Boy George: Prison like a 'bad dream'

Boy George. Photo / Supplied

Boy George says his time in prison was like a "bad dream".

The former Culture Club singer – who last year served four months of a 15-month sentence for false imprisonment of a male escort, who he attacked with a chain – didn't learn much from his time inside but wouldn't want to go through it again.

He said: "It was an interesting experience but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. When I was inside everyone said, 'When you leave you'll forget this ever happened,' and that's exactly what's happened. It seems like a bad dream."

Although he doesn't have many fond memories of prison, the 48-year-old star admits it made him to take an "enforced sabbatical from his life".

Discussing the impact prison had on him, George said: "None, really. I got through best I could and it's over now. It didn't have much impact.

"It was an enforced sabbatical from my life. If you're smart you make the best of wherever you are. That is what I tried to do. I made friends in there who I'm still in contact with now. I worked in the kitchen making the vegetarian food. It kept me busy, which was good."

George – real name George O'Dowd – also believes his optimism and close friends helped him get through his jail term.

He added in an interview with the Metro newspaper: "I'm not the sort of person who can maintain a dark perspective on life for very long.

"Having had a good sense of humour is very useful in certain situations. Being insanely optimistic has its advantages. "My friends have always been brilliant. There were no worries in that department."