June 14. 1961 "George Alan O'Dowd", better known as "Boy George" is a rock singer-songwriter and Club DJ. George grew up in a large, working-class Irish family, which originated in Thurles, in Co. Tipperary, Ireland. O'Dowd gained fame with his group Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, since he was heavily influenced by Rhythm and Blues and reggae. Early recordings with Culture Club showed that O'Dowd's vocals had an emotional quality which was reminiscent of American soul music of the 1960s and 1970s. His later solo work has also touched on glam rock influences and was particularly influenced by David Bowie and Iggy Pop. O'Dowd was a part of the British new romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised in the early 1980s. He and Marilyn, born Peter Robinson were regulars at 'The Blitz' (regulars being labelled as Blitz Kids), a highly stylized nightclub in London run by Steve Strange of the musical group Visage, and a place which spawned many early 1980s pop stars such as Spandau Ballet. Essentially the new romantics based their image on the coolness of David Bowie and high fashion, and the music of David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Marc Bolan and post punk New Wave "see Taboo." They challenged the traditional boundaries of gender, which was later dubbed as "gender bending". Men wore makeup and exotic outfits and woman took a more masculine appearance (power dressing, "see Annie Lennox"). This androgyny was brought to a mainstream market through the popularity of Boy George and other British new romantic acts.