Boy George: Members of band who will not perform pro-Israel song ‘will be fired’

By Sean O'Grady, Press Association Deputy Entertainment Editor

Boy George has said he will fire members of his band who do not want to perform his pro-Israel song We Will Dance Again.

The singer, 65, who self-released the track, recorded it to show support for victims of the October 7 attacks.

The song was criticised for lyrics including: “You say genocide, I say war.”

The lyrics also contain criticism of pro-Palestinian activists, including the verse: “You condemn the Jews, with selective memory / Musicians holding flags, mouthing like sheep / Propaganda fuelled by the internet feels so weak.”

Boy George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, revealed some members of his band were not comfortable with the song.

In an Instagram video, he said: “Even now the song is written, there are people in my band who are questioning whether they’ll perform it with me. And those people will be fired.”

Boy George, who used generative AI to write the song, added: “I don’t need gatekeepers, and one of the great things about AI is that it removes all the interference, all the human interference. The lyrics are mine, the melody is mine.”

Following public criticism, Boy George stepped down from his role as King Herod in the 2026 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium.

On Monday, the Culture Club star speculated that his recent concert in Frankfurt, Germany, could have been sabotaged over the song, as his ear monitors kept getting louder until he had to cut the performance short.

Boy George responded on X to an article in Germany’s weekly Jewish newspaper Judische Allgemeine which speculated on whether his performance was tampered with.

He wrote: “The truth is I will never know. Lesson learnt. Only work with your own sound people.

“The first song was a car crash which was weird because the sound was set earlier in the day so it shouldn’t change.

“However, you allow for a bit of mess in any opening song but by song two I had asked them to turn down the sound but it just got louder and louder. I had to bow out but I did what I could and that’s all that matters.”

Boy George, who is not Jewish, has recently voiced support for Jewish people.

He told The Telegraph: “Over the years it’s been a really personal thing. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have compassion for Palestinians, it doesn’t mean that I agree with what’s going on in Israel, but I am always going to defend the people that I love.

“I have a lot of Jewish friends and there would never be a situation where I’d turn my back on them.”