''From Luxury to Heartache'' is the fourth album by the British pop group Culture Club, released in April 1986. It was the last studio album released by Culture Club until 1999's ''

Don't Mind If I Do ''Don't Mind If I Do'' is the fifth album by the British new wave band Culture Club, released in 1999 by Virgin Records. The album was released only in Europe and Japan, though some promo copies also circulated in Australia. Overview ''Don't ...

''.

Background

''From Luxury to Heartache'' was produced by veteran pop and R&B producer

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...

, who replaced Steve Levine, the producer of Culture Club's previous three albums, in a bid to revitalise the band's sound. Due to lead singer

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

's growing addiction to drugs, recordings dragged on for so long that Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. The final credit on the album gave production credit to both Mardin and Hahn on all tracks. Songs like "Gusto Blusto" and "Reasons" took days for the addicted singer to finish. Following the release of the album, rumours of George's heroin addiction began to circulate in the press and in British and US tabloids, and by the summer of 1986, he announced that he was indeed addicted to drugs. In July, he was arrested for possession of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

. Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who played on the album and had co-written "Sexuality" with George, was found dead from a heroin

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

in George's home.

Commercial performance and single releases

Lead single "

Move Away "Move Away" is a song by British band Culture Club, issued as the lead single from their fourth album, '' From Luxury to Heartache'' (1986). The song was produced by Lew Hahn and Arif Mardin. Released in March 1986, it became the group's eight ...

" became a hit in several countries around the world. However, also around this time, media reports of lead singer

's drug abuse were starting to surface from the media. "God Thank You Woman" was the second single released from the album in Europe and Asia, it peaked at number 31 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, while in North and South America "Gusto Blusto" was chosen as a single, but it failed to chart on the US Hot 100. A fourth single, "Heaven's Children", was planned to be released in July 1986, but was cancelled. Within a year of the album's release, the band broke up and Boy George embarked on a solo career, making this the last Culture Club album until 1999's ''

''.

Track listing

CD bonus tracks: #"Move Away" (Extended) – 7:25 # "God Thank You Woman" (Extended) – 7:03 # "Sexuality" (Extended) – 10:34

Personnel

Culture Club

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Mikey Craig –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Roy Hay –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

electric sitar An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditiona ...

* Jon Moss –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, drums

Additional musicians

* Michael Rudetsky – keyboards *

Phil Pickett Philip Stuart Pickett (born 19 November 1946) is an English songwriter, musician, vocal arranger, producer and artist manager. He is principally known as a songwriter and musician and for co-writing and recording " Karma Chameleon", one of the ...

– keyboards, background vocals * Lewis Hahn – recorder *

Helen Terry Helen Terry (born 25 May 1956) is a British singer and television producer, known for her backing vocal work with Culture Club. As a solo performer, she scored a Top 40 hit single in 1984 with "Love Lies Lost", and released one album in 1986, ' ...

– backing vocals * Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals * Wendell Morrison – backing vocals *

Ruby Turner Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Ame ...

– backing vocals

Production

* Arif Mardin – producer * Lewis Hahn – producer, mixing * George Marino – mastering * Jon Moss – digital mixing * Michael O'Reilly – engineer * Martin Pearson – engineer * David Richards – engineer * Tony Gordon – management

Charts

Album

Singles

Release details

References

External links

Amazon.com review

Buy.com review

Rate Your Music review
{{Authority control 1986 albums Culture Club albums Virgin Records albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin