In 1981, Boy George used to occasionally sing with the group Bow Wow Wow under the stage name "Lieutenant Lush". His popularity in this role caused friction with the group's lead singer Annabella Lwin. After his tenure with the group, George decided to start his own band and enlisted Mikey Craig.

Next came Jon Moss, and finally Roy Hay. The group recorded demos, which were paid for by EMI Records, but the label was unimpressed and decided not to sign the group. Virgin Records heard the demos and signed the group in the UK, and Epic Records signed them in the US as Virgin did not have a U.S. presence at the time.

Their first album, Kissing to Be Clever (1982), saw the release of their first single "White Boy". Although the song failed to reach the UK or U.S. Top 100, George was still happy because "5000 people bought my song and didn't even know me." The next single "I'm Afraid of Me" also failed at radio.

The release of the third single "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", a reggae-influenced number, went to #1 in the UK in late 1982 and became an international hit, peaking at #1 in over a dozen countries (#2 US), and sold 6.5 million copies worldwide.

The debut of the band on Top of the Pops caused headlines such as "Wally of the week" and "Mr. (or is it Mrs. ?) Weird" in the tabloids in reaction to George's androgynous look and eccentric dress.

Pete Burns, lead singer of the pop/new wave band Dead or Alive would later claim he was the first to wear braids, big hats, and colourful costumes, but George would cut back with a sharp tongued remark, "It's not who did it first, it's who did it better".

The follow-up single "Time (Clock of the Heart)", featuring George's soulful vocals over an R&B groove, became another Top 10 hit in the U.S. (#2) and UK (#3). "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" also became a Top Ten hit in the U.S. (#9) and in Canada.

This made Culture Club the first group since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits from a debut album in America. Kissing To Be Clever sold over two million copies in the U.S., and another three million worldwide at the time of its release, propelling George to international stardom.

The group's second album, Colour by Numbers, was released in 1983. The first single "Church of the Poison Mind", featuring backing vocalist Helen Terry, reached the UK and U.S. Top 10, continuing the group's success. The second single "Karma Chameleon" gave the band its second #1 hit in the UK, where it sold 1.4 million copies and became the best-selling single of 1983 in that country.

It also hit #1 in the US for three weeks, selling 1.3 million copies; and would eventually hit #1 in sixteen countries, and sold seven million copies worldwide. Colour by Numbers would have more hits, such as "Miss Me Blind" (#5 US), "It's a Miracle" (#4 UK, #13 US), and "Victims" (#3 UK), (these three singles featuring R&B singer Jermaine Stewart on background vocals), and sold four million copies in the U.S. and another five million worldwide at its time of release.

With that album, Culture Club was the first group in history to have a diamond album (10 times platinum) in Canada, for more than a million copies sold. The band also won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, where George gave a speech via satellite stating, "Thanks America, you've got style, you've got taste, and you know a good drag queen when you see one."

The group's back-up singer, Helen Terry, began work on her solo album, for which George and Hay wrote the song "Love Lies Lost". The pair also wrote "Passing Friend" for the Beach Boys' album. Culture Club were asked to write two songs for the soundtrack to the movie Electric Dreams.

George and Hay wrote "The Dream" and "Love Is Love", with the latter being released as a single in Canada and Japan, the E.P "love is love" became a hit in Japan. George also collaborated on "Electric Dreams", sung by P. P. Arnold. The song was written with Phil Pickett, who had co-written "Karma Chameleon" with the band and frequently played keyboards for the group.

Despite all this success, trouble was brewing within Culture Club. First, George was occasionally using drugs with money from his new-found fame. Second, unknown to Craig and Hay, George was romantically involved with the group's drummer, Jon Moss.

Their relationship lasted for over four years and was often turbulent, with physical and verbal abuse. The pressure to hide the relationship from the press and the public started to take its toll on the band.