Culture Club To Reform Without Boy George

06/23/06 6:00pm

Boy George fronted Culture Club for their 20th anniversary reunion concert DVD recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England in 2002, but the British band are now talking of reforming again without their iconic singer.

Group members Jon Moss, Mikey Craig and Phil Pickett are looking for three or four young singers to join the new incarnation of the group in place of Boy George (real name George O'Dowd). Manager Tony Gordon has posted an online recruitment ad to try and come up with the right combination, and it's hoped that the new lineup will be unveiled at a party in London next month.

A reality television show, writing new songs and a world tour are apparently in the works for the revamped band, who gained international stardom in the '80s for their video-friendly flamboyance and such irresistible pop hits as "Karma Chameleon," "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me," "Time (Clock Of The Heart)," "Church Of The Poison Mind," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and "The War Song."

The cross-dressing Boy George developed a serious heroin addiction and the band broke up in 1986. He went on to a solo career that was highlighted by "The Crying Game" from the 1992 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name. He also published an autobiography titled Take It Like A Man, has done a lot of DJing and created a clothing line called B. Rude.

Culture Club first reunited in 1998 to record the two-disc set, VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Hits, but the group didn't remain together. A four-disc box set was released in December 2002, a few months before the reunion concert DVD came out. That reunion didn't last, either.

While Boy George's original musical career aside from his DJing has largely been stagnant for well over a decade, the 45-year-old has still managed to make occasional headlines through fights, drug arrests and other legal run-ins. An arrest warrant was issued for Boy George earlier this month after he failed to show up for a scheduled court hearing in New York City in connection to that last incident.