Boy George refused US work visa

It's hard to say whether the American immigration authorities know who George O'Dowd is. All we know for certain is that the United States doesn't want him in the country. O'Dowd has been denied a work visa, scuppering his plans to jaunt across America. But, of course, George O'Dowd isn't just George O'Dowd: he's Boy George, and his visa refusal doesn't just mean one sad-faced Englishman - it means 30 cancelled tour dates.

Boy George will not be visiting Reno, Philadelphia, New York or Atlantic City - he'll not even perform in Toronto, Calgary or Montreal. The singer has binned his entire North American tour, punishing Canadians and Americans alike for the US visa decision.

The 47-year-old was denied entry into the United States as he is awaiting trial in London. The November trial stems from an escort's 2007 charge that Boy George held him against his will. After paying bail, British authorities gave the Karma Chameleon the all-clear to leave the country, but the Americans do not seem so easily persuaded.

According to a statement, Boy George had been particularly excited to play in August for employees of the New York Department of Sanitation. The sewer workers and street cleaners were for a time Boy George's colleagues, when the singer performed court-ordered community service in a drug case. The gig was to planned "to thank the DSNY and the workers' families for the kindness shown to [Boy George] during his community service with them in 2006".

Won't the US Department of State think of the New York bin men?


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