Culture Club in roadshow comeback

Culture Club before the split

Boy George and Culture Club received a rapturous reception on Thursday when they played their first UK date for 14 years.

The band, who reached the height of their pop fame in the early 1980s, played a 12-minute set on the Radio One Roadshow in Newquay, Cornwall.

Although the group have been out of the public eye for over a decade, George said: "I have been making records since I left the group, I toured extensively and have been a successful DJ.

"So for me this is continuing something we did not finish."

Dressed in a black suit, outsized grey tweed hat, dreadlocks, and trainers with a Union flag decoration, he added: "I do not think there is anything weird about us doing it again."

Culture Club's bill-topping performance went out live to five million Radio One listeners.

"It is great to be back," George told the roadshow crowd, before showcasing the group's new single, I Just Wanna Be Loved.

And before launching into their huge 1980s hit Karma Chameleon, George told the crowd: "Most of you do not look old enough to remember this song."

The band have just returned from a seven-week sell-out tour of the United States, and plan to return there after touring the UK with ABC and the Human League for 10 dates, starting on December 9 in Cardiff.

On stage with George were drummer John Moss, keyboard player Ray Hay and guitarist Mickey Craig.

Moss said: "We have never really been away - we just stopped working for a while."