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Cheapness and Beauty

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Cheapness and Beauty
Studio album by
Boy George
Released29 August 1995
Recorded1993–95
StudioSarm Hook End Studios
GenreRock[1]
Length50:20
LabelVirgin
ProducerJessica Corcoran,
John Themis (5, 6 & 13)
Boy George chronology
The Martyr Mantras
(1990) 		'''Cheapness and Beauty'''
(1995) 		The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[2]
NME6/10[3]
Spin5/10[4]
Vibe(favorable)[5]
The Village Voice(choice cut)[6]

Cheapness and Beauty is the fifth studio album by English singer and songwriter Boy George, released in 1995. It peaked at number 44 on the UK Albums Chart.

Background

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Having scored his biggest solo success in the US and Canada with the theme song for the movie The Crying Game in 1992, George decided to move away from an electronic sound and record some rock-oriented tracks with a glam-rock edge. One of the reasons he cited for this move was revisiting his teenage years while writing his autobiography, Take It Like a Man, which was released around the same time as the album.[7] The album also marked the first time in which George didn't hide his gay sexuality in the lyrics. The tracks "Genocide Peroxide" and "Il Adore" were both later featured in the musical Taboo.

Singles

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The album opens with a cover version of Iggy Pop's "Funtime", which was released as a single and reached number 45 in the UK Singles Chart. Another single was the ballad "Il Adore" which peaked at number 50, and "Same Thing in Reverse", which reached number 56 in the UK and number 28 on the US Billboard Dance Charts.

Track listing

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All tracks composed by George O'Dowd (Boy George) and John Themis; except where indicated

  1. "Funtime" – 3:05 (Iggy Pop, David Bowie)
  2. "Satan's Butterfly Ball" – 3:03
  3. "Sad" – 3:52
  4. "God Don't Hold a Grudge" – 2:49
  5. "Genocide Peroxide" – 3:44
  6. "If I Could Fly" – 4:04
  7. "Same Thing in Reverse" – 3:33
  8. "Cheapness and Beauty" – 3:59
  9. "Evil Is So Civilised" – 3:32
  10. "Your Love Is What I Am" – 4:12
  11. "Blindman" – 4:42
  12. "Unfinished Business" – 3:33
  13. "Il Adore" – 6:12

Personnel

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  • Boy George – lead vocals
  • John Themis – guitar, vocals and musical director
  • Winston Blisset – bass guitar
  • Tansay Ibrahim – drums
  • Mike Timothy – keyboards
  • Lady Zee, Linda Duggan, Stefan Frank – other vocals
  • Luís Jardim – ethnic percussion on track 11
  • Hossam Ramzy – mandolin
  • Martin Bell – extra drums
  • Uli Webber – cover picture
  • Jessica Corcoran – production
  • John Themis – production on tracks 5, 6 and 13

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 115
UK Albums Chart[9] 44

References

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  1. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Cheapness & Beauty – Boy George | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  2. ^ Browne, David (8 September 1995). "Music Review: 'Cheapness & Beauty'". EW.com.
  3. ^ Patterson, Sylvia (3 June 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ LLC, SPIN Media (October 1995). "Records". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. p. 117.
  5. ^ Group, Vibe Media (September 1995). "Boy George". Vibe. Vibe Media Group. p. 176. {{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help)[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (20 February 1996). "Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide Feb. 20, 1996". The Village Voice.
  7. ^ Boy George with Spencer Bright (1995), Take It Like A Man, London, Sidgwick & Jackson
  8. ^ "Boy George ARIA chart history received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 19 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  9. ^ "Boy George - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Retrieved 26 April 2017.
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