Culture Club WITHOUT Boy George?

Okay, ths is just bizarre. The other three original members of Culture Club have teamed up with some new singer dubbed "Sam" and plan to go out on tour. Phil Pickett, Mikey Craig, and George's one-time lover Jon Moss are all onboard for a world tour and -- apparently -- a reality TV series of some sort. Meanwhile, Boy George is doing community service in NYC and sweeping up leaves in the park. Surely the fellows don't have the right to the band's name without George in it? And who are they kidding? Culture Club without its main songwriter and singer simply isn't Culture Club. I've always felt very defensive and proud of Culture Club because it took me literally a year not to be too embarrassed to pick up their cassette and bring it to the counter at Tower Records. (Eww, wouldn't the clerk think I was gay? was the unspoken fear.) Plus, they ahve some great singles. Finally, I had a decade-long bet with my sister Leslie who insisted in 1983 that Culture Club were a flash in the pan and would be forgotten in a week. I bet her Culture Club -- and more specifically Boy George -- would in fact still be active and well known in one way or another in 1993. (That was the year Boy George hit #15 with his theme song from "The Crying Game.") Obviously, I was right in 1993, I was right in 2003 when George had a West End musical and I'll probably be right in 2013 as well.