Kissing to Be Clever is the debut album by the English band Culture Club, released on
8 October 1982 in the United Kingdom. It includes Culture Club's international breakthrough hit single, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", which reached number one in the band's native UK and the top 10 of many charts around the world. The album has reportedly sold over 4 million copies worldwide, including over 1 million in the US where it has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Overview
The album's first two singles were "White Boy" (which failed to crack the US or UK charts), and "I'm Afraid of Me" (which peaked at No. 100 in the UK). But with the release of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", the band scored a number one hit in over a dozen countries, and the song also hit the top 10 in several other countries including number two in the U.S. The album itself spent 88 weeks on the US Billboard chart, reaching its peak position of number 14 in March 1983 in the US. The follow-up single, "Time (Clock of the Heart)", became a US number two and UK top three hit. This song appeared on the US version of the album but not initially on the UK version. Another single was released in North America, "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", which became the group's third consecutive top 10 single in the US. This gave Culture Club the distinction of being the first band since The Beatles to have three top 10 hits from a debut album in the US.
Kissing to Be Clever was remastered and re-released in 2003 on CD. This edition contains the song "Romance Beyond the Alphabet", which is the orchestral instrumental version of "Time (Clock of the Heart), also included on Culture Club Collect – 12" Mixes Plus and its subsequent re-release Culture Club Remix Collection as "Time (Clock of the Heart) (Instrumental Mix)". The 2003 release of the album has the restoration of the original colour cover which had been replaced by a black-and-white picture of lead singer Boy George on previous versions.
Reception
Reviews for Kissing to Be Clever have been generally positive. AllMusic's Lindsay Planer noted that it "was embraced by not only post-disco dance music enthusiasts, but also new wave listeners and pop fans as well." He also stated that the singles "provide accurate thumbnail sketches of what Culture Club were capable of pulling off musically." He concluded by saying: "From the light and buoyant Philly soul-inspired string arrangement to the effervescent and singalongable chorus, the melody foreshadowed a similar vibe that would carry over to their sophomore long-player, Colour by Numbers."
Contemporary reviews were generally favourable. Smash Hits Beverly Hillier gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating calling it "a first class record". Hillier found the songs "well crafted and the musicianship is excellent throughout" and pointed out Boy George's voice as "the band's strongest asset." "Disco, salsa, reggae and Caribbean rhythms are all used but with such obvious love and respect for their roots that nobody can accuse them of plagiarism. On this showing Culture Club will easily outlive the fashionable wave they're riding on at the moment."
Personnel
Culture Club
- Boy George – vocals
- Michael Craig – bass
- Roy Hay – guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
- Jon Moss – percussion, drums
Additional musicians
- Keith Miller – Synclavier
- Terry Bailey – trumpet
- Colin Campsie – background vocals
- Nicky Payne – flute, harmonica, saxophone
- Denise Spooner – background vocals
- Helen Terry – backing vocals
- Phil Pickett – keyboards, background vocals
- Trevor Bastow – strings arrangement
Production
- Steve Levine – producer, engineer
- Gordon Milne – assistant engineer, mixing
- Jon Moss – mixing, Linn LM-1 drum programming
- Keith Miller – Synclavier programming
- Jik Graham – cover design, logo, typography
- Andy Phillips – photography
- Mark Lebon – photography
- Jackie Ball – artwork
- Nick Egan – logo
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1982–1983)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
! scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 86
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1983)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 40
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| 31
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
!Single
!Chart (1982–1983)
!Peak<br />position
|-
| rowspan="4"|"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
|UK Singles Chart
|align="center"|1
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|2
|-
|U.S. R&B Singles
|align="center"|39
|-
|U.S. Adult Contemporary
|align="center"|8
|-
| rowspan="2"|"Time (Clock of the Heart)"
|UK Singles Chart
|align="center"|3
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|2
|-
| rowspan="3"|"I'll Tumble 4 Ya"
|U.S. Adult Contemporary
|align="center"|33
|-
|U.S. Hot Dance Club Play
|align="center"|14
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|9
|-
|"I'm Afraid of Me" /<br /> "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
|U.S. Hot Dance Club Play
|align="center"|34
|}