"Karma Chameleon" is a song by English bandCulture Club, featured on the group's 1983 albumColour by Numbers. The single was released in the United Kingdom in September 1983[5] and became the second Culture Club single to reach the top of theUK singles chart, after "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me". The record stayed at number one for six weeks and became the UK's biggest-selling single of the year 1983, selling 955,000 copies in 1983 and certificated platinum by BPI.[6] To date, it is the 38th-biggest-selling single of all time in the UK,[7] selling over 1.52 million copies.[8]
The song was a worldwide success, going number one in 20 countries. It also spent three weeks at number one on the USBillboard Hot 100 in early 1984, becoming the group's biggest hit and only US number-one single among their many top-10 hits. The single sold over 5 million copies globally.[9] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's ninth favourite1980s number one in a poll forITV.[10] The sleeve features work from the photographerDavid Levine.
In an interview, Culture Club frontmanBoy George explained: "The song is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing. It's about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back."[11] In response to claims from singer-songwriterJimmy Jones that the song plagiarizes his hit "Handy Man", George stated: "I might have heard it once, but it certainly wasn't something I sat down and said, 'Yeah, I want to copy this.'"[12] In an interview with60 Minutes Australia, Boy George said that he wrote the song while he was on vacation in Egypt, and that the other members of Culture Club were initially hesitant to record it as they felt it sounded like acountry song.[13]
The title of the song seems to have been changed because, in interviews in mid-1983, the group said their next single was to be "Cameo Chameleon".[14] Theharmonica part was played byJudd Lander, who had been a member ofMerseybeat groupThe Hideaways in the 1960s. "Karma Chameleon" is written in the key ofB♭ major.[15]
Cash Box said that "with Boy George's smooth lead (and the catchy background vocals), it has the air of an immediate Stateside hit".[16] The song won Best British Single at the 1984Brit Awards. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 9th favourite1980s number one in a poll forITV.[10]
The music video, directed by Peter Sinclair,[21] was filmed atDesborough Island inWeybridge during 1983. The video is set inMississippi in 1870. It depicts a large multiracial group of people in 19th-century dress, including some dressed in red, gold, and green (as referenced in the lyrics). Boy George is dressed in what would be known as hissignature look: colourful costume, fingerless gloves, long braids, and a black bowler hat.
A pickpocket and jewellery thief is seen wandering through the crowd, stealing from unsuspecting victims. The band and everyone board a riverboat,The Chameleon, as Boy George continues to sing. While four men are playingpoker, the thief is discovered cheating by giving himself aroyal flush, and is forced to return all his ill-gotten gains andwalk the plank at the points of ladies' parasols, falling into the river. As the video ends, day has turned to evening and the party continues on the boat as it cruises down the river.[22]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
TheUnited Australia Party created "Palmer Chameleon", a parody of "Karma Chameleon" promoting the party and leaderClive Palmer in particular, as part of the soundtrack of theirClive Palmer: Humble Meme Merchant mobile video game. Boy George and Culture Club's manager have said that the unauthorised use of the song constitutes copyright infringement, and have stated that their record label would be dealing with the matter.[77]
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