Early jail release for Boy George

The star was jailed for 15 months in January this year

Singer Boy George has been released from prison four months into a 15 month sentence for falsely imprisoning a male escort at his London home.

The former Culture Club singer, who was jailed in January, left Edmunds Hill Prison in Suffolk on Monday.

He was greeted by friends and waved to waiting media before being driven home.

The 47-year-old, whose real name is George O'Dowd, is expected to wear an electronic tag during the remaining 11 months of his sentence.

The singer was convicted of false imprisonment after admitting handcuffing Norwegian Audun Carlsen to a wall in April 2007.

The star said he did so because Mr Carlsen had allegedly stolen photographs from a laptop.

Boy George shot to fame in the early 1980s as the flamboyant lead singer with Culture Club, enjoying a string of hits including Karma Chameleon.

With the group, he notched up seven British and nine American Top 10 hits and sold more than 50 million records.

The singer then launched a solo career before reinventing himself as a DJ.

In 2006 he was given community service in New York after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his apartment in the city.