Do You Really Want to Hurt Me
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" | ||||
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Single by Culture Club | ||||
from the album Kissing to Be Clever | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 6 September 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:22 3:41 (MTV video edit) | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Steve Levine | |||
Culture Club singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" on YouTube |
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, Kissing to Be Clever (1982), this ballad was the band's first UK No. 1 hit. In the United States, the single was released in November 1982 and also became a hit, reaching No. 2 for three weeks.
Release
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" was the third single released in Europe by Culture Club and their debut release in the United States and Canada. The song became a UK No. 1 single for three weeks in October 1982. It entered the American Pop chart the week ending 4 December 1982, hit No. 1 in Cash Box magazine, and held at No. 2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March and April 1983. The single hit No. 1 in Canada. It was also number one in Australia.
This was Culture Club's first major success, after their first two releases at the Virgin Records label, "White Boy" and "I'm Afraid of Me", charted lower in the UK at No. 114 and No. 100 respectively. Producer Steve Levine later said: "We felt very strongly that we had a great track with 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' and Virgin agreed."
Within a few days of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" being released, David Hamilton on BBC Radio 2 played the song as his record of the week. The song rose rapidly in the UK charts after the group's first appearance on Top of the Pops, which resulted in Boy George's androgynous style of dress and sexual ambiguity making newspaper headlines. The group were only asked to appear on Top of the Pops the night before the show, after Shakin' Stevens pulled out.
In a retrospective review, Allmusic described "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" as "a simple masterpiece, resonating with an ache that harked back to the classic torch songs of yesteryear."
In 2007, Boy George said that the song was "not just about Culture Club's drummer Jon Moss, my boyfriend at the time. It was about all the guys I dated at that time in my life."
The B-side was a dub version featuring Pappa Weasel in many countries and "You Know I'm Not Crazy" on the US release. On the 12" version of the record, the track "Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)" was also included.
Remixes
The song was remixed by DJs Quivver and Kinky Roland in 1998 for a Culture Club compilation called Greatest Moments and the single "I Just Wanna Be Loved". It was also remixed and presented on Culture Club's 2002 box set along with the original demo version.
Re-released as a reggaeton remix in France, it was again a top 20 hit in the summer of 2005.[citation needed]
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Julien Temple, featured lead singer Boy George on trial in a courtroom (filmed in Islington Town Hall Council Chamber), with flashbacks to the Gargoyle Club, Soho in 1936 and the Dolphin Square Health Club, Pimlico in 1957. Some scenes were filmed at the Hornsey Road swimming baths in Islington, which later closed in 1991. The jury was in blackface making jazz hands gestures. One band member, Mikey Craig, was not in the video, and was replaced by his brother Greg.[citation needed]
Boy George wears a shirt with the Hebrew writing "תַּרְבּוּת אֲגֻדָּה" ("Tarbut Agudda"), a literal translation of the individual words "culture" and "association" (probably a mistranslation of "club") in a grammatically incorrect order.
Track listings
(Released at least in UK, Canada, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden)
(Released in USA, Mexico)
(Released at least in UK, Canada (different cover), USA, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands (different cover), Spain) |
(Released as a remix version in France, to promote the compilation album Culture Club 2005 – Singles & Remixes, with new video) |
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Sales and certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Gold | 4,000^ |
France (SNEP) | Gold | 500,000* |
Germany (BVMI) | Gold | 500,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) | Gold | 100,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 882,440 |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Covers
The song has been covered by such artists as Violent Femmes and Adam Lambert.
A cover by American musicians Karma Fields and Shey Baba was released on September 23, 2020.
Blue Lagoon version
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" | ||||
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Single by Blue Lagoon | ||||
from the album Club Lagoon | ||||
Released | 13 February 2005 | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | Kon$um, SME | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Craig, Roy Hay, Jon Moss,George O'Dowd | |||
Producer(s) | Felix J. Gauder | |||
Blue Lagoon singles chronology | ||||
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The song was covered in 2005 by German band Blue Lagoon on its album Club Lagoon and became a hit in Europe.
Track listings
CD single
- "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (radio edit) – 3:29
- "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (extended version) – 4:59
Charts
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
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Austrian Singles Chart | 21 |
Danish Singles Chart | 11 |
Germany (Official German Charts) | 13 |
Swedish Singles Chart | 29 |
Swiss Singles Chart | 32 |
- 1982 songs
- 1982 singles
- 1991 singles
- 2005 singles
- 1980s ballads
- Culture Club songs
- Songs written by Boy George
- Songs written by Roy Hay (musician)
- Songs written by Mikey Craig
- Songs written by Jon Moss
- Song recordings produced by Steve Levine
- Blue Lagoon (band) songs
- Cashbox number-one singles
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- New wave ballads
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Number-one singles in Austria
- Number-one singles in Germany
- Number-one singles in Sweden
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- British reggae songs
- LGBT-related songs
- Virgin Records singles
- Epic Records singles
- Sony Music singles
- Music videos directed by Julien Temple
- Soul ballads
- Blackface minstrelsy