Colour by Numbers is the second album by the British new wave group Culture Club, released in October 1983. Preceded by the hit single "Karma Chameleon", which reached number one in several countries, the album reached number one in the UK and has sold 10 million copies on 80s. It has been certified triple platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the US. It was ranked number 96 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s.
Colour by Numbers has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide,[2] and like its predecessor, Kissing to Be Clever, contains several hit singles. In the United States, all the album tracks peaked at number three on the US Dance Club Songs chart.[3] "Karma Chameleon" was the signature track from the album and when released as single reached number one in many countries. "Church of the Poison Mind" reached number two in the UK, and went top 10 in the US, Canada, Australia and many European countries. "Miss Me Blind" was released in North America, South America, Japan, and Australia to great success (top five in the US and Canada), "It's A Miracle" became a top 10 or top 20 hit in several markets. "Victims" was released in Europe and Oceania, it was also a top five hit in the UK and Australia, but was not released as a single in the US. "Mister Man" was also released as a single in South Africa.
The album was certified triple Platinum in the UK, Diamond in Canada, and 4× Platinum in the United States where it peaked at number two for six consecutive weeks behind Michael Jackson's Thriller.
In an interview in 1998, the four members of Culture Club agreed that Colour by Numbers was their best work. It was remastered in 2002 and 2003, for the Culture Club box set and for a re-release of the album. In 2005, the album was also released in Japan in a cardboard sleeve, similar to the original vinyl artwork, also featuring the remastered tracks and five bonus songs that were on the 2003 version.
In 2014 Boy George curated a live performance of Colour by Numbers in Manchester[4] in collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Songs were performed by Boy George and guest artists Jimmy Somerville, Eve Gallagher, John Grant, Zee Asha, Hollie Cooke and the Melodico Ensemble.
Reviews for Colour by Numbers have been generally positive. Smash Hits reviewer Peter Martin called it "simply one of the most enjoyable records I've ever heard."[12]Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone said that the album "secures lead singer Boy George's place as a blue-eyed soul balladeer in the first rank." Holden found that it "is by no means a weighty album", but nonetheless "has gobs of emotion plastered as thickly as Boy George's makeup, and ten tunes that stick", and concluded: "Whether you like the band or not, Culture Club is one pop group that matters."[9]Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that "George's warm, well-meaning, slightly clumsy croon signifies most effectively when it has the least to say – when it's most purely a medium for his warm, well-meaning, slightly clumsy self", and that "his real aim in life is to reenact the story of the ugly duckling – and to radiate the kind of extreme tolerance that's so often engendered by extreme sexual ambiguity."[14]Colour by Numbers was ranked at number seven among the "Albums of the Year" for 1983 by NME.[15]
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Jose F. Promis wrote: "The songs were infectious, the videos were all over MTV, and the band was a media magnet." He deemed the album "flamboyant, fun, sexy, soulful, colorful, androgynous, and carefree" like other 1980s music, and concluded by calling it "the artistic and commercial pinnacle of a band that still attracted new fans years later."[5] Scott Shetler of Slant Magazine stated that "Culture Club hit their stride, and the influence of its 10 colorful songs can still be felt today." He said that "its greatness can be measured by the fact that its album tracks are just as good as its singles", and that "in the end, Colour by Numbers is an album that needs no tinkering."[11]
In 1989, Colour by Numbers was ranked at number 96 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s.[16] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17]
Track listing
All tracks composed by O'Dowd/Moss/Craig/Hay, except "Karma Chameleon" and "It's a Miracle" composed by O'Dowd/Moss/Craig/Hay/Pickett.
^ abRockman, Lisa (26 June 2017). "Boy George is bringing the original Culture Club line-up to Newcastle". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
^"Dance Club Songs – January 14, 1984". Billboard. 7 January 1984. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
^"BBC - BBC Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic Presents... Culture Club's Colour by Numbers - BBC Philharmonic Presents... Culture Club's Colour by Numbers".
^ abPromis, Jose F. "Colour by Numbers – Culture Club". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
^. Hung Medien (in German). Archived from the original (ASP) on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
^. RPM. 28 January 1984. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
^. Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Archived from the original (ASP) on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
^ (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
colour, numbers, this, article, about, culture, club, album, artistic, activity, color, numbers, freeze, atlantic, freeze, atlantic, swedish, installation, installation, second, album, british, wave, group, culture, club, released, october, 1983, preceded, sin. This article is about the Culture Club album For the artistic activity see Color by numbers For the Freeze the Atlantic EP see Colour by Numbers Freeze the Atlantic EP For the Swedish art installation see Colour by Numbers art installation Colour by Numbers is the second album by the British new wave group Culture Club released in October 1983 Preceded by the hit single Karma Chameleon which reached number one in several countries the album reached number one in the UK and has sold 10 million copies on 80s It has been certified triple platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the US It was ranked number 96 on Rolling Stone magazine s list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s Colour by NumbersStudio album by Culture ClubReleased10 October 1983Recorded1983StudioRed Bus Studios and CBS Studios London 1 GenreNew waveblue eyed soulLength38 14 57 50 2003 remaster LabelVirgin UK Epic US ProducerSteve LevineCulture Club chronologyKissing to Be Clever 1982 Colour by Numbers 1983 Waking Up with the House on Fire 1984 Singles from Colour by Numbers Church of the Poison Mind Released 1 April 1983 UK October 1983 US Karma Chameleon Released 5 September 1983 UK December 1983 US Victims Released 28 November 1983 UK Miss Me Blind Released 14 February 1984 US It s a Miracle Released April 1984 UK May 1984 US Contents 1 Overview 2 Reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 5 3 Decade end charts 6 Certifications 7 Release details 8 References 9 External linksOverview EditColour by Numbers has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide 2 and like its predecessor Kissing to Be Clever contains several hit singles In the United States all the album tracks peaked at number three on the US Dance Club Songs chart 3 Karma Chameleon was the signature track from the album and when released as single reached number one in many countries Church of the Poison Mind reached number two in the UK and went top 10 in the US Canada Australia and many European countries Miss Me Blind was released in North America South America Japan and Australia to great success top five in the US and Canada It s A Miracle became a top 10 or top 20 hit in several markets Victims was released in Europe and Oceania it was also a top five hit in the UK and Australia but was not released as a single in the US Mister Man was also released as a single in South Africa The album was certified triple Platinum in the UK Diamond in Canada and 4 Platinum in the United States where it peaked at number two for six consecutive weeks behind Michael Jackson s Thriller In an interview in 1998 the four members of Culture Club agreed that Colour by Numbers was their best work It was remastered in 2002 and 2003 for the Culture Club box set and for a re release of the album In 2005 the album was also released in Japan in a cardboard sleeve similar to the original vinyl artwork also featuring the remastered tracks and five bonus songs that were on the 2003 version In 2014 Boy George curated a live performance of Colour by Numbers in Manchester 4 in collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Songs were performed by Boy George and guest artists Jimmy Somerville Eve Gallagher John Grant Zee Asha Hollie Cooke and the Melodico Ensemble Reception EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 5 The Baltimore Sun 6 Number One5 5 7 Record Mirror 8 Rolling Stone 9 The Rolling Stone Album Guide 10 Slant Magazine 11 Smash Hits10 10 12 Spin Alternative Record Guide8 10 13 The Village VoiceB 14 Reviews for Colour by Numbers have been generally positive Smash Hits reviewer Peter Martin called it simply one of the most enjoyable records I ve ever heard 12 Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone said that the album secures lead singer Boy George s place as a blue eyed soul balladeer in the first rank Holden found that it is by no means a weighty album but nonetheless has gobs of emotion plastered as thickly as Boy George s makeup and ten tunes that stick and concluded Whether you like the band or not Culture Club is one pop group that matters 9 Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that George s warm well meaning slightly clumsy croon signifies most effectively when it has the least to say when it s most purely a medium for his warm well meaning slightly clumsy self and that his real aim in life is to reenact the story of the ugly duckling and to radiate the kind of extreme tolerance that s so often engendered by extreme sexual ambiguity 14 Colour by Numbers was ranked at number seven among the Albums of the Year for 1983 by NME 15 In a retrospective review AllMusic s Jose F Promis wrote The songs were infectious the videos were all over MTV and the band was a media magnet He deemed the album flamboyant fun sexy soulful colorful androgynous and carefree like other 1980s music and concluded by calling it the artistic and commercial pinnacle of a band that still attracted new fans years later 5 Scott Shetler of Slant Magazine stated that Culture Club hit their stride and the influence of its 10 colorful songs can still be felt today He said that its greatness can be measured by the fact that its album tracks are just as good as its singles and that in the end Colour by Numbers is an album that needs no tinkering 11 In 1989 Colour by Numbers was ranked at number 96 on Rolling Stone s list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s 16 The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 17 Track listing EditAll tracks composed by O Dowd Moss Craig Hay except Karma Chameleon and It s a Miracle composed by O Dowd Moss Craig Hay Pickett Side one Karma Chameleon 4 11 It s a Miracle 3 25 Black Money 5 19 Changing Every Day 3 17 That s the Way I m Only Trying to Help You 2 45Side two Church of the Poison Mind 3 30 Miss Me Blind 4 30 Mister Man 3 36 Stormkeeper 2 46 Victims 4 552003 CD Bonus tracks Man Shake 2 34 Mystery Boy Suntori Hot Whiskey Song 3 33 Melting Pot live 4 31 Colour by Numbers 3 57 Romance Revisited 5 00 Time Clock of the Heart was included in Japanese vinyl pressings Personnel EditCulture ClubBoy George lead and backing vocals Roy Hay guitars piano electric sitar backing vocals Mike Craig bass guitar backing vocals Jon Moss drums backing vocalsAdditional musiciansJudd Lander harmonica Phil Pickett Hammond organ synthesizers Steve Grainger saxophone Patrick Seymour flute Graham Broad percussion Jermaine Stewart backing vocals Terry Bailey trumpet Helen Terry backing vocals 18 Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1983 1984 PositionAustralian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 19 1Austrian Albums Chart 20 17Canadian RPM Albums Chart 21 1Dutch Mega Albums Chart 22 3Finnish Albums Chart 23 11French SNEP Albums Chart 24 4Japanese Oricon LPs Chart 25 1New Zealand Albums Chart 26 1Norwegian VG lista Albums Chart 27 2Spanish Albums Chart 28 2Swedish Albums Chart 29 3Swiss Albums Chart 30 4UK Albums Chart 31 1US Billboard 200 32 2West German Media Control Albums Chart 33 6 Year end charts Edit Chart 1983 PositionAustralian Albums Chart 19 25Canadian Albums Chart 34 65Dutch Albums Chart 35 22French Albums Chart 36 12New Zealand Albums RMNZ 37 37UK Albums Chart 38 3Chart 1984 PositionAustralian Albums Chart 19 3Canadian Albums Chart 39 7Dutch Albums Chart 40 83Japanese Albums Chart 41 14New Zealand Albums RMNZ 42 8UK Albums Chart 38 35US Billboard 200 43 5 Decade end charts Edit Chart 1980 89 PositionAustralian Albums Chart 19 16Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 44 Diamond 1 000 000 France SNEP 45 Gold 100 000 Hong Kong IFPI Hong Kong 46 Platinum 20 000 Japan Oricon Charts 481 790 25 Netherlands NVPI 47 Platinum 100 000 New Zealand RMNZ 48 Platinum 15 000 Spain PROMUSICAE 49 Gold 50 000 United Kingdom BPI 50 3 Platinum 900 000 United States RIAA 51 4 Platinum 4 000 000 SummariesWorldwide 10 000 000 2 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Release details EditCountry Date Label Format Catalog1983 Virgin CD 91391 2LP 391701990 CD V2 861802003 CD 92408References Edit Culture Club Colour By Numbers Discogs a b Rockman Lisa 26 June 2017 Boy George is bringing the original Culture Club line up to Newcastle The Newcastle Herald Retrieved 12 February 2020 Dance Club Songs January 14 1984 Billboard 7 January 1984 Retrieved 10 July 2018 BBC BBC Philharmonic BBC Philharmonic Presents Culture Club s Colour by Numbers BBC Philharmonic Presents Culture Club s Colour by Numbers a b Promis Jose F Colour by Numbers Culture Club AllMusic Retrieved 28 July 2011 Considine J D 23 October 1983 Two soulful voices prove fickleness of British trends The Baltimore Sun Voller Debbi 15 October 1983 Brilliant Boy Number One No 24 p 32 Smith Graham K 15 October 1983 Away from the numbers Record Mirror p 16 a b Holden Stephen 27 October 1983 Culture Club this Boy s the real thing Rolling Stone No 407 pp 77 79 Archived from the original on 7 August 2008 Retrieved 28 July 2011 Considine J D 2004 Culture Club In Brackett Nathan Hoard Christian eds The New Rolling Stone Album Guide 4th ed Simon amp Schuster pp 204 205 ISBN 0 7432 0169 8 a b Shetler Scott 3 April 2005 Review Culture Club Colour By Numbers Slant Magazine Retrieved 28 July 2011 a b Martin Peter 13 26 October 1983 Culture Club Colour by Numbers Smash Hits Vol 5 no 21 p 44 Sheffield Rob 1995 Culture Club In Weisbard Eric Marks Craig eds Spin Alternative Record Guide Vintage Books pp 99 100 ISBN 0 679 75574 8 a b Christgau Robert 27 December 1983 Christgau s Consumer Guide The Village Voice Retrieved 28 July 2011 NME s best albums and tracks of 1983 NME 10 October 2016 Retrieved 13 March 2018 The 100 Best Albums of the 1980 s Rolling Stone No 565 16 November 1989 Retrieved 2 December 2021 Kato Yoshi 2006 Culture Club Colour by Numbers In Dimery Robert ed 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Universe Publishing p 515 ISBN 978 0 7893 1371 3 Culture Club Colour By Numbers 1983 Vinyl Discogs com Retrieved 20 December 2021 a b c d Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 St Ives NSW Australian Chart Book ISBN 0 646 11917 6 austriancharts at Culture Club Colour by Numbers Hung Medien in German Archived from the original ASP on 6 November 2012 Retrieved 4 March 2012 Top Albums CDs Volume 39 No 21 RPM 28 January 1984 Archived from the original on 29 April 2014 Retrieved 1 May 2013 dutchcharts nl Culture Club Colour by Numbers Hung Medien in Dutch MegaCharts Archived from the original ASP on 13 May 2014 Retrieved 3 March 2012 Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 263 ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 InfoDisc Tous les Albums classes par Artiste gt Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste in French infodisc fr Archived from the original PHP on 11 July 2015 Retrieved 3 March 2012 a b Oricon Album Chart Book Complete Edition 1970 2005 Roppongi Tokyo Oricon Entertainment 2006 ISBN 4 87131 077 9 charts nz Culture Club Colour by Numbers ASP Hung Medien Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Retrieved 3 March 2012 norwegiancharts com Culture Club Colour by Numbers Hung Medien VG lista Archived from the original ASP on 7 May 2014 Retrieved 3 March 2012 Salaverri Fernando September 2005 Solo exitos ano a ano 1959 2002 1st ed Spain Fundacion Autor SGAE ISBN 84 8048 639 2 swedishcharts com Culture Club Colour by Numbers ASP in Swedish Retrieved 3 March 2012 Culture Club Colour by Numbers hitparade ch Hung Medien in German Swiss Music Charts Archived from the original ASP on 3 February 2013 Retrieved 4 March 2012 Culture Club gt Artists gt Official Charts UK Albums Chart Retrieved 4 March 2014 allmusic Colour by Numbers gt Charts amp Awards gt Billboard Albums allmusic com Retrieved 3 March 2012 Album Search Culture Club Colour by Numbers in German Media Control Retrieved 3 March 2012 dead link RPM Top 100 Albums of 1983 RPM Retrieved 29 January 2012 Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1983 in Dutch Dutchcharts nl Retrieved 4 April 2014 Les Albums CD de 1983 par InfoDisc in French infodisc fr Archived from the original PHP on 9 February 2012 Retrieved 29 January 2012 Top Selling Albums of 1983 The Official New Zealand Music Chart Recorded Music New Zealand Retrieved 2 February 2022 a b Complete UK Year End Album Charts Archived from the original on 11 January 2012 Retrieved 16 September 2013 RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984 RPM Retrieved 29 January 2012 Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1984 in Dutch Dutchcharts nl Archived from the original on 7 January 2016 Retrieved 28 April 2014 Japanese Year End Albums Chart 1984 1984年アルバム年間ヒットチャート in Japanese Oricon Archived from the original on 7 January 2016 Retrieved 29 January 2012 Top Selling Albums of 1984 The Official New Zealand Music Chart Recorded Music New Zealand Retrieved 2 February 2022 Top Pop Albums of 1984 Billboard 31 December 1984 Archived from the original on 31 December 2012 Retrieved 28 April 2014 Canadian album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers Music Canada Retrieved 3 March 2012 French album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers in French InfoDisc SelectCULTURE CLUBand clickOK IFPIHK Gold Disc Award 1990 IFPI Hong Kong Retrieved 3 March 2012 Dutch album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers in Dutch Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld en geluidsdragers Retrieved 12 February 2020 EnterColour by Numbers in the Artiest of titel box New Zealand album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers Recorded Music NZ Retrieved 19 November 2019 Solo Exitos 1959 2002 Ano A Ano Certificados 1979 1990 Solo Exitos 1959 2002 Ano A Ano British album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 3 March 2012 American album certifications Culture Club Colour by Numbers Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 3 March 2012 External links Edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Colour by Numbers amp oldid 1149849346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
