Church of the Poison Mind

"Church of the Poison Mind"
Single by Culture Club
from the album Colour by Numbers
B-side	"Man Shake", "Mystery Boy", "I'll Tumble 4 Ya"
Released	1983
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1983
Genre	New Wave
Length	3:30
Label	Virgin Records Epic Records (US)
Writer(s)	Culture Club
Producer	Steve Levine
Certification	Gold (US, Canada)
Culture Club singles chronology
"I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (1983) "Church of the Poison Mind" (1983) "Karma Chameleon" (1983)

"Church of the Poison Mind" is a 1983 hit single for Culture Club. It was the first single to be released from their second album Colour by Numbers.

The song is appreciated^{[by whom?]} partly for its Motown feel, indeed the opening of "Church of the Poison Mind" sounds similar to Stevie Wonder's hit, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" . The harmonica solo was played by Jud Lander.^[1]

The song reached #2, being kept off the top spot by David Bowie's "Let's Dance".^[2] It was a Top 10 hit in Canada and the US. In the latter it was still climbing the charts when "Karma Chameleon" was released elsewhere, and subsequently became a huge hit. This prompted Epic Records to release "Karma" ahead of schedule. In many countries its b-side was the heavily-percussive street song "Man Shake" and in some others, such as the USA, it was the song "Mystery Boy". Both songs were on the 12" in many countries, except Canada where it was issued with an extended version of previous hit "I'll Tumble 4 Ya".

In this single, Helen Terry became famous as the female backup singer with such a powerful voice.^[3]

Track listing

7"

A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "Man Shake"

(Released in UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden)

A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "Mystery Boy"

(Released in Peru, USA.)

12"

A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B1. "Mystery Boy"
B2. "Man Shake"

(Released at least in UK, Australia, Germany, Greece (different cover), Italy, Mexico.)

A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (extended dance mix)

(Released in Canada.)

References

1. ^ http://www.juddlander.co.uk/about.htm
2. ^ http://www.everyhit.com/retros/index.php?page=rchart&y1=1983&m1=04&day1=2&y2=1983&m2=04&day2=2&sent=1
3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHi-aY0goN0