Victims (song)

"Victims" is a single from UK band Culture Club's album Colour by Numbers, released in 1983. As with most early Culture Club singles, the song is about Boy George's then publicly unknown and rather turbulent relationship with drummer Jon Moss.

Although the group's previous single "Karma Chameleon" had been a massive hit throughout the world, "Victims" was only issued in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and Australia. It peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart. In Ireland it peaked at #2, and in Australia it peaked at #4. The single was not released in the United States, Canada or Japan, where they released "Miss Me Blind" instead; reportedly, Epic felt that the song was too depressing to be a single for the US market.

Its B-side was the then unreleased track "Colour by Numbers", which is the title of the album but not included on it. An instrumental version was also issued on the 12", renamed "Romance Revisited". Both extra tracks are now available on the 2003 remastered version of Colour by Numbers.

An early demo version of the song was released re-titled "Shirley Temple Moment" on the Culture Club box set. The track is a candid glimpse of the relationships within the band as they argue viciously amongst one another between takes, before Boy George finally walks out. It is notable also for the different lyrics which appear in the first verse:

"We love and we never tell what places our hearts in the wishing well / Strange lover I've never been, but you must be strong, you must come clean / And I keep on loving you, it's the only thing to do / There are stranger things, if I do those things, I'm a puppet king for you."

Boy George re-recorded the song himself as a solo artist, as a folk arrangement, in 2002. That version can be found on the Culture Club box set that was released the same year.

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	3
Belgian Singles Chart	11
German Singles Chart	39
Irish Singles Chart	2
Italy Singles Chart	2
Netherlands Singles Chart	17
New Zealand Singles Chart	7
Australian Singles Chart	4
Switzerland Singles Chart	18

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Culture Club

Boy George Roy Hay Mikey Craig Jon Moss

Albums	Kissing to Be Clever Colour by Numbers Waking Up with the House on Fire From Luxury to Heartache Don't Mind If I Do

Compilation albums	This Time – The First Four Years Collect – 12" Mixes Plus At Worst... The Best of Boy George and Culture Club Greatest Moments – VH1 Storytellers Live Culture Club (Box set) Greatest Hits

Singles	"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" "Time (Clock of the Heart)" "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" "Church of the Poison Mind" "Karma Chameleon" "Victims" "Miss Me Blind" "It's a Miracle" "The War Song" "Don't Go Down That Street" "Move Away" "I Just Wanna Be Loved" "Starman"

Related articles	Discography Boy George discography Helen Terry

Book Category

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