"Church of the Poison Mind" is a 1983 hit single by the British
new wave band
Culture Club. It was released as the lead single from their second, and most successful, album Colour by Numbers.
The song reached #2 in the
United Kingdom, being kept out of the top spot by
David Bowie's "
Let's Dance".[1] It was also the band's fourth Top 10 hit in
Canada and the
United States. In America, it was still climbing the charts when "
Karma Chameleon" was released as a single. This prompted
Epic Records to release "Karma" ahead of schedule.
"Church of the Poison Mind" actually reached its peak position the same week "Karma Chameleon" debuted on the US charts. In many countries its
B-side was the heavily percussive street song "Man Shake" and in some others, such as the United States, it was the song "Mystery Boy". Both songs were on the
12-inch single in many countries, except Canada, where it was issued with an extended version of previous hit "
I'll Tumble 4 Ya".
Background
Helen Terry sang backing vocals on the song.[2]AllMusic critic Stewart Mason stated that her "fiery performance of the
chorus is a pop-song masterstroke."[3] Fellow Allmusic critic Jose J. Promis agreed that her performance "really brought the house down."[2]
Mason regarded the song as a tribute to the songs written by
Holland–Dozier–Holland for
Motown in the 1960s.[3] It was ranked at number 8 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1983 by NME.[4] In 2017, it was ranked as the number one Culture Club song by Billboard.[5]
In an interview with Rolling Stone in June 1984,
Bob Dylan, when asked if he belonged to any church, joked that he adhered to the "Church of the Poison Mind".[6]
Track listing
7-inch record
A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "Man Shake"
(Released in UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden)
A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "Mystery Boy"
(Released in Peru, USA.)
12-inch record
A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B1. "Mystery Boy"
B2. "Man Shake"
(Released at least in UK, Australia, Germany, Greece (different cover), Italy, Mexico.)
A. "Church of the Poison Mind"
B. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (extended dance mix)
(Released in Canada.)
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for "Church of the Poison Mind"
^"Classifiche" (in Italian).
Musica e dischi.
Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Culture Club".