Boy George thought being in prison would ‘finish him off’ but instead says it was ‘life-changing’ experience

Boy George has reflected on his experience of being in prison and admits, at first, he thought being incarcerated would have ‘finished him off’.

The Culture Club singer, 59, was sentenced to 15-months in prison in 2009 for falsely imprisoning a male escort.

George – real name George Alan O’Dowd – was released early after serving four months of his sentence and now says, looking back, his time in prison was a ‘life-changing’ experience.

‘I always maintained that jail would finish me off, but it didn’t. You somehow find the strength,’ he revealed in an interview with Reader’s Digest magazine.

‘It was a life-changing experience and I feel I came out of that situation with some wisdom and knowledge.’

George added: ‘I really don’t view that period in my life as a negative… but I wouldn’t want to go back.’

The pop star, who is famed for hits such as Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?, was convicted after falsely imprisoning a Norwegian model in his flat, handcuffing him to a wall and beating him.

George was released from prison after four months for good behaviour, but was under curfew and required to wear an ankle monitor for the remainder of his sentence.

Prior to being jailed, George was sentenced to community service in 2006 after police found cocaine in his home in New York. He was also arrested in 1986 for possession of drugs.

The star, who has previously opened up about his struggles with drug addiction, said he sees his mistakes as ‘life lessons’ and that getting sober has transformed his life.

George explained: ‘I have always had a mistake in me, but that’s OK. As far as the troubles I had back in 2006 and 2009, of course they are things I’m not proud of.

‘Yet at the same time they remind me that I hadn’t shaken off that nihilistic attitude of the past, nor would I ever want to. And every mistake is a positive life lesson … It really is.’

He said: ‘Getting clean from the haze of drugs transformed my life in ways I didn’t expect.’

Since then, George has appeared as a celebrity coach on both The Voice UK, stepping in for Sir Tom Jones in 2016, and The Voice Australia.

It’s also been rumoured that George is set to get his own biopic, with the movie being teased to be ‘more provocative’ than Elton John’s biopic Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody, that told the story of Freddie Mercury and iconic band Queen.

‘George has thrived on his authenticity, the fact he has been so ruthlessly, almost alarmingly honest,’ said the movie’s co-writer Sacha Gervasi to The Mirror last year.

‘I think the film has to reflect that. We’re hoping to embrace that and push it a little bit farther than it was in those other films. It’s a little bit tougher, the Boy George story, a little bit less polished.’

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