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From Luxury to Heartache

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From Luxury to Heartache
Studio album by
Culture Club
Released1 April 1986[1]
Recorded1985–1986
StudioMountain Studios, Montreux and Atlantic Studios, New York City[2]
Genre
Length44:04
LabelVirgin (UK)
Epic (US)
Producer
Culture Club chronology
Waking Up with the House on Fire
(1984) 		From Luxury to Heartache
(1986) 		Don't Mind If I Do
(1999)
Singles from From Luxury to Heartache
  1. "Move Away"
    Released: 3 March 1986
  2. "God Thank You Woman"
    Released: 19 May 1986[3]
  3. "Gusto Blusto"
    Released: 23 June 1986 (US)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
Robert Christgau(C) link
Smash Hits[4]

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.

Background

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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.[5] Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who played on the album and had co-written "Sexuality" with George,[2] was found dead from a heroin overdose in George's home.[5][6]

Commercial performance and single releases

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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. "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.

Another single, "Heaven's Children", was scheduled for release in the UK in July 1986, but was cancelled.[7] 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

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All tracks are written by George O'Dowd, Jon Moss, Michael Craig, Roy Hay & Phil Pickett, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Move Away" 4:21
2."I Pray" 4:00
3."Work on Me Baby"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay4:06
4."Gusto Blusto" 4:40
5."Heaven's Children" 4:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."God Thank You Woman" 4:14
7."Reasons" 4:35
8."Too Bad" 4:36
9."Come Clean" 3:20
10."Sexuality"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Michael Rudetsky5:28
Total length:44:04
CD bonus tracks:
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Move Away" (Extended) 7:25
12."God Thank You Woman" (Extended) 7:03
13."Sexuality" (Extended)O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Rudetsky10:34
Total length:69:06

A Japanese version of From Luxury to Heartache, released on 21 December 2022, also contains the bonus tracks "From Luxury to Heartache" and "Gusto Blusto" (Extended Dance Mix).[8]

Personnel

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Culture Club

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Additional musicians

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Production

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  • 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

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Album

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Chart (1986) Peak
position[9]
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[10] 34
Dutch Albums Chart 28
German Albums Chart 45
Italian Albums Chart[11] 14
Japanese Albums Chart 13
New Zealand Albums Chart 44
Norwegian Albums Chart 18
Spanish Albums Chart[12] 30
Swedish Albums Chart 13
Swiss Albums Chart 24
UK Albums Chart 10
U.S. Billboard 200 32

Singles

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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

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release details

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Country Date Label Format Catalog
1986 Virgin CD E-40345
LP 2380
1998 Virgin CD 86704

References

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  1. ^ "It's a heartache" (PDF). Record Mirror. 29 March 1986. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Culture Club – from Luxury to Heartache (Vinyl)". Discogs. 1986.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 8.
  4. ^ "Hibbert, Tom (27 March 1986). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 8, no. 7. EMAP Metro. p. 56.
  5. ^ a b "Boy George in the spotlight". BBC News. 8 October 2005.
  6. ^ "American Musician Dies In Boy George`s Home". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Culture Club – Heaven's Children". Discogs. 1986.
  8. ^ "Culture Club – from Luxury to Heartache". Discogs. 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Culture Club - from Luxury to Heartache - hitparade.ch".
  10. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2012
  11. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1986".
  12. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  13. ^ "British album certifications – Culture Club – From Luxury to Heartache". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
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