UK: Boy George arrives in London after being charged with possessing cocaine in the United States

Singer Boy George flew back to Britain on Sunday (October 9) after his drugs arrest in New York, refusing to comment on the affair as he arrived at London's Heathrow airport. Police arrested the 44-year-old ex-Culture Club frontman on Friday (October 7) after they found a small amount of cocaine at his Manhattan apartment. He was released on Saturday (October 8) after appearing at Manhattan Criminal Court charged with possessing drugs and must return to New York for another hearing on Dec. 19. "I am not speaking to anybody about it," George told reporters at Heathrow. "Don't ask me any questions because you are not going to get any answers at all." "It's nice to see you, though," he added, as airline staff escorted him out of the terminal building. It remains unclear what prison term, if any, he faces since police said they had yet to determine with precision what quantity of drugs may have been in his apartment. The singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, made his name with the 1980s pop band Culture Club. In 1995, he recounted his drug-induced fall from grace in his autobiography "Take It Like A Man", writing about his convictions and relapses and about how he had finally kicked his habit. George's musical "Taboo" closed in New York last year after losing money. The musical was an autobiographical look at a time when flamboyant cross-dressers reigned in London clubs and Culture Club topped pop charts around the world. Known for his flowing locks and the lash of his sharp tongue, the boy doll with the asexual image was devoured by British tabloid newspaper who wrote often about his heroin-induced excesses to his pitiful withdrawal. In recent years, George has made a new career as a disc jockey and record producer.

ITN Source | October 15, 2005

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