Boy George offers friendship and 80s hits to appreciative Tel Aviv audience
Culture Club singer embraced at first of two shows in Israel, where such visits from star performers have become a rarity; crowd sings along to ‘We Will Dance Again’ honoring Nova survivors
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Boy George brought friendship, sequins and his beloved hits from the 1980s to his first of two shows in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.
“Shalom! I’m very happy to be here tonight,” George said as he took the stage in Israel for the first time since 2017.
A crowd of around 10,000 people filled Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim Arena. Fans were of all ages, but skewed to those old enough to remember George’s heyday in the early 1980s as the lead singer of the English new wave band Culture Club.
For just over two hours, George and his band of five musicians performed a mix of old Culture Club hits, along with covers of Prince, David Bowie and Rolling Stones songs as well as his latest.
He also performed his latest song, “We Will Dance Again” about the survivors of the Nova music festival massacre during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Israeli singer Ivri Lider joined George on stage to sing “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” from Culture Club’s 1983 album, “Colour By Numbers.”
During the show, George commented on the last-minute nature of putting the concert together, noting that the media reports about his difficulty finding musicians willing to perform with him in Israel were a lie.
“There was no band shortage,” said George. “I’ve been here many times; I’m not a scaredy cat.”
George, who has faced widespread condemnation and boycotts for his outspoken support for Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, was brought to Israel as a solo act by promoter Live Nation.
He still performs regularly in England and Europe with two of the original fellow Culture Club members, Roy Hay and Mikey Craig, although percussionist Jon Moss left the band five years ago.
George had previously described how he faced threats, professional isolation and accusations of fascism over his support for Israel.
אחרי חרם מוזיקלי שקט על ישראל מאז המלחמה: בוי ג׳ורג׳ פתח הערב את המופע הראשון בהיכל מנורה מבטחים בת״א (סולד אאוט) ואירח את עברי לידר לדואט. ״כל כך שמח להיות פה״, אמר הזמר הבריטי pic.twitter.com/73PSL9oGCj
— Raz Shechnik (@RazShechnik) November 4, 2026
During his visit to Israel, which has included meeting President Isaac Herzog, a stop at the Western Wall and a trip to the Nova memorial site in the Negev, he has repeatedly mentioned his many Jewish friends and his opposition to racism and social criticism.
“Us minorities must stick together,” he said.
Throughout the show, George discussed the difficulties of growing up gay in 1970s England.
“I survived the 1970s without being famous, which is a fucking triumph,” he said,
George, born George Alan O’Dowd, found fame in the early 1980s as the lead singer of Culture Club.
It was Culture Club’s second album, Colour by Numbers, in 1983, that produced several hit songs: “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, “Time”, “Church of the Poison Mind” “Karma Chameleon,” and “War Song.”
The Tel Aviv audience waited patiently between George’s lesser-known, newer songs and covers, standing and clapping wildly every time they knew a tune and its lyrics.
There were more awkward moments too, such as when George introduced “War Song” and asked the audience to raise their hands for someone who went off to war, and was greeted with a brief silence, perhaps given the prevalence of army service and reserve duty among Israelis over the last three years of war.
Welcome @BoyGeorge a dear friend of Israel ???????? pic.twitter.com/lHiGMcjrZR
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 2, 2026
It was clear that he wanted to align with the locals, noting before singing “Church of the Poison Mind,” that “It seems a strange song to do in Israel.”
It was only at the end of the night that George sang his ode to the Nova, “We Would Dance Again,” as blue Stars of David stars and figures of Hasidic men dancing featured on the Jumbotron.
As he sang, “If you’re ever confused, I stand with the Jews. I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human,” the crowd roared, ever grateful that George came to visit at a time when foreign performers are few and far between.
George will play again on Saturday night at the same arena. His second show is dedicated to Nova survivors, and philanthropist Sylvan Adams is supplying 1,500 tickets for members of that bereaved community.
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