From Luxury to Heartache

From Luxury to Heartache is the fourth album by the British pop group Culture Club, released in 1986. It was the last studio album released by Culture Club until 1999's Don't Mind If I Do.

From Luxury to Heartache
Studio album by
Culture Club
Released30 March 1986
Recorded1985–1986
StudioMountain Studios, Montreux and Atlantic Studios, New York City[1]
Genre
Length44:04
LabelVirgin (UK)
Epic (US)
Producer
Culture Club chronology
Waking Up with the House on Fire
(1984)		 From Luxury to Heartache
(1986)		 Don't Mind If I Do
(1999)
Singles from From Luxury to Heartache
  1. "Move Away"
    Released: March 1986
  2. "God Thank You Woman"
    Released: May 1986 (UK, Europe, Japan, Australia)
  3. "Gusto Blusto"
    Released: August 1986 (US, Canada)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Smash Hits[2]
Robert Christgau(C) link
AllMusic link

Background

From Luxury to Heartache was produced by veteran pop and R&B producer Arif Mardin, who replaced Steve Levine, the producer of Culture Club's previous three albums, in a bid to revitalise the band's sound. Due to lead singer Boy George's growing addiction to drugs, recordings dragged on for so long that Mardin had to disband the sessions and leave it up to engineer Lew Hahn to record the final vocals. The final credit on the album gave production credit to both Mardin and Hahn on all tracks. Songs like "Gusto Blusto" and "Reasons" took days for the addicted singer to finish.

Following the release of the album, rumours of George's heroin addiction began to circulate in the press and in British and US tabloids, and by the summer of 1986, he announced that he was indeed addicted to drugs. In July, he was arrested for possession of cannabis.[3] Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetsky, who played on the album and had co-written "Sexuality"[4] with George, was found dead from a heroin overdose[5] in George's home.[6]

Commercial performance and single releases

Despite the lead single "Move Away" becoming a hit, the album sold far less than Culture Club's previous albums. "God Thank You Woman" was the second single released from the album in the UK but it only reached #31 in the UK Singles Chart, while in the US "Gusto Blusto" was chosen as a single, but it failed to chart. A third UK single, "Come Clean"/"Heaven's Children", was planned to be released in July 1986, but was cancelled. Within a year of the album's release, the band broke up and Boy George embarked on a solo career, making this the last Culture Club album until Don't Mind If I Do in 1999.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Move Away"George O'Dowd, Jon Moss, Michael Craig, Roy Hay, Phil Pickett4:21
2."I Pray"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:00
3."Work on Me Baby"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay4:06
4."Gusto Blusto"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:40
5."Heaven's Children"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."God Thank You Woman"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:14
7."Reasons"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:35
8."Too Bad"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett4:36
9."Come Clean"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Pickett3:20
10."Sexuality"O'Dowd, Moss, Craig, Hay, Michael Rudetsky5:28

CD bonus tracks:

  1. "Move Away" (Extended) – 7:25
  2. "God Thank You Woman" (Extended) – 7:03
  3. "Sexuality" (Extended) – 10:34

Personnel

Culture Club

Additional musicians

Production
  • Arif Mardin – producer
  • Lewis Hahn – producer, mixing
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Jon Moss – digital mixing
  • Michael O'Reilly – engineer
  • Martin Pearson – engineer
  • David Richards – engineer
  • Tony Gordon – management

Charts

Album
Chart (1986) Peak
position[7]
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] 34
Dutch Albums Chart 28
German Albums Chart 45
Italian Albums Chart[9] 14
Japanese Albums Chart 13
New Zealand Albums Chart 44
Norwegian Albums Chart 18
Spanish Albums Chart[10] 30
Swedish Albums Chart 13
Swiss Albums Chart 24
UK Albums Chart 10
U.S. Billboard 200 32

Singles
Single Chart (1986) Peak
position
"Move Away" UK Singles Chart 7
"Move Away" U.S. Adult Contemporary 11
"Move Away" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 12
"Move Away" U.S. Hot Dance Club Play 4
"Move Away" U.S. R&B Chart 87
"God Thank You Woman" UK Singles Chart 31
"Gusto Blusto" CAN Singles Chart 24

Release details
Country Date Label Format Catalog
1986 Virgin CD E-40345
LP 2380
1998 Virgin CD 86704

References
  1. https://www.discogs.com/Culture-Club-From-Luxury-To-Heartache/release/1799717
  2. "Hibbert, Tom (27 March 1986). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 8 no. 7. EMAP Metro. p. 56.
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4321642.stm
  4. http://www.discogs.com/Culture-Club-From-Luxury-To-Heartache/release/970158
  5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4321642.stm
  6. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-08-07/news/8602260755_1_kevin-o-dowd-george-o-dowd-drug-related-death
  7. http://swisscharts.com/album/Culture-Club/From-Luxury-To-Heartache-387
  8. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 March 2012
  9. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1986.htm
  10. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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