Worried About the Boy | |
---|---|
Written by | Tony Basgallop |
Directed by | Julian Jarrold |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Matthew Bird |
Cinematography | Tony Slater-Ling |
Editor | Emma E. Hickox |
Running time | 87 minutes |
Production company | Red Production Company [1] |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 16 May 2010 |
Worried About the Boy is a 2010 British biographical drama television film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Tony Basgallop, based on the life of English singer Boy George. [2] It stars Douglas Booth as Boy George and Mathew Horne as his lover Jon Moss. [3] It aired on BBC Two on 16 May 2010 as part of the channel's Eighties Season.
In 1980, young George O'Dowd (Boy George) argues with his parents over his femininity and moves into a squat with Peter, who dresses as Marilyn Monroe and calls himself Marilyn. They make themselves known at Steve Strange's trendy Blitz Club where George gets a job in the cloakroom. George is unlucky in his relationships with men until he meets musician Kirk Brandon. Through Kirk, George meets the handsome drummer Jon Moss, on whom he develops a crush.
Sacked by the Blitz and spurned by Kirk, George turns to Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren to further his music career. George's spell with McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow is cut short when the rest of the group reveal to McLaren how much they hate George, but fan Mikey Craig is impressed and asks George to sing in a group he is forming, where George again meets Jon Moss. They have an affair and their group Culture Club becomes very successful. Four years later, however, hounded by the tabloid press amid stories of his drug addiction, an unhappy George turns to Jon for advice on his future.
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and Bow Wow Wow, and was an early commercial architect of the punk subculture.
Culture Club are an English new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George, Roy Hay, and Mikey Craig, and formerly included Jon Moss. Emerging in the New Romantic scene, they are considered one of the most representative and influential groups of the 1980s.
New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic movement was characterised by flamboyant, eccentric fashion inspired by fashion boutiques such as Kahn and Bell in Birmingham and PX in London. Early adherents of the movement were often referred to by the press by such names as Blitz Kids, New Dandies and Romantic Rebels.
Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packaged into numerous collections, and they remain one of the more well-known bands of the early Batcave scene and have reformed for new albums and touring at various times since the early 1990s.
The Blitz Kids were a group of people who frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, London in 1979–1980, and are credited with launching the New Romantic subcultural movement.
Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their debut EP Your Cassette Pet in 1980 and had their first UK top 10 hit with "Go Wild in the Country" in 1982. The band's music was characterized by a danceable new wave sound that drew on a Burundi beat provided by Dave Barbarossa on drums, as well as the subversive, suggestive, and sometimes exuberant lyrics sung and chanted by their teenage lead vocalist.
Jonathan Aubrey Moss is an English drummer, best known as a member of the 1980s pop group Culture Club. He has also played with other bands, including London, the Nips, the Damned and Adam and the Ants.
Peter Antony Robinson, better known as Marilyn, is an English singer known for his androgynous appearance. He was one of Britain's most successful gender bending musical artists in the 1980s. First becoming a noted figure on the London club scene, Marilyn topped the European, Japanese and Australian charts with his 1983 hit "Calling Your Name". The song was later included on his 1985 debut album Despite Straight Lines.
Taboo is a stage musical with a book by Mark Davies Markham, lyrics by Boy George, and music by George, John Themis, Richie Stevens, and Kevan Frost.
Mathew Frazer Horne is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and narrator. He is best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably Gavin & Stacey, The Catherine Tate Show, Horne & Corden, and Bad Education.
Stephen John Harrington, known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer and nightclub host and promoter. Strange began his career in several short-lived punk bands of the late 1970s. Quickly becoming disaffected by the British punk scene, he became one of the most influential figures behind the New Romantic subcultural movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which spawned the Blitz Kids.
The Great John L. is a 1945 American biographical drama film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by James Edward Grant. The film stars Linda Darnell, Barbara Britton, Greg McClure, Otto Kruger, Wallace Ford and George Mathews. The film was released on May 25, 1945, by United Artists.
Kirk Brandon is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny.
Julian Edward Peter Jarrold is a BAFTA-nominated British film and television director.
Sold is the debut solo studio album by English singer Boy George, released in 1987 by Virgin Records. The album includes George's cover of "Everything I Own", which reached number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway, and the top 10 in several other countries.
David Barbarossa is an English musician and author. As the drummer in both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal drumming style that was popular among British and some American bands from 1979 to 1983.
George Alan O'Dowd, known professionally as Boy George, is an English musician who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham and was part of the New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s to early 1980s. His androgynous look and style of fashion was greatly inspired by glam rock pioneers David Bowie and Marc Bolan. He formed Culture Club with Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss in 1981. The band's second album, Colour by Numbers (1983), sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Their hit singles include "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Time ", "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", "Church of the Poison Mind", "Karma Chameleon", "Victims", "Miss Me Blind", "It's a Miracle", "The War Song", "Move Away" and "I Just Wanna Be Loved".
Douglas John Booth is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention through his performance as Boy George in the BBC Two film Worried About the Boy (2010). He went on to star in the BBC adaptations of Great Expectations and Christopher and His Kind, Carlo Carlei's film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet (2013), and the Netflix biopic The Dirt (2019).
Philip Sallon is a British club promoter, event organiser, socialite, style innovator, impresario, and clothing designer. He was born in London, England. He is particularly known for being a prominent member of the Punk sub-cultural and New Romantic pop cultural movements during the 1970s and 1980s.
Dean Anthony Fagan is a British actor. He is best known for portraying mechanic Luke Britton in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 2014 to 2018.