Inside Story - My Afternoon With Marilyn and Boy George

The day I went to interview Marilyn and ended up chatting to Boy George

In my last post, I discussed the events surrounding my interview with Bob Geldof—my first major article in the national music press. Following that article, I was given other assignments by both No 1 magazine and Record Mirror. Indeed, right after Bob, I was assigned the task of interviewing Marilyn in Battersea, London. Now, I use the word "task," but it was hardly a task—it was a gift!

For those unfamiliar with Marilyn (aka Peter Anthony Robinson), he was one of Britain’s most successful musical artists of the 1980s. He started as a frequently photographed attendee of the London club scene, often accompanied by Boy George, and went on to top the European, Japanese, and Australian charts in 1983. Incidentally, he also appeared on the Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas”

At the time we met, his debut album, ‘Despite Straight Lines,’ was on the starting blocks, and he was making the promotional rounds. My job was to show up at a studio close to Battersea Power Station and interview him at a photo shoot for the magazine.

Everyone who knows me knows I have a lousy sense of direction. So, just how I managed to find this large warehouse near Battersea Power Station is beyond me. I suspect it involved a cab ride to the door. Anyway, I found it and entered the building, waiting for Marilyn to arrive. Now, let me pause to post a picture of Marilyn around that time, in case you didn’t quite get the idea from the video at the beginning.

Marilyn had flawless skin and fantastic hair and did not carry an ounce of body fat that was not essential for life. So when he walked in accompanied by a friend holding a can of coke (not sugar-free) and a large slice of apple pie, my thoughts that he must partake in a very strict health regime floated straight out the window. He was wearing jeans and a Union Jack tank top. His companion looked rather drab, dressed in an oversized black robe and coat with a black hat.

Marilyn immediately engaged with the photographer, and they decided on the format for the shoot. I sat on a long bench in front of them, and the mystery man sat beside me. I guess it’s pretty obvious what happened next: the man in the long black coat with the unshaven face was…Boy George. The minute he started talking, I thought, “Oh my god, it’s George!” (or words to that effect). From that minute on, George and I sat chatting and gossiping about other people in the music scene, particularly his rival at the time, Pete Burns of Dead or Alive (more on him in another post). One insult after another was aimed at Pete, and I did not have the heart to tell him that I had met Pete a few times and grown to like him. They had a very intense rivalry at the time, one that mellowed with age. When Pete died prematurely, George was quoted as saying, “I loved Pete Burns, even when he disliked me because he was genius.” It would be fair to say that in the 1980s, they both shared a healthy dislike for one another, and George was not a victim of one-sided hatred.

Our different views of Pete aside, I have to say that I loved George. He was bereft of a star complex, and when you talked to him, you felt like you had known him for your whole life. We talked our way through Marilyn’s session, with George throwing out the occasional thought to the cameraman about how to frame the shots. Marilyn was a born model, and I doubt he ever took a bad photograph. He was blessed with amazing features, which he still has to this very day despite his confessed 20 years of isolation with a heroin addiction. I always thought Marilyn could have done so much more, but having Boy George by your side was both an asset and a liability. He was continually seen as George’s sidekick despite being equally talented in so many ways.

So, after a few hours of talking, photographing, and interviewing, my memorable day ended. However, I am sure it was just beginning for George and Marilyn. Meanwhile, I had another big interview under my belt and another story to tell.

The years that followed were not kind to either George or Marilyn. Shortly after our interview, Marilyn released his album (Despite Straight Lines), which, although containing his three top forty UK singles, only charted in Australia. By this time, both his drug addiction and arguments with George attacked his public image like a wrecking ball. He was arrested in 1986 on suspicion of supplying George with Heroin. The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. He later confessed to being addicted to heroin from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s and having lived the life of a hermit, staying in one room and rarely venturing outside. An interview about those dark years published in The Guardian can be found here

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/27/marilyn-peter-robinson-sat-in-room-20-years-taking-crack-watching-alien-films

Taking it right up to date, George can still be found making TV appearances and playing gigs with Culture Club. He is also currently appearing in Moulin Rouge on Broadway until May 2025. Marilyn has made a few attempts at relaunching his career, but they have fallen flat for the most part. He recently suffered the loss of his mother, which has led many to be concerned for his well-being.

I will never forget the events of that day when they (we) were all at the top of our game. I confess to being a little embarrassed by the title I bestowed upon my article with Marilyn*, seen here…

Then again, we were all young, wild, and thoughtless in many respects. We did not see the future, but it saw us!

* As a postscript, when I looked over the article again after all these years, I came across the question where I asked Marilyn why he decided to cut his long hair, and this was the answer…

“ I cut my hair because I wanted to. I gradually change every day because the world changes every five seconds.

“Just because I haven’t done anything recently, people see me as a pink transvestite with puffs of pink glitter coming out of me!

“I’m not like that; that was an act at that time. It was right for then, but it’s not right for now.”

So, I can now officially forgive myself for the title:)