Music / Colour by Numbers

I say you'll miss me, and you always do.
I say you'll miss me. Now would I lie to you?

There's a loving in your eyes all the way
If I listened to your lies, would you say

I'm a man without conviction
I'm a man who doesn't know
How to sell a contradiction
You come and go
You come and go

"Karma Chameleon"

Colour by Numbers is the second studio album by British New Wave band Culture Club. It was released through Virgin Records in the United Kingdom, and Epic Records in the United States, on 10 October 1983.

The album solidified stardom for the band, as it hit #1 on the Official Charts Company album chart, and #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It went triple-Platinum in the United Kingdom, and quadruple-Platinum in the United States, selling over 10 million copies worldwide.

The global singles from this album were "Church of the Poison Mind", "Karma Chameleon", and "It's a Miracle". "Victims" was released in the UK only, while "Miss Me Blind" was a US exclusive. All five were massive hits, with "Karma Chameleon" being their first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and their second #1 on the UK Pop chart.

All the singles would have music videos on MTV. The music video for "Karma Chameleon" was especially notable, being set in the late 19th century on a Mississippi River riverboat.

Tracklist

Side one

1. "Karma Chameleon" – 4:12
2. "It's a Miracle" – 3:25
3. "Black Money" – 5:19
4. "Changing Every Day" – 3:17
5. "That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You)" – 2:45

Side two

1. "Church of the Poison Mind" – 3:30
2. "Miss Me Blind" – 4:30
3. "Mister Man" – 3:36
4. "Stormkeeper" – 2:46
5. "Victims" – 4:55

2003 CD bonus tracks

1. "Man-Shake" – 2:34
2. "Mystery Boy" (Suntory Hot Whiskey Song) – 3:33
3. "Melting Pot" – 4:31
4. "Colour by Numbers" – 3:57
5. "Romance Revisited" – 5:00

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Principal members

• Boy George – vocals
• Mikey Craig – bass guitar
• Roy Hay – guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
• Jon Moss – percussion, drums

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Tropes of the Poison Mind:

• Album Title Drop: "Miss Me Blind" references the previous album Kissing to Be Clever.
• Alliterative Title: "Mister Man".
• Broken Record: "In the church of the poison mind, in the church of the poison mind,..."
• Face on the Cover: All four band members are featured, with Boy George's face being prominently displayed on the right.
• Instrumentals: "Romance Revisited" is an instrumental version of "Victims".
• Karma Houdini: The topic of the song "Karma Chameleon" (although the chameleon gets his comeuppance in the video).
• Kimono Fanservice: Found in the videos for "Miss Me Blind" & "It's A Miracle".
• Lyrical Cold Open: "Miss Me Blind".
• Money Song: "Black Money".
• One-Man Song: "Mister Man".
• One-Word Title: "Stormkeeper" and "Victims".
• Real Life Writes The Song: "Victims" is about Boy George's then publicly unknown and rather turbulent relationship with drummer Jon Moss.
• Record Producer: Steve Levine.
• Shout-Out: "It's A Miracle" vaguely mentions Marilyn Monroe in the lyrics.
• Special Guest: Jermaine Stewart on "That's The Way" and "Church Of The Poison Mind".
• Title Track: Averted on the original album, though "Colour by Numbers" was added in the 2003 CD release.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: In the video for "Karma Chameleon", everyone on the riverboat is so flamboyantly dressed that Boy George doesn't appear as unusual in the crowd despite being at the very least a Fish out of Temporal Water.
• Visual Kei: All over the "Miss Me Blind" video.

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