Boy George has released an AI-assisted re-recording of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon” as the flagship single for Artist Included, a new music and technology company built around artist-owned alternatives to original master recordings. The track, credited “Karma Chameleon (Artist Included),” came out on 15 June 2026 through a partnership with BMG Rights Management, timed to the singer’s 65th birthday.

Artist Included was founded by entrepreneur Paul “PK” Kemsley, Boy George’s longtime manager, and entertainment attorney and film producer Jeremy Rosen, with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl serving as chairman of the board. Boy George holds the role of creative director. The company’s technology partner, Syntiant, built its model from archival demos and vocal recordings that original “Karma Chameleon” producer Steve Levine had kept since the 1980s and agreed to share for training. Boy George recorded a new vocal take, which Syntiant’s tools then processed to draw the performance back toward the tone of his 1983 voice.

“Karma Chameleon” was the second single from Culture Club’s 1983 album “Colour by Numbers,” spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the UK singles chart. The song has since passed 900 million streams on Spotify and continues to generate sync licensing income, none of which reaches Boy George directly under the terms of Culture Club’s original record deal.

Boy George Karma Chameleon: inside the AI re-recording

Kemsley says that imbalance was the direct catalyst for Artist Included. He points to a recent Virgin anniversary campaign that licensed “Karma Chameleon” for roughly four million dollars across multiple uses, with the payment going to the owners of the master recording and publishing rights. “Four million changed hands,” Kemsley says. “George didn’t get anything at all.”

Boy George describes the finished re-recording as startlingly close to the original session in an interview with Rolling Stone. “When I heard it, I was absolutely gobsmacked,” he says. “It sounds like another take from that original session.” He adds that the process gave him back a level of creative control he had lost over the decades: “It has the sound of me at 22 years old with all the experience of everything that I’ve learned.”

Robert Earl describes Artist Included as a response to the anxiety AI has caused elsewhere in entertainment. “Since AI arrived, the whole creative community has been up in arms and fearful, particularly in the movie world,” he says. “Unauthorized AI is not going to do well. I think it’s a seminal moment; it just might take a little time for people to realize.” The company positions its approach as distinct from unauthorized voice-cloning tools, describing the new “Karma Chameleon” as a new human performance by Boy George rather than a synthetic recreation of one.

For George, the appeal extends past the ownership question. “It’s hard to get excited about something that you don’t control,” he says. “This gives me an opportunity, not just me, but other artists, to have a different relationship with those songs.” Kemsley says Artist Included intends to approach other heritage acts from the 1980s and 1990s whose most valuable recordings remain controlled by record companies, positioning the model as an AI-assisted evolution of the re-recording strategy Taylor Swift used to reclaim her own catalog with the “Taylor’s Version” series.

Here is the original recording:

And this is the 2026 version.

About Boy George and Culture Club

Boy George, born George Alan O’Dowd in Bexley, England, formed Culture Club in London in 1981 alongside bassist Mikey Craig, drummer Jon Moss and guitarist Roy Hay. The band’s 1982 debut album, “Kissing to Be Clever,” produced the international hit “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.” Its 1983 follow-up, “Colour by Numbers,” included “Karma Chameleon,” written by Boy George and Jon Moss, which became the band’s best-selling single. Culture Club split in 1986 and has reunited several times since, including for the 2018 album “Life” and ongoing tour dates with its original lineup.

Side-Line covered the band’s 2016 “Live At Wembley” reunion show when it was released on various formats. Boy George has continued to record and tour as a solo artist and DJ, and in 2024 and 2025 released the “Let The Flowers Grow” duet with Peter Murphy, later issued in remixes by Juno Reactor and Delerium. Artist Included, and the re-recorded “Karma Chameleon” that launched it, marks his first venture built specifically around reclaiming ownership of his catalog through new technology.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy and Boy George release the new digital single “Let The Flowers Grow (Delerium Remix)” today, 23 January 2026, via Metropolis Records. The track is the latest reworking of their 2024 orchestral duet “Let The Flowers Grow“, which was produced by Youth and later added as a bonus track to Murphy’s 2025 solo album “Silver Shade“.

For this new version, the Canadian project, led by Front Line Assembly members Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, deliver a five-minute, six-second remix.

“Let The Flowers Grow” originally began as an unfinished demo by Boy George, which Youth played to Murphy during the sessions for “Silver Shade”, Murphy’s tenth solo studio album and his first since “Lion” (2014). Murphy completed the song with Youth in the studio. The initial message about George’s personal acceptance of being gay was broadened during writing to address race, gender, creed and religion.

This more restrained, ambient-leaning remix contrasts with the earlier psytrance-oriented “Let The Flowers Grow (Juno Reactor Remix)“, released as a separate digital single on 5 December 2025.

About Peter Murphy, Boy George and Delerium

Peter Murphy was born in Northampton, England, in 1957 and first became known as the vocalist of Bauhaus, formed in 1978 with Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins and David J. Bauhaus released early singles such as “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and albums including “In the Flat Field” (1980) and “Mask” (1981) before disbanding in 1983, after which Murphy launched a solo career.

His solo debut “Should the World Fail to Fall Apart” appeared in 1986, followed by “Love Hysteria” (1988) and “Deep” (1989), the latter containing the US alternative hit “Cuts You Up”. Subsequent albums such as “Holy Smoke” (1992), “Cascade” (1995), “Dust” (2002), “Ninth” (2011) and “Lion” (2014) showed shifts between post-punk, art rock and more atmospheric material. After a period focused on touring and occasional Bauhaus reunions, Murphy returned with “Silver Shade” in 2025, again working closely with Youth as producer.

Boy George (George Alan O’Dowd), born in 1961 in the London borough of Bexley, emerged in the early 1980s as part of the New Romantic scene before forming Culture Club with Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss. Culture Club signed to Virgin Records in the UK and Epic Records in North America, releasing the debut album “Kissing to Be Clever” in 1982 and the multi-platinum follow-up “Colour by Numbers” in 1983, which produced worldwide hits such as “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” and “Karma Chameleon”.

From 1987 onward, he has alternated between Culture Club reunions and a solo career that spans pop, dance and electronic releases on labels including Virgin, More Protein and BGP, along with work as a DJ and television personality.

Delerium, who provide the new remix, began in Vancouver in the late 1980s as a side project for Bill Leeb, initially working with Michael Balch before Rhys Fulber became the main partner. Their early output, released via labels such as Dossier and Nettwerk, moved from dark ambient and industrial textures towards more melodic electronic and new age-influenced albums, culminating in international recognition for the 1997 single “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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English singer Peter Murphy and Culture Club frontman Boy George have issued a new digital single, “Let The Flowers Grow (Juno Reactor Remix)”, via Metropolis Records. The track reworks their 2024 orchestral collaboration “Let The Flowers Grow“, originally released as a duet single and later added as a bonus track to Murphy’s 2025 studio album “Silver Shade”.

Brighton-based electronic project Juno Reactor, led by composer and producer Ben Watkins, reshapes the song into a long-form electronic piece that runs just over six and a half minutes. Known for combining electronica, psy-trance, world music and orchestral textures, Juno Reactor brings its characteristic cinematic and global sound to the remix, fusing electronic, tribal and symphonic elements.

“Let The Flowers Grow” was first issued as a digital single on 8 November 2024 through Metropolis Records, with Youth (Killing Joke) producing and co-writing. The song began as a personal reflection on George’s experience of accepting his sexuality, then broadened to address identity across race, gender, creed and religion. The original version was later included as a bonus track on “Silver Shade”, Murphy’s eleventh solo album, which was released on 9 May 2025.

About Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy (born 11 July 1957 in Northampton, England) first came to prominence as vocalist of Bauhaus, the post-punk band he co-founded in 1978 with Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins. Bauhaus’ debut single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979) is widely cited as a foundational goth rock track and was followed by albums such as “In the Flat Field” (1980), “Mask” (1981), “The Sky’s Gone Out” (1982) and “Burning from the Inside” (1983) before the group initially disbanded.

After a one-off project with Mick Karn as Dalis Car and the album “The Waking Hour” (1984), Murphy began a solo career with “Should the World Fail to Fall Apart” (1986) and “Love Hysteria” (1988). His 1989 album “Deep” brought him broader exposure, helped by the single “Cuts You Up”, which entered the US charts. Subsequent records included “Holy Smoke” (1992), “Cascade” (1995), “Dust” (2002), “Ninth” (2011) and “Lion” (2014), the latter also produced by Youth.

Bauhaus reunited for tours in 1998 and again in the mid-2000s, releasing a final studio album, “Go Away White”, in 2008. Murphy has continued solo touring and recording into the 2020s, although a 2025 summer tour for “Silver Shade” was cancelled due to health issues. “Silver Shade”, released on 9 May 2025 via Metropolis Records, is his first studio album in eleven years and includes collaborations with Boy George and Trent Reznor among others.

About Boy George

Boy George (George O’Dowd, born 14 June 1961 in London) is best known as the vocalist of Culture Club, the new wave group he formed with Mikey Craig, Jon Moss and Roy Hay in the early 1980s. The band released hits such as “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, “Karma Chameleon” and “Church of the Poison Mind”, becoming one of the most recognisable UK pop acts of the decade.

Following Culture Club’s initial split in 1986, Boy George launched a solo career with the album “Sold” (1987), which produced several UK chart singles including “Everything I Own”. Further albums in the late 1980s and 1990s followed, while he also worked as a DJ and songwriter. He has continued to record and tour both with Culture Club reunions and as a solo artist, and more recently has prepared a solo album titled “SE18”, scheduled for release in 2025.

About Juno Reactor

Juno Reactor is a long-running electronic and performance project founded by Ben Watkins in 1990. Initially conceived as an art-driven collaborative platform, it developed a hybrid style that merges electronica, psy-trance, tribal percussion, rock instrumentation and orchestral arrangements. The project’s early discography includes the albums “Transmissions” (1993), “Luciana” (1994), “Beyond the Infinite” (1995) and “Bible of Dreams” (1997), followed by releases such as “Shango” (2000), “Labyrinth” (2004) and “The Mutant Theatre” (2017), several of which were released on Metropolis Records.

Juno Reactor’s music has also been used extensively in film and game soundtracks, including major contributions to the scores of “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” in collaboration with composer Don Davis.

Side-Line also covered Juno Reactor’s ‘Mona Lisa Overdrive’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out now via Metropolis Records is the single “Let The Flowers Grow” by Peter Murphy and Boy George. The song was produced and co-written by Youth. Originally written by Boy George, its initial message was one of personal acceptance about being gay. As the song developed, it took on a more expansive and universal scope, its lyrics extending beyond sexuality and embracing race, gender, creed and religion. “With everything going on in the world about identity, it feels very powerful,” he explains.

Murphy recalls: “I was recording my new album in Spain with Youth and, while listening to a playback of a song, I heard another piece of music coming from his mobile phone. It caught my ear for its melodic beauty as well as a Roy Orbison-like voice that was singing it. Upon learning that it was an unfinished demo written by Boy George, I was intrigued and asked Youth if he could work on the partial song. In a matter of twenty minutes, we had ‘Flowers…’ finished.”

“When I heard the mix, I was satiated in every way,” says Boy George. “I have always loved Pete’s voice and his writing on this adds a beautiful darkness. The production feels very epic, like Scott Walker.”

The mutual adoration between the duo has spanned decades. “I first met Boy George when he asked to be allowed backstage to meet Howard Devoto when Bauhaus were supporting Magazine,” recalls Murphy. “He struck me as a super-original, self-styled 17th Century fop. The second time I met him was when we walked into the BBC to do ‘Ziggy Stardust’ on Top of the Pops where Culture Club were also making their debut on the show. George greeted me very warmly and I discovered he was a Bauhaus fan.”

You can download the single below from Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo by annabellalwin.com) The British new wave band Bow Wow Wow is back on tour, joined by The Beat

In 1980, McLaren convinced David Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman to leave Adam Ant and form a new group. After a six-month audition process, 13-year-old Annabella Lwin was selected as the lead singer. Shortly after Lwin joined the group, McLaren added a second lead singer, George Alan O’Dowd, dubbed “Lieutenant Lush”. His stay was short-lived, however. O’Dowd soon formed a new band called Culture Club and went on to superstardom under the name Boy George.

The band signed with EMI Records in 1980 and released their first single, “C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!”. Despite its lack of promotion, it it did well in the charts. In 1981, the band signed with RCA Records and released their first full-length album, “See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah! City All Over, Go Ape Crazy!”, featuring the hit, “Go Wild in the Country”.

The band’s follow-up EP, “The Last of the Mohicans”, included their biggest hit single, “I Want Candy”. Bow Wow Wow released their second full-length album, “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”, in 1983. However, tensions within the group led to Lwin’s firing in September 1983, and the band disbanded shortly after. Small detail, Lwin reportedly learned of her ousting by reading it in NME. Apparently her bandmates lacked the courage to say themselves they were forming the electro band Chiefs Of Relief instead.

Post-breakup, the remaining members formed a new group, Chiefs of Relief, while Lwin pursued a solo career. In 1997, Lwin and Gorman reformed Bow Wow Wow with guitarist Dave Calhoun and drummer Eshan Khadaroo, releasing a compilation CD and embarking on a tour. The band has since continued to perform and record music, including contributing to film soundtracks and tribute albums.

And now they are back on tour, joined by The Beat.

Tour dates

Below are the confirmed tour dates together with The Beat.

About Bow Wow Wow

Bow Wow Wow formed in London in 1980, assembled by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren from three members of Adam and the Ants: guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman and drummer David Barbarossa. McLaren’s talent scout discovered then-13-year-old Myant Myant Aye, who performed under the stage name Annabella Lwin, installing her as lead vocalist. Signed to EMI in July 1980, the band released “C·30, C·60, C·90, Go!,” the first commercially released cassette-only single, followed by the EP “Your Cassette Pet” (1980).

Bow Wow Wow scored a UK top-ten hit with “Go Wild in the Country” (1982) and became widely known for “I Want Candy” (1982), from the album “See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!” (1981/1982). Annabella Lwin’s team has stated that any Bow Wow Wow shows advertised without her, using a substitute singer, run without her knowledge or consent.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo by Glen Burrows) Killing Joke bassist and producer Youth has announced that he will launch a new record label in December 2020.

The Youth Sounds imprint will release a varied array of artists on vinyl, CD and DVD over the next six months and beyond, beginning with “I Have A Voice”, a 12 inch vinyl EP from Vivien Goldman.

It’s a taste of what to expect from Goldman’s label debut album “Next Is Now” which is due early next year. “I Have A Voice” also comes with additional mixes by Youth and Toby Andersen together with a whattodo V’s Massive dub re-work.

More releases in 2021

January and February 2021 will see the release of “Interstellar Energy” an album Youth has recorded with Hawkwind’s Nik Turner, and the Youth Meets Jah Wobble album “Acid Punk Dub Apocalypse” which also includes singers and players such as Hollie Cook, Richard Dudanski, Andrew Weatherall, Nina Walsh, and The Orb’s Alex Paterson.

The label will furthermore release new records from Blue Pearl, Mad Professor, Lee Scratch Perry, Big Paul Ferguson (Killing Joke) and “Youth – Sketch, Drugs & Rock N Roll” The latter is a DVD that charts the life of Youth himself with contributions from Boy George, Paul McCartney, David Gilmour and Alan McGee.

Next Spring will also see the arrival of Youth’s debut album – the first ever solo outing from Youth (aka Martin Glover), the musician, producer and mixer after a genre-bursting career that spans forty years including work with Alien Sex Fiend, Art of Noise, The Charlatans, The Cult, Erasure, Marilyn Manson, The Orb, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Sugarcubes, U2, The Verve etc..

And that’s just a small list of what Youth has been up to. He was for instance – and not many people will know this – also behind Butterfly Records, the label that has produced artists such as Take That, Wet Wet Wet, Tom Jones, The Orb, System 7, Maria McKee and Heather Nova. From gothic icon to popstars, Youth knows all about it.

More info at https://youthsounds.net .

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out now – and available right here – is the “Live At Wembley” recording from ’80s icons Culture Club on DVD, Blu-Ray, and CD. For this show (which took place in 2016), all 4 original band members (Boy George, Jon Moss, Roy Hay and Mikey Craig) reunited for which is supposed to be the band’s final show together at the historic Wembley Arena in London.

Boy George: “We were thrilled to be back home for the final show of such a highly successful reunion tour. Being able to document this show on film before our hometown fans, friends and family, with all the original members of the band, where it all began for us in London in 1981, makes this concert film release that much more special for our fans to enjoy for many years to come.”

The live set includes a string of hits such as “Karma Chameleon,” “It’s A Miracle,” “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” “Church Of The Poison Mind,” and “Miss Me Blind.” Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray include exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with the band members.

Small note for the bootleg insiders, the cover artwork reminds of that infamous bootleg label Imtrat which had the most horrendous ’80s lay-out ever, but good sound quality.

Below is a trailer from the show.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The “Monosynth” compilation offering a selection of analog minimal electro was the very first, now legendary, release on Fabrika in 2011 and it sold out almost immediately. The second part is now ready for ordering (out by mid-March) and again presents you unreleased tracks from an international spectrum of artists, among them some Fabrika signees like She Past Away and Selofan who are joining forces for the first time exclusively for this compilation.

The other artists included are the new Icelandic act Kaelan Mikla, the Mexican cold wave act Rise 1945, the Hungarian minimal electronics of Cipolla Variete, the Greek act Impersonate or Die, the Ukrainian post-punk combo Cold Comfort, the French raw electronic act Noir Boy George, the English Qual (which is actually a Lebanon Hanover sideproject), the new joint-project of Argentinian Volkova with the Croatian artist Lana Popsimonova aka Diktatur, and finally the minimalistic Miami based Nina Belief. 11 tracks in total. Check out the actual track list right here.

This second volume will be pressed in a limited edition of 500 copies and includes a download link and inner sleeve.

Here’s the trailer for the compilation:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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