He said he wanted to find the next Amy Winehouse, but is Boy George’s real reason for doing The Voice a bit more, well, mercenary?
The Culture Club singer recently admitted he’d also been lured by the the fat payslip that comes with appearing on BBC1’s juggernaut talent show.
Speaking about the coaching role, the 54-year-old told reporters: ‘Some people may think you're too cool to be doing a reality show like this. What do you say to that? I suppose it's a compliment. But being cool doesn't pay the bills.'
The singer claimed that he had taken to the role "like a duck to water", but he’s been noticeably surprised when contestants have spurned him for fellow coaches - last night’s show saw soul singer Janine Dyer choose blue-eyed Indy fave Ricky Wilson ahead of the star.
Nonetheless, he added: 'I always felt like I should be on one of these types of shows. I’m a singer, it's what I've been doing for 30 years. I always wondered why I hadn't got the call to do it earlier.
”I was like, ‘OK, do I want to be on telly every Saturday night for a few months? Yeah OK, I do’.”
And who can blame him? After all, Boy George has had his ups and downs over the years, from his massive success with Culture Club, appearances on cult shows with the like of Kenny Everett to doing community service in New York in 2006 after he falsely reported a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment.
Meantime, the fresh approach that he and fellow Voice newbie Paloma Faith, who replaced Tom Jones and Rita Ora in the coaching line-up, have brought to the show seems to have attracted its own label: “Bantomime”.
The Voice UK continues on BBC1 on Saturday
