"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...

. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, '' Kissing to Be Clever'' (1982), it was the band's first UK No. 1 hit. In the United States, the single was released in November 1982 and also became a hit, reaching No. 2 for three weeks.

Release

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" was the third single released in Europe by Culture Club and their debut release in the United States and Canada. The song became a UK No. 1 single for three weeks in October 1982. It entered the American Pop chart the week ending 4 December 1982, hit No. 1 in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' magazine, and held at No. 2 for three weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in March and April 1983 (kept from the No. 1 spot by the massive success of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

"). The single hit No. 1 in Canada. It was also number one in Australia. This was Culture Club's first major success, after their first two releases at the

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

label, "White Boy" and "I'm Afraid of Me", charted lower in the UK at No. 114 and No. 100 respectively. Producer

Steve Levine Steve LeVine (born in New York) is a journalist. He writes The Electric, new publicationon batteries, electric vehicles, and their impact on society, cities and geopolitics. He is a senior fellow on the Foresight, Strategy and Risk Initiative at ...

later said: "We felt very strongly that we had a great track with 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' and Virgin agreed." Within a few days of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" being released, David Hamilton on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

played the song as his record of the week. The song rose rapidly in the UK charts after the group's first appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', which resulted in

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 singe ...

's androgynous style of dress and sexual ambiguity making newspaper headlines. The group were only asked to appear on ''Top of the Pops'' the night before the show, after

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

pulled out. In a retrospective review,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" as "a simple masterpiece, resonating with an ache that harked back to the classic torch songs of yesteryear." In 2007, Boy George said that the song was "not just about Culture Club's drummer

Jon Moss Jonathan Aubrey Moss (born 11 September 1957) is an English drummer, best known as a member of the 1980s new wave group Culture Club. He has also played with other bands, including London, the Nips, the Damned and Adam and the Ants. Early ...

, my boyfriend at the time. It was about all the guys I dated at that time in my life." The B-side was a dub version featuring Pappa Weasel in many countries and "You Know I'm Not Crazy" on the US release. On the 12" version of the record, the track "Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)" was also included.

Remixes

The song was remixed by DJs Quivver and Kinky Roland in 1998 for a Culture Club compilation called ''Greatest Moments'' and the single "I Just Wanna Be Loved". It was also remixed and presented on Culture Club's 2002 box set along with the original demo version. Re-released as a

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

remix in France, it was again a top 20 hit in the summer of 2005.

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including '' The Great Rock 'n' Rol ...

, featured lead singer

on trial in a courtroom (filmed in Islington Town Hall Council Chamber), with flashbacks to the Gargoyle Club,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

in 1936 and the

Dolphin Square Dolphin Square is a block of private flats with some ground floor business units near the River Thames in Pimlico, Westminster, London built between 1935 and 1937. Until the building of Highbury Square, it was the most developed garden square i ...

Health Club,

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Victor ...

in 1957. Some scenes were filmed at the Hornsey Road swimming baths in Islington, which later closed in 1991. The jury was in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

making jazz hands gestures. One band member, Mikey Craig, was not in the video, and was replaced by his brother Greg. Boy George wears a shirt with the Hebrew writing "תַּרְבּוּת אֲגֻדָּה" ("Tarbut Agudda"), a literal translation of the individual words "culture" and "association" (probably a mistranslation of "club") in a grammatically incorrect order.

Track listings

* 7-inch :A. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22
:B. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub version) (feat. Pappa Weasel) – 3:38
(Released at least in UK, Canada, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden)
:A. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:23
:B. "You Know I'm Not Crazy" – 3:35
(Released in USA, Mexico) * 12-inch :A1. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22
:A2. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub Version) – 3:38
:B1. "Love Is Cold" (non-album track) – 4:23
(Released at least in UK, Canada (different cover), USA, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands (different cover), Spain) * CD single (1992 re-issue) # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22 # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub Version) – 3:38 # "

Bow Down Mister "Bow Down Mister" is a song written by English singer Boy George, under the pseudonym "Angela Dust", and recorded by his first musical group following his departure from Culture Club, Jesus Loves You. Inspired by a trip George took to India, th ...

" (Sitari Bizarri Mix) – 6:24 (Released in Germany in 1992, to promote the compilation album ''Spin Dazzle'') * CD single (2005 remix) # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (DJ LBR 2005 remix) – 3:59 # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:25 (Released as a remix version in France, to promote the compilation album ''Culture Club 2005 – Singles & Remixes'', with new video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Blue Lagoon version

The song was covered in 2005 by German band Blue Lagoon on its album ''Club Lagoon'' and became a hit in Europe.

Track listings

CD single # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (radio edit) – 3:29 # "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (extended version) – 4:59

Charts

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles 1991 singles 2005 singles Culture Club songs Songs written by Boy George Songs written by Roy Hay (musician) Songs written by Mikey Craig Songs written by Jon Moss Song recordings produced by Steve Levine Blue Lagoon (band) songs Cashbox number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland RPM Top Singles number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles LGBT-related songs Virgin Records singles Epic Records singles Sony Music singles Music videos directed by Julien Temple