Boy George was greeted with national delight and cheers on Wednesday during a sold-out performance at a packed Tel Aviv stadium. The 65-year-old Culture Club frontman, who wore a sequinned jacket for the show, greeted the crowd with a simple “Shalom!”
The singer is noted as one of the few international artists to perform in Israel while facing intensified calls for a cultural boycott following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. During the concert, the biggest applause occurred when George performed his reggae-infused song “We Will Dance Again.” The track, which contains the lyrics “You say genocide, I say war,” includes the line: “If you’re ever confused, I stand with the Jews.”
Fans at the event praised the singer for his courage. Nachum, a fan of more than 40 years, called George a hero for coming to Israel despite receiving a great many threats. Merav, another fan, stated that George is brave to stand for Israel when people are afraid to support the country due to propaganda. During a musical interlude, George told the audience to “show the world that hate is far less fun than love.”
George’s vocal support for Israel became prominent in July when he released “We Will Dance Again,” a song offering solidarity with October 7 victims. The song triggered widespread backlash, which resulted in George dropping out of a West End musical. During his visit, George met with President Isaac Herzog and acknowledged the pressure of his stance, stating, “In some ways, the old Boy George no longer exists, because some people don’t see me in the way they used to, and a lot of other people see me in a new way.”
The singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, has frequently discussed a kinship with the Jewish community where he grew up in London. On Tuesday, he visited the site of the Nova music festival, where more than 360 revellers were killed by Hamas-led militants on October 7. George said this tragedy inspired his latest song.
The October 7 attack was the deadliest day in Israel’s history, resulting in 1,221 deaths according to official Israeli figures, with 251 hostages taken into Gaza. The subsequent Israeli military offensive has killed more than 74,500 people in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
International artists have largely avoided performing in Israel since the attacks. Last year, a music collective called No Music for Genocide, featuring artists like Bjork and Massive Attack, sought to block their songs from being streamed in Israel. Additionally, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which began 20 years ago, continues to advocate for a boycott. In September, BDS published a call for a boycott of Ed Sheeran’s world tour following the removal of rapper Macklemore as a supporting act.
George is scheduled to perform another Tel Aviv concert on Saturday, for which 1,500 tickets have been donated to survivors and bereaved families.
