Church of the Poison Mind

"Church of the Poison Mind"
Single by Culture Club
from the album Colour by Numbers
B-side	"Man Shake", "Mystery Boy", "I'll Tumble 4 Ya"
Released	1 April 1983 (UK) 22 October 1983 (US)
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1983
Genre	New wave
Length	3:32
Label	Virgin Records Epic Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Roy Hay, Boy George, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss
Producer(s)	Steve Levine
Culture Club singles chronology
"I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (1983) "Church of the Poison Mind" (1983) "Karma Chameleon" (1983)
"I'll Tumble 4 Ya" (1983) "Church of the Poison Mind" (1983) "Karma Chameleon" (1983)

"Church of the Poison Mind" was a 1983 hit single for 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 the United States and Canada. 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".

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]

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".

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

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics