Sold (Boy George album)

Sold is the debut solo album by English singer Boy George, released in 1987 by Virgin Records. The album includes George's cover of "Everything I Own", which reached number one in the United Kingdom,[2] Ireland,[3] and Norway,[4] and also reached the top 10 in several other countries.

Sold
Studio album by Boy George
Released	8 June 1987
Recorded	1986
Studio	Air Studios, Montserrat RAK Studios, London
Genre	Dance pop[1]
Length	43:50
Label	Virgin
Producer	Stewart Levine Glen Skinner
Boy George chronology
Sold (1987) Tense Nervous Headache (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background

Sold was released following the break up of George's band Culture Club in 1986 and his subsequent recovery from addiction to drugs.[5]

Commercial performance

The album was a big success in Europe, and a modest success in the UK, but failed to sell as well in the United States because George was not able to tour and promote it there due to drugs-related restrictions, so it only reached No. 145 on the Billboard 200,[6] despite George's popularity with Culture Club in previous years. The album was nonetheless a huge hit in Italy, where it became George's highest-charting and best-selling work; Culture Club, though extremely popular in that country, never achieved such an outcome there. The album got good reviews,[7] even if Virgin Records did not like the use of brass on many tracks.

Singles

Following on from the success of "Everything I Own", three further singles were released from the album: "Keep Me in Mind" (UK No. 29), the title track "Sold" (UK No. 24) and "To Be Reborn" (UK No. 13).[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sold"	George O'Dowd Vic Martin Lamont Dozier	3:55
2.	"I Asked for Love"	O'Dowd Dozier	4:43
3.	"Keep Me in Mind"	O'Dowd Glenn Nightingale Jocelyn Brown	4:05
4.	"Everything I Own"	David Gates	3:53
5.	"Freedom"	O'Dowd Martin Richie Stevens	3:49
6.	"Just Ain't Enough"	O'Dowd Dozier	4:18
7.	"Where Are You Now (When I Need You)"	O'Dowd Glenn Skinner Stevens Martin Nightingale Ian Maidman Paul "Wix" Wickens	4:17
8.	"Little Ghost"	Kevin Mooney Marco Pirroni	3:14
9.	"Next Time"	David Lasley	3:28
10.	"We've Got the Right"	O'Dowd Martin Stevens	3:47
11.	"To Be Reborn"	O'Dowd Dozier	4:26

Singles

• "Everything I Own"/"Use Me"
• "Keep Me in Mind"/"State of Love" (+ "I Pray '87" on the 12" maxi single)
• "Sold"/“Are You Too Afraid?”
• "To Be Reborn"/"Where Are You Now (When I Need You?)"

B-sides

• "Use Me" – (O'Dowd, Martin, Stevens)
• "State of Love" (Edit & Extended Mix) – (O'Dowd, Roy Hay, Phil Pickett)
• "I Pray '87" – (O'Dowd, Hay, Jon Moss, Mikey Craig, Pickett)
• "Are You Too Afraid" – (Hay, O'Dowd)

Other songs

• "Let It Be" (with Ferry Aid) (Lennon/McCartney) – 6:08
• "The Wishing Well" (with GOSH!) (Chris Copping) – 5:30
• "Live My Life" (from the Hiding Out soundtrack)

Personnel

Musicians

• Boy George – lead male vocals
• Helen Terry – female vocals
• Richie Stevens – drums, percussion
• Vic Martin – keyboards
• Glenn Nightingale – guitars and background vocals
• Ian Maidman – bass
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards and rhythm arrangement on tracks 2, 6 & 11
• Michael Timothy – keyboards
• Juliet Roberts – backing vocals
• Carroll Thompson – backing vocals
• Captain Crucial (Amos Pizzey) – toastin'
• Lorenzo Hall – backing vocals
• Jerry Hey – arranging strings and horns[8]

Production

• Stewart Levine – production
• Glenn Skinner – sound engineer; production on track 10
• Steve Reece – assistant sound engineer
• Malcolm Garrett per Assorted iMaGes – sleeve
• Paul Gobel, Johnny Rozsa, Bill Ling – photography

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1987) Peak position Dutch Albums Chart[9] 51 Italian Albums Chart[10] 4 Norwegian Albums Chart[4] 15 Swedish Albums Chart[11] 18 Swiss Albums Chart[12] 15 UK Albums Chart[13] 29 US Billboard 200 145

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 60,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country	Year	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	1987	Virgin Records	CD	CDV 2430
			MC	MCV 2430
			LP	V 2430

References

1. link
2. "Boy George - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
3. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". web.archive.org. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
4. "norwegiancharts.com - Discography Boy George". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
5. "BBC News - Entertainment - More Karma from Boy George". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
6. "Album Search for "sold"".
7. HUNT, DENNIS (22 June 1987). "Pop Album Review : Boy George 'Sold' On Romantic Side". Los Angeles Times.
8. "Sold – Boy George – Credits – AllMusic".
9. "Discografie Boy George - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
10. "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1987". www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
11. "swedishcharts.com - Discography Boy George". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
12. "Boy George - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
13. "Boy George – full Official Chart History – Official Charts Company".
14. "British album certifications – Boy George – Sold". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Sold in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Amazon.com: professional and customer reviews, product details, track listing and audio samples.
• Lyrically Speaking: Web page including all the lyrics to the Sold album, the lyrics of its singles, B-sides, "The Wishing Well" and "Let It Be", as well as all lyrics to the songs by Culture Club, Boy George, Jesus Loves You and related projects.