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"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
Single by Culture Club
from the album Kissing to Be Clever
B-side	"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me (Dub version)" (7") "Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)" (12")
Released	6 September 1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	New wave blue-eyed soul reggae lovers rock
Length	4:22 3:41 (MTV video edit)
Label	Virgin Epic
Songwriter(s)	Boy George Mikey Craig Roy Hay Jon Moss
Producer(s)	Steve Levine
Culture Club singles chronology
"Mystery Boy" (1982) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (1982) "Time (Clock of the Heart)" (1982)
Music video
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" on YouTube

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, Kissing to Be Clever (1982), this ballad was the band's first major hit and 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 magazine, and held at No. 2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March and April 1983. The single hit No. 1 in Canada. It was also number one in Australia. In the UK, it was the fifth best-selling single of 1982, selling 882 440 copies.

This was Culture Club's first major success, after their first two releases at the Virgin Records label, "White Boy" and "I'm Afraid of Me", charted lower in the UK at No. 114 and No. 100 respectively. Producer Steve Levine 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 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, which resulted in Boy George'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 pulled out.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic 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, 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.

Music video

The original accompanying music video for the song played in the UK and other Countries other than the USA/Canada was directed by Julien Temple, featured lead singer Boy George on trial in a courtroom (filmed in Islington Town Hall Council Chamber), with flashbacks to the Gargoyle Club, Soho in 1936 and the Dolphin Square Health Club, Pimlico in 1957. Some scenes were filmed at the Hornsey Road swimming baths in Islington, which later closed in 1991. The jury was in blackface making jazz hands gestures.

However, because "blackface" is considered a racist stereotypical trope in the USA, the video was edited for MTV USA which edited the video by removing all "blackface" and "judges wearing wigs" which is not done in the USA, and was instead replaced by shots of Boy George played backwards as he walked out of a pool becoming dry as he ascended from the stairs. . 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

Charts

Sales and certifications

Covers

The song has been covered by such artists as Violent Femmes, but with altered lyrics, and Adam Lambert.

A cover by American musicians Karma Fields and Shey Baba was released on 23 September 2020.

Blue Lagoon version

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
Single by Blue Lagoon
from the album Club Lagoon
Released	13 February 2005
Length	3:29
Label	Kon$um, SME
Songwriter(s)	Michael Craig, Roy Hay, Jon Moss,George O'Dowd
Producer(s)	Felix J. Gauder
Blue Lagoon singles chronology
"Break My Stride" (2004) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (2005) "Heartbreaker" (2005)

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

1. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (radio edit) – 3:29
2. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (extended version) – 4:59

Charts

References

1. ^ Harrington, Jim (2015). "Culture Club - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 500.
2. Matos, Michaelangelo (8 December 2020). "Island Records, London: May 8, 1984". Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year. Hachette Books. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-306-90337-3.
3. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Culture Club". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 99–100. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
4. "12 Best Boy George Songs of All Time (Greatest Hits)". 29 July 2023.
5. "Hip-hop pioneers Ultramagnetic MCS released Critical Beatdown on this day in 1988".
6. "Missouri wrestlers tune out Baker". 15 November 2012.
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10. ^ "In The Mix - 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me'". New Sounds Magazine. 18 May 2019.
11. ^ "Flashback: October 1982". The Guardian. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
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14. MTV (USA) Archives
15. "Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June, and 2017.
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20. "Danish Charts Archive?". 11 November 2009.
21. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Culture Club". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 54. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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36. "Offiziellecharts.de – Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
37. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 17 July 2008)
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42. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
43. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
44. "Top 100 Singles of 1983 – Volume 39, No. 17, December 24 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
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57. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", by Blue Lagoon, Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 8 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 17 July 2008)

• 1982 songs
• 1982 singles
• 1991 singles
• 2005 singles
• 1980s ballads
• 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
• New wave ballads
• 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
• British reggae songs
• LGBTQ-related songs
• Virgin Records singles
• Epic Records singles
• Sony Music singles
• Music videos directed by Julien Temple
• Soul ballads
• Blackface minstrelsy