Editing Culture Club (section)

=== 1984–1986: ''Waking Up with the House on Fire'', ''From Luxury to Heartache'' and decline ===
In 1984, the group released their third album ''[[Waking Up with the House on Fire]]'' (UK No.&nbsp;2, US No.&nbsp;26). Although certified platinum in both the UK and the US, it was a commercial and critical disappointment compared to their first two albums. The album contained the hit single "The War Song", which reached No.&nbsp;2 in the UK, and Top 20 in the US. Other singles like "Mistake No.&nbsp;3" (US No.&nbsp;33) and "The Medal Song" (UK No.&nbsp;32) would become modest hits. George later stated he felt the album experienced a lukewarm reception because of half-hearted material he felt they released due to pressure from Virgin and Epic. According to him, the band had just come off an exhausting world tour in 1984.
At the end of 1984, Boy George was recruited by [[Bob Geldof]] to join the [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] recording, consisting of mostly internationally known UK and Irish recording stars. George was in New York City for an appearance on ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' when Geldof called him, but managed to catch the final [[Concorde]] of the day to London and was the last singer to record a lead vocal track for the song "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]". The song would become the biggest selling single of all time in the UK and a huge international hit, raising millions for famine victims in several African nations, particularly Ethiopia.

Due to the break-up of his relationship with Moss, and all the ensuing tension with the rest of the band, George turned to relief in drugs. Consequently, he soon developed a self-destructive drug [[Substance use disorder|addiction]], which in merely four months escalated from [[marijuana]] to [[heroin]]. By 1986, George had become seriously [[Substance use disorder|addicted]]. The recording of their fourth studio album, 1986's ''[[From Luxury to Heartache]]'' (UK No.&nbsp;10, US No.&nbsp;32) dragged on for so long that producer [[Arif Mardin]] had to abandon the sessions due to prior commitments and leave it to engineer Lew Hahn to finish the sessions. Nevertheless, the first single "[[Move Away]]" became a hit, peaking at UK No.&nbsp;7 and US No.&nbsp;12 and appeared the album would return the group back to its previous success. But by the time of the release of the second single "God Thank You Woman", news of George's drug addiction began to circulate in British and American [[Tabloid journalism|tabloids]], and the second single stalled on its way up the charts, failing to make a big impact.

George and Moss also no longer wanted to be around each other due to the constant relationship battles and with George's addiction. ''From Luxury to Heartache'' began to fade from the charts as well, and the album ultimately sold fewer than one million copies worldwide at the time of release. By the summer of 1986, George finally admitted that he was indeed addicted to drugs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/boy-george-comes-clean-and-tries-to-come-back-after-heroin-addiction-and-his-pals-drug-deaths-vol-28-no-8/|title=Boy George Comes Clean—and Tries to Come Back—After Heroin Addiction and His Pals' Drug Deaths|website=PEOPLE.com|language=EN|access-date=30 January 2020}}</ref> In July of that year, he was arrested by the British police for possession of heroin. The band broke up and George pursued a solo career, having several European hits and a couple of US Top 40 hits.