Colour by Numbers

Culture Club made their second album with the producer and studio of the debut, Steve Levine and Red Bus in London, this time with outside players. George credited keyboardist Phil Pickett, who co-wrote two songs with the band, and backing singer Helen Terry for lifting the sound beyond the tropical pop of Kissing to Be Clever. It was recorded at Red Bus and CBS Studios in London.

The songs borrowed from pop history. The melody of It's a Miracle was inspired by Gilbert O'Sullivan's Matrimony, and Church of the Poison Mind drew on Stevie Wonder's Uptight. George told Rolling Stone that he first played That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You) at a sound check, where people said it was like Elton John.

The album reached number one in the UK, where it spent five weeks on top, and number two in the US for six weeks behind Thriller. It was certified triple platinum in the UK and four times platinum in the US, and made Culture Club the first group to have an album certified diamond in Canada. Church of the Poison Mind reached number two in the UK, kept off the top by Bowie's Let's Dance. Karma Chameleon went to number one, Miss Me Blind was a US top five hit, It's a Miracle reached number four in the UK, and Victims reached number three.

Smash Hits reviewer Peter Martin called it simply one of the most enjoyable records he had heard, and Rolling Stone's Stephen Holden wrote that Culture Club was one pop group that matters. In a 1998 interview the four members agreed it was their best work. In 2014 George curated a live performance of the album in Manchester with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. It appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.