I was 15 years old in the spring of 1983 when Culture Club released today’s song of the day in the United States. It peaked at number 3 on the pop charts overseas and then at number 2 here in the US, right behind “Flash Dance.” What the heck I was doing that spring, I don’t recall, but if this photo is any indication, I’d say I was working on my 80’s hair and trying to get into Teen Idol magazine.
While I’m not sure if Culture Club ever made it onto the cover Teen Idol, you can go to eBay and bid on this really cool centerfold photo of them from an unnamed 80’s fan zine.
In a slightly different Two-for-Tuesday feature, I also want to share some newer music from a young pop star from down under. Australia’s Troye Sivan has been rising to stardom in the US recently, but he’s been YouTube star back home since he was a young teenager (he’s 28 now). He even starred in his own Prime Video movie in 2022.
Today is the last of a short series of “warmer weather,” 80’s tunes. “Time” fits the theme only loosely but helps lead us into the 2000’s for the rest of the week, including today’s bonus track. “Bloom,” the title song from Sivan’s second studio album, can definitely be associated with spring, birds and the bees and all that. He was 22 when he made this video.
In 2018 the New York Times said:
Hip-swinging pretty boys in eye makeup are nothing new; they’ve been singing on television since Elvis on Ed Sullivan. But Mr. Sivan is a creature of our time: a self-possessed, on-his-own-terms heartthrob, gay and untroubled, with the commercial sheen of a Disney star and the charisma of a boy prince.
As NYT goes on to say, the difference between gay pop stars of the 80’s, like Boy George and George Michael, and those of today, like Sivan, is that while their sexuality may have been assumed or guessed at back then, these days, it’s less frequently hidden. And for Sivan, it’s both upfront and “besides the point.” It’s taken nearly forty years to get here, and it’s a shame that for some, being open about who you are is still met with judgement and shame.
Jeff's Song of the Day 