Boy George’s Aspen concert on the rocks
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
ALL |
ASPEN ” July 10 was supposed to mark the day Boy George would kick off his North American tour in Aspen.
But Monday, the former Culture Club frontman was told that immigration authorities had denied him his visa, and now Belly Up Aspen officials are taking a wait-and-see approach to whether the androgynous celebrity will hit their stage.
“There’s been a lot of interest and I’m hoping they get this thing solved,” Belly Up owner Michael Goldberg said Tuesday.
Goldberg said Belly Up had received a series of e-mails from Boy George’s agency alerting it about his questionable status. He said the nightclub expects to hear by Thursday if the flamboyant, 47-year-old singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, will be allowed to travel overseas.
“It wouldn’t be the first time there have been visa issues with our artists,” Goldberg said. “But they were always solved. And this is a little unique because of the problems he has and his stature.”
Apparently legal setbacks for the ’80s icon, whose hits includes “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” and “Karma Chameleon,” is the reason behind his visa denial. According to published reports, Boy George is scheduled to stand trial in Britain in November for allegedly chaining up a male escort in his London apartment. He has pleaded not guilty.
Boy George’s management team offered a statement Monday that said: “George is astounded at the decision and is having lawyers here in the States look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind. George has not been convicted of anything in London and there is a presumption in the Western world of innocent until proven guilty.”
The Belly Up appearance was Boy George’s only scheduled Colorado date. Goldberg said ticket sales have been going “very well.”
Tickets remained for sale Tuesday on Belly Up’s website, commanding prices of $60 before the show and $65 on the day of the show.
If Boy George does play Aspen, it would be the smallest market in which he performs. Other stops on his tour include Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and New York, among others. The tour would be his first in North America in 10 years.
In addition to his time as a DJ and Culture Club frontman, in which he sold more than 100 million singles, Boy George’s career also spanned to Broadway, where he earned a Tony nomination for Best Musical Score for the production “Taboo,” a story about his life.
