From Luxury to Heartache
From Luxury to Heartache is the fourth album by the British pop group Culture Club, released in April 1986. It was the last studio album released by Culture Club until 1999's Don't Mind If I Do.
| From Luxury to Heartache | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 April 1986[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1986 | |||
| Studio | Mountain Studios, Montreux and Atlantic Studios, New York City[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:04 | |||
| Label | Virgin (UK) Epic (US) | |||
| Producer |
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| Culture Club chronology | ||||
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| Singles from From Luxury to Heartache | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | link |
| Robert Christgau | (C) link |
| Smash Hits | [3] |
Background edit
From Luxury to Heartache was produced by veteran pop and R&B producer Arif Mardin, who replaced Steve Levine, the producer of Culture Club's previous three albums, in a bid to revitalise the band's sound. Due to lead singer Boy George's growing addiction to drugs, recordings dragged on for so long that Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. The final credit on the album gave production credit to both Mardin and Hahn on all tracks. Songs like "Gusto Blusto" and "Reasons" took days for the addicted singer to finish.
Following the release of the album, rumours of George's heroin addiction began to circulate in the press and in British and US tabloids, and by the summer of 1986, he announced that he was indeed addicted to drugs. In July, he was arrested for possession of cannabis.[4] Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who played on the album and had co-written "Sexuality"[5] with George, was found dead from a heroin overdose in George's home.[4][6]
Commercial performance and single releases edit
Lead single "Move Away" became a hit in several countries around the world. However, also around this time, media reports of lead singer Boy George's drug abuse were starting to surface from the media. "God Thank You Woman" was the second single released from the album in Europe and Asia, it peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart, while in North and South America "Gusto Blusto" was chosen as a single, but it failed to chart on the US Hot 100.
A fourth single, "Heaven's Children", was planned to be released in July 1986, but was cancelled.[citation needed] Within a year of the album's release, the band broke up and Boy George embarked on a solo career, making this the last Culture Club album until 1999's Don't Mind If I Do.
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Move Away" | George O'Dowd, Jon Moss, Michael Craig, Roy Hay, Phil Pickett | 4:21 |
| 2. | "I Pray" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Work on Me Baby" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Gusto Blusto" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:40 |
| 5. | "Heaven's Children" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "God Thank You Woman" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:14 |
| 7. | "Reasons" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:35 |
| 8. | "Too Bad" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 4:36 |
| 9. | "Come Clean" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Sexuality" | O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Michael Rudetsky | 5:28 |
CD bonus tracks:
- "Move Away" (Extended) – 7:25
- "God Thank You Woman" (Extended) – 7:03
- "Sexuality" (Extended) – 10:34
Personnel edit
Culture Club edit
- Boy George – vocals
- Mikey Craig – bass guitar
- Roy Hay – guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
- Jon Moss – percussion, drums
Additional musicians edit
- Michael Rudetsky – keyboards
- Phil Pickett – keyboards, background vocals
- Lewis Hahn – recorder
- Helen Terry – backing vocals
- Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals
- David Lasley – backing vocals
- Wendell Morrison – backing vocals
- Ruby Turner – backing vocals
Production edit
- Arif Mardin – producer
- Lewis Hahn – producer, mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Jon Moss – digital mixing
- Michael O'Reilly – engineer
- Martin Pearson – engineer
- David Richards – engineer
- Tony Gordon – management
Charts edit
Album edit
| Chart (1986) | Peak position[7] |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] | 34 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 28 |
| German Albums Chart | 45 |
| Italian Albums Chart[9] | 14 |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 44 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 18 |
| Spanish Albums Chart[10] | 30 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 13 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 24 |
| UK Albums Chart | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 32 |
Singles edit
| Single | Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Move Away" | UK Singles Chart | 7 |
| "Move Away" | U.S. Adult Contemporary | 11 |
| "Move Away" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| "Move Away" | U.S. Hot Dance Club Play | 4 |
| "Move Away" | U.S. R&B Chart | 87 |
| "God Thank You Woman" | UK Singles Chart | 31 |
| "Gusto Blusto" | CAN Singles Chart | 24 |
Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release details edit
References edit
- ^ "It's a heartache" (PDF). Record Mirror. 29 March 1986. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "Culture Club – from Luxury to Heartache (1986, Vinyl)". Discogs.
- ^ "Hibbert, Tom (27 March 1986). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 8, no. 7. EMAP Metro. p. 56.
- ^ a b "Boy George in the spotlight". BBC News. 8 October 2005.
- ^ "Culture Club – from Luxury to Heartache (1986, Vinyl)". Discogs.
- ^ . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015.
- ^ "Culture Club - from Luxury to Heartache - hitparade.ch".
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2012
- ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1986".
- ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "British album certifications – Culture Club – From Luxury to Heartache". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
External links edit
- Amazon.com review
- Artist Direct review
- Buy.com review
- Rate Your Music review