Do you really want to buy me? Boy George lists his six-bedroom Grade II-listed gothic Hampstead mansion for £17m following three-year renovation which saw him embroiled in a battle with the council over planning permission

• The Culture Club singer, 61, has lived alone at the home for almost 40 years – he bought it in 1989 in the mid-1980s following the release of the band’s hit single Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? 
• It recently underwent an ambitious three-year renovation which saw the singer embroiled in a battle with Camden Council over planning permission to extend the property and let in more light
• The property, listed by Aston Chase, covers 5,453 square feet, with five of the six bedrooms – coming complete with their own dressing rooms and bathrooms
• One room features a giant skylight in place of a traditional ceiling – there’s also a meditation room and cinema room 
• The Daily Mail’s Sebastian Shakespeare previously reported that Boy undertook a stunning £100,000 revamp of the gardens

Boy George has listed the Grade II-listed gothic and Italian-inspired Hampstead mansion for £17m. 

The Culture Club singer, 61, has lived alone at the home for almost 40 years – he  bought it in the mid-1980s following the release of the band’s hit single Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

The six-bedroom mansion, which Boy George, [George O’Dowd] has covered in religious artefacts and expensive artworks, was built in 1868.

Moving on: Boy George has listed his six-bedroom Grade II-listed gothic Hampstead mansion for £17m following a three-year renovation which saw him embroiled in a battle with the council over planning permission

It underwent an ambitious three-year renovation which first saw the singer embroiled in a battle with Camden Council over planning permission to extend the property and let in more light before a compromise was reached.

Boy George, said to be worth £41.8million, rented a flat in Soho while the works took place.

Result! The Culture Club singer, 61, has lived alone at the home for almost 40 years – he bought it the mid-1980s

The property, listed by Aston Chase, covers 5,453 square feet, with five of the six bedrooms – come complete with their own dressing rooms and bathrooms. One room features a giant skylight in place of a traditional ceiling. 

There’s also a meditation room and cinema room. 

The home has been decorated in a flamboyant style, there’s a cast of David Bowie’s face, a Mr Brainwash piece on Kate Moss and records mounted in frames.

A piece which sits next to his bed, depicts a well-endowed naked man.  

In 2021, the Daily Mail’s Sebastian Shakespeare reported that Boy George oversaw a stunning £100,000 revamp of the gardens at his home.  

He needed consent to re-landscape the gardens because of the home’s listed status, which lies in a conservation area. 

His planning agent said at the time: ‘The proposals have been developed to provide a scheme sympathetic to the historic fabric and character of the property and to the broader conservation area.’ 

Colourful: The property covers 5,453 square feet and is covered in artworks and religious artefacts

I’ll Tumble 4 Ya: George is a household name after finding fame with pop group Culture Club during the 1980s (pictured onstage at Wembley Arena in 1984)

As Boy George sells his lavish Hampstead home, are Culture Club still singing in the Church of the Poison Mind… or are they Victims of their own success? 

 BOY GEORGE

After originally leaving the band in 1986, principal songwriter George enjoyed a successful solo career following the release of debut single Everything I Own the following year. To date he has released 12 solo albums while also working as an established DJ. 

Famed for his androgynous sense of style and heavy use of make-up, George did not publicly discuss his sexuality until the 1995 release of his autobiography, Take It Like A Man, in which he confirmed he was gay.  

JON MOSS

The band’s drummer and George’s secret lover during their early years,  Moss formed Heartbeat UK following the dissolution of Culture Club. He would also dabble in the late ’80s acid house scene before releasing music in the 1990s with bands Promised Land and Yeah. 

He is father of three with ex-wife Barbara Savage, who also owns a property close to George in north London. 

 

MIKEY CRAIG

Following the band’s separation, bass player Craig attempted to strike out as a solo artist with the 1988 release of debut single In 1988, he released a solo single I’m A Believer. However the track failed to make an impact on the UK top 40 and would be his only release away from Culture Club. 

Throughout the ’90s he Craig launched his own dance label, SLAMM records, serving as executive producer on hits by Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Mankey. 

He has also performed with Kid Creole and the Coconuts. 

ROY HAY

After leaving Culture Club Hay formed This Way Up to moderate success, releasing singles Tell Me Why, If I Can’t Have You and Louise in 1987. Debut album Feeling Good About It was released the same year. 

In 1989 he moved to Los Angeles and began writing and developing music for up-and-coming artists before branching into composition work. 

To date he has worked with the legendary Hans Zimmerman and is responsible for scoring music for TV shows Cracker and The Dead Zone. 

 

Iconic: (Clockwise from top left) Culture Club stars Boy George, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss at the height of their fame in 1983

Where the magic happens: Five of the six bedrooms – come complete with their own dressing rooms and bathrooms – and one room features a giant skylight in place of a traditional ceiling

He included a ‘stepped water feature with reflection pool’.  

The star, who grew up in Eltham, South London, previously merged two neighbouring properties to form his current home.

George previously battled addiction to heroin and other substances for more than two decades and after battling his demons, he told The Guardian: ‘London is my home, I feel most sane when I’m here.’

He told Yahoo in 2015: ‘I got sober in 2008. March the 2nd, 2008. I know the date exactly. I always think of that day as ‘the day that I became sane”.’

Wow! The star, who grew up in Eltham, South London, previously merged two neighbouring properties to form his current home – he had three years of renovations which saw this glass extension added which provided more light in the property 

Extravagant: George frequently shares photos of himself in the spacious property across social media, primarily Instagram  

A place of calm: The bathrooms are decorated in a chic minimal style

‘I planned to be sane at 40, but it took seven more years of research for me to reach a point where I was like, “OK, this is not working”.’ 

‘I have to say that things have got increasingly better and better and better the longer I’ve been sober.’

George’s first plans for the home were rejected by the council around seven years ago before a compromise was made. 

According to ES: Documents filed in 2013 by Soho-based Syte Architects penned: ‘The house does not benefit from a great deal of natural light into its interior.

‘Its frontage is orientated to the north-east. The rear has a southwesterly orientation but a combination of factors mean that the interior often suffers from poor levels and quality of natural lighting.’ 

‘The proposed extension has been designed to create living spaces with a greater sense of connection to the garden and better levels of natural light. These spaces will have a different atmosphere and character to the internal spaces in the existing house.’

Home sweet home: George poses in one of the rooms at his sprawling Hampstead home during a photoshoot in 2002 

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