tour For A Few More Years. Recently However Culture Club Has Been Inactive Largely Due To Boy George's Concentration On His Successful Career As A DJ. In Late 2006 Culture Club Announced A Reunion - Albeit Without Boy George As Lead Singer.
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AllMusic 2/5 Stars
Robert Christgau B Rolling Stone 2/5 Stars Reviews For Waking Up With The House On Fire Have Been Fairly Negative. In Smash Hits Magazine Reviewer Tom Hibbert Stated The Album Was "a Disaster Of Mediocrity" And That The Majority Of The Tracks Were "a Characterless Stodge Of Bland Blue-Eyed Soul Slouching Rhythms Pedestrian Horns And Nonchalant Vocals..." AllMusic's Lindsay Planer Retrospectively Rated The Album Two Out Of Five Stars. He Noted That "overexposure In The Media The Ever-Changing Tides And Trends Of Pop Music And Quite Frankly A Less Than Laudable Collection Of Songs Resulted In Receiving A Less Than Enthusiastic Response." He Also Explained That It "was In No Way Aided By The Irony-Laden Yet Undeniable Banality Of The Emphasis Track "The War Song." However He Stated "Two Of The More Interesting Cuts Are The Vintage R&B "Crime Time" And The Upbeat And Soulful "Mannequin " Blending Beach Boys-Esque Vocal Harmonies With A Distinctly Carolina Beach And Shag Flavour." Robert Christgau Rated It A B Stating "Since I Had Even Less Use For The Dismissive Because-He-Wears-Dresses Theory Than For The Ridiculous New-Smokey Analysis I Could Never Figure Out Means Of Commercial Propulsion." He Also Stated That "this Calls For Concerted Protest – Which Might Be Easier To Whip Up If The Latest Album Weren't Part Three Of More-Of-The-Same."
Published: 06 Jun 2019, 13:44
Waking Up With The House On Fire Is The Third Album By The English New Wave Group Culture Club Released On 25 October 1984. The Album Peaked At No.2 On The UK Albums Chart Becoming The Band's Third Top Five Album. Overview The First Single "The War Song " Became A No. 2 Hit In The UK And A Top 20 Hit In The US In Late 1984. However The Album Did Not Achieve The Level Of Success Expected. While Waking Up With The House On Fire Reached Platinum Status In Both The UK And The US It Was Considered To Be A Disappointment Compared To The Success Of The Group's Previous Album Colour By Numbers 1983 . It Sold Approximately Five Million Copies Worldwide Being Certified Gold Or Platinum In Many Countries And Earning Double Platinum Status In Canada. The Other Two Singles Were "The Medal Song" #32 In UK With Its B-Side "Don't Go Down That Street" Being Released As A Single From A Subsequent EP In Japan But Only Reaching No. 69 In The Charts And "Mistake No.3" #33 In US . In Mexico "Don't Talk About It" Was Released As A Single. On The VH1 Program Behind The Music The Narrator States "Today The Band Admits The Album Was A Hurried And Halfhearted Effort." Some Music Insiders Also Feel That Culture Club And Lead Singer Boy George May Have Fallen Victim To Overexposure In Both The British And American Press By The End Of 1984. Subsequently Culture Club Decided To Change Direction For The Next Album From Luxury To Heartache By Choosing A New Producer And Moving In A Dance-Oriented Direction. In 2008 The Album Was Re-Released In Japan As A Special Collector "mini-LP" Edition A CD In A Cardboard Sleeve Featuring Booklets As A Miniature Version Of The Original Vinyl Album . The Album's Cover Can Be Seen In The 2008 Film Sex And The City As Part Of Carrie Bradshaw's Collection Of LPs From The 1980s. Reception Smash Hits 4/10 StarsAllMusic 2/5 Stars
Robert Christgau B Rolling Stone 2/5 Stars Reviews For Waking Up With The House On Fire Have Been Fairly Negative. In Smash Hits Magazine Reviewer Tom Hibbert Stated The Album Was "a Disaster Of Mediocrity" And That The Majority Of The Tracks Were "a Characterless Stodge Of Bland Blue-Eyed Soul Slouching Rhythms Pedestrian Horns And Nonchalant Vocals..." AllMusic's Lindsay Planer Retrospectively Rated The Album Two Out Of Five Stars. He Noted That "overexposure In The Media The Ever-Changing Tides And Trends Of Pop Music And Quite Frankly A Less Than Laudable Collection Of Songs Resulted In Receiving A Less Than Enthusiastic Response." He Also Explained That It "was In No Way Aided By The Irony-Laden Yet Undeniable Banality Of The Emphasis Track "The War Song." However He Stated "Two Of The More Interesting Cuts Are The Vintage R&B "Crime Time" And The Upbeat And Soulful "Mannequin " Blending Beach Boys-Esque Vocal Harmonies With A Distinctly Carolina Beach And Shag Flavour." Robert Christgau Rated It A B Stating "Since I Had Even Less Use For The Dismissive Because-He-Wears-Dresses Theory Than For The Ridiculous New-Smokey Analysis I Could Never Figure Out Means Of Commercial Propulsion." He Also Stated That "this Calls For Concerted Protest – Which Might Be Easier To Whip Up If The Latest Album Weren't Part Three Of More-Of-The-Same."