Do You Really Want to Hurt Me

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, Kissing to Be Clever (1982), this ballad   was the band's first major hit and first UK No. 1 hit. In the United States, the single was released in November 1982 and also became a hit, reaching No. 2 for three weeks.

Release
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" was the third single released in Europe by Culture Club and their debut release in the United States and Canada. The song became a UK No. 1 single for three weeks in October 1982. It entered the American Pop chart the week ending 4 December 1982, hit No. 1 in Cash Box magazine, and held at No. 2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March and April 1983. The single hit No. 1 in Canada. It was also number one in Australia.

This was Culture Club's first major success, after their first two releases at the Virgin Records label, "White Boy" and "I'm Afraid of Me", charted lower in the UK at No. 114 and No. 100 respectively. Producer Steve Levine later said: "We felt very strongly that we had a great track with 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' and Virgin agreed."

Within a few days of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" being released, David Hamilton on BBC Radio 2 played the song as his record of the week. The song rose rapidly in the UK charts after the group's first appearance on Top of the Pops, which resulted in Boy George's androgynous style of dress and sexual ambiguity making newspaper headlines. The group were only asked to appear on Top of the Pops the night before the show, after Shakin' Stevens pulled out.

In a retrospective review, Allmusic described "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" as "a simple masterpiece, resonating with an ache that harked back to the classic torch songs of yesteryear." In 2007, Boy George said that the song was "not just about Culture Club's drummer Jon Moss, my boyfriend at the time. It was about all the guys I dated at that time in my life." The B-side was a dub version featuring Pappa Weasel in many countries and "You Know I'm Not Crazy" on the US release. On the 12" version of the record, the track "Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)" was also included.

Music video
The original accompanying music video for the song played in the UK and other Countries other than the USA/Canada was directed by Julien Temple, featured lead singer Boy George on trial in a courtroom (filmed in Islington Town Hall Council Chamber), with flashbacks to the Gargoyle Club, Soho in 1936 and the Dolphin Square Health Club, Pimlico in 1957. Some scenes were filmed at the Hornsey Road swimming baths in Islington, which later closed in 1991. The jury was in blackface making jazz hands gestures.

However, because "blackface" is considered a racist stereotypical trope in the USA, the video was edited for MTV USA which editied the video by removing all "blackface" and "judges wearing wigs" which is not done in the USA, and was instead replaced by shots of Boy George played backwards as he walked out of a pool becoming dry as he ascended from the stairs. [This version is in MTV archives, but has been since deprecated on all video services, such as YouTube, and only the original remains available to view today]. Boy George wears a shirt with the Hebrew writing "תַּרְבּוּת אֲגֻדָּה" ("Tarbut Agudda"), a literal translation of the individual words "culture" and "association" (probably a mistranslation of "club") in a grammatically incorrect order.

Track listings

 * 7-inch
 * A. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22
 * B. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub version) (feat. Pappa Weasel) – 3:38

(Released at least in UK, Canada, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden)


 * A. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:23
 * B. "You Know I'm Not Crazy" – 3:35

(Released in USA, Mexico)


 * 12-inch
 * A1. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22
 * A2. "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub Version) – 3:38
 * B1. "Love Is Cold" (non-album track) – 4:23

(Released at least in UK, Canada (different cover), USA, Australia, France, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands (different cover), Spain)


 * CD single (1992 re-issue)
 * 1) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:22
 * 2) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub Version) – 3:38
 * 3) "Bow Down Mister" (Sitari Bizarri Mix) – 6:24 (Released in Germany in 1992, to promote the compilation album Spin Dazzle)

(Released as a remix version in France, to promote the compilation album Culture Club 2005 – Singles & Remixes, with new video)
 * CD single (2005 remix)
 * 1) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (DJ LBR 2005 remix) – 3:59
 * 2) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – 4:25

Covers
The song has been covered by such artists as Violent Femmes, but with altered lyrics, and Adam Lambert.

A cover by American musicians Karma Fields and Shey Baba was released on September 23, 2020.

Blue Lagoon version
The song was covered in 2005 by German band Blue Lagoon on its album Club Lagoon and became a hit in Europe.

Track listings
CD single
 * 1) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (radio edit) – 3:29
 * 2) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (extended version) – 4:59