Boy George talks fame, the term ‘LGBTQ,’ being an ’80s pop torchbearer and more

It'll still be June when Boy George arrives in Florida this week to kick off a summer U.S. tour with Culture Club. But the LGBTQ icon says it won't feel quite like a Pride parade.

"I also bake cakes for straight people," he laughed. "That's going to be my mantra for this tour: 'I hope to bake cakes for straight people. They're spongy and they're sweet.'?"

It's been more than 35 years since Culture Club — and especially their flamboyantly fashionable frontman — crashed the pop world with a string of globally inspired New Romantic hits, including Karma Chameleon, I'll Tumble 4 Ya and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me. Boy George, with his androgynous, sexually fluid appeal, became a new, very different kind of pop idol.

Over the decades, Culture Club became a bit of a punch line. (Remember the Boy George doppelganger in The Wedding Singer?) But they've gotten the last laugh, not just outlasting many of their peers, but thriving on stage with vibrant, enthusiastic performances. They're finalizing their first new LP in nearly 20 years, and are back to playing American arenas like the USF Sun Dome (soon to be renamed the Yuengling Center), which they'll headline on June 30. (Click here for details.)

"You never want to go on stage and look like you're dialing it in," George said. "It's all about attitude and intention with performance."

For more of our interview with Boy George, click here.