In 1980 young George O'Dowd baffles his parents with his love of frocks and make-up and moves into a squat with kindred spirit Peter, who dresses as Marilyn Monroe and calls himself Marilyn. They make a splash at Steve Strange's trendy Blitz Club where George gets a job in the cloakroom but George is unlucky in his relationships with men until he meets wannabe musician Kirk. Through Kirk George meets the handsome drummer Jon Moss, on whom he develops a crush, but sacked by the Blitz and spurned by Kirk, George turns to Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren to further his music career. George's spell with McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow is short but fan Mikey North is impressed and asks George to sing in a group he is forming, where George again meets Jon. They will have an affair and the group will become the very successful Culture Club. Four years later, however, hounded by the tabloid press amid stories of his drug addiction, an unhappy George turns to Jon for advice on his future.
Douglas Booth
as Boy George
Mathew Horne
as Jon Moss
Francis Magee
as Jerry O'Dowd
Richard Madden
as Kirk Brandon
Freddie Fox
as Marilyn
Marc Warren
as Steve Strange
Mark Gatiss
as Malcolm McLaren
Jonny Burt
as Roy Hay
Dean Fagan
as Mikey Craig
Neil Toon
as Rusty Egan
