From Luxury to Heartache

Infobox Album |
Name = From Luxury to Heartache
Type = Album
Artist = Culture Club


Released = April 1986
Recorded = 1986
Genre = New Wave
Length = 36:52
Label = Virgin, Epic (US)
Producer = Arif Mardin, Lew Hahn
Reviews =
* Robert Christgau (C) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Culture+Club link]
* Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:tgue4j470wat~T1 link]
Last album = "Waking Up with the House on Fire"
(1984)
This album = "From Luxury to Heartache"
(1986)
Next album = "Don't Mind If I Do"
(1999)

"From Luxury to Heartache" is an album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). "From Luxury to Heartache" was a deliberate departure for Culture Club, a move away from the reggae-flavoured pop of their previous releases into dance-oriented music. Veteran pop and R&B producer Arif Mardin, replaced Steve Levine, in a bid to revitalise the band's sound. Due to lead singer Boy George's growing addiction to drugs, recordings dragged on for so long that Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. Songs like "Gusto Blusto" and "Reasons" took days for the addicted singer to finish.

Following the release of the album, rumours of George's heroin addiction began to circulate in the tabloids, and by the summer of 1986, he announced that he was indeed addicted to drugs. In July, he was arrested by the British police for possession of cannabis. Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who played on the album and had co-written "Sexuality" with George, was found dead of a heroin overdose in George's home.

Despite selling a little less than a million records worldwide and chart success with the opening track "Move Away", Boy George decided for a solo career within a year of the album's release. "God Thank You Woman" was the second single in UK but only reached #31 in the chart while in the US "Gusto Blusto" was chosen, but didn't chart (the single didn't have a video and probably this is the reason that it did not enter the US chart).The next single "Heaven's Children" was planned to be released in July after the lack of success of "God Thank You Woman" but the release was cancelled. The band reformed in 1990 and in 1998.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Culture Club

# "Move Away" – 4:21
# "I Pray" – 4:00
# "Work On Me Baby" – 4:06
# "Gusto Blusto" – 4:40
# "Heaven's Children" – 4:44
# "God Thank You Woman" – 4:14
# "Reasons" – 4:35
# "Too Bad" – 4:36
# "Come Clean" – 3:20
# "Sexuality" – 5:28

Bonus tracks on CD

# "Move Away" (Extended) – 7:25
# "God Thank You Woman" (Extended) – 7:03
# "Sexuality" (Extended) – 10:34

Personnel

* Boy George – vocals
* Mikey Craig – bass guitar
* Roy Hay – guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
* John Moss – percussion, drums
* Michael Rudetsky – keyboards
* Phil Pickett – keyboards, background vocals
* Lewis Hahn – Recorder
* Helen Terry – backing vocals
* Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals
* David Lasley – backing vocals
* Wendell Morrison – backing vocals
* Ruby Turner – backing vocals

Production

* Arif Mardin – Producer
* Lewis Hahn – Producer, mixing
* George Marino – Mastering
* Jon Moss – Digital mixing
* Michael O'Reilly – Engineer
* Martin Pearson – Engineer
* David Richards – Engineer
* Tony Gordon – Management

Charts

Album

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007VWRD0 Amazon.com review]
* [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,2684379,00.html Artist Direct review]
* [http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=60506785&loc=109&sp=1 Buy.com review]
* [http://rateyourmusic.com/view_album_details/album_id_is_3049 Rate Your Music review]