Music / Kissing to Be Clever

Everything's not what you see
It's over again

Kissing to Be Clever is the first studio album recorded by British New Wave Music band Culture Club. It was released through Virgin Records in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1982, and Epic Records in the United States on 13 December 1982.

It is known for its three hits, "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me", "Time (Clock Of The Heart)", and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya".

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
2. "I'm Afraid Of Me"
3. "You Know I'm Not Crazy"
4. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya"
5. "Love Twist" (featuring Captain Crucial)

Side Two

1. "Time (Clock Of The Heart)"^note Originally only available on the American printings of the album
2. "White Boy"
3. "Boy, Boy (I'm The Boy)"
4. "White Boys Can't Control It"
5. "Take Control"

Bonus Tracks

1. "Mystery Boy"
2. "Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)"
3. "Murder Rap Trap"
4. "Romance Beyond The Alphabet"

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Principal Members:

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

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I'll be your baby, I'll be your trope:

• Blackface: Used in the "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" music video as Boy George is convicted by a jury of jazz-handing minstrels (next to real Black people, no less). Director Julian Temple explained that it was meant to symbolize the hypocrisy of gay judges in Britain supporting anti-LGBT legislation, but it fell on deaf ears in the US, where the racist legacy of blackface was far more deeply felt.
• Department of Redundancy Department: "Time won't give me time..."
• Face on the Cover: Boy George featured prominently on the front cover, his other band members on the back cover.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: In the courtroom scenes of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", Boy George only looks unusual compared to the more conservatively-dressed gallery (well, except for the jurors). But in the flashbacks to a 1936 club and a 1957 bath house, this trope definitely applies.
• Instrumentals: "Romance Beyond The Alphabet" is the instrumental version of "Time (Clock Of The Heart)".
• Letters 2 Numbers: "I'll Tumble 4 Ya".
• Lyrical Cold Open: "Boy, Boy (I'm The Boy)".
• Record Producer: Steve Levine
• Shout-Out: The music video for "Time" ends with the members of the band drinking from mugs with their first names on them. The last two shown are Jon and Boy.
• Special Guest/A Wild Rapper Appears!: Captain Crucial does a rap in the middle of "Love Twist".
• Title-Only Chorus: "I'm Afraid Of Me". "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" almost qualifies, except that it has "I'll tumble 4 you."