On this day in 1984: Culture Club began their third and final week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Karma Chameleon.” It is the group’s biggest hit and only U.S. #1 single among their many top 10 hits. It would be ranked the #10 song for the entire year of 1984 by Billboard Magazine.
The song was featured on their 2nd album, ‘Colour By Numbers’ which was ranked #96 by Rolling Stone Magazine on their list of the 100 top albums of the 1980s decade.
‘Colour by Numbers’ has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and like its predecessor, ‘Kissing To Be Clever’, contains several hit singles. In the United States, all the album tracks peaked at #3 on the U.S. Dance Club Songs Chart. “Karma Chameleon” was the signature track from the album and when released as single reached #1 in many countries. “Church of the Poison Mind” reached #2 in the UK, and went top 10 in the US, Canada, Australia and many European countries. “Miss Me Blind” was released in North America, South America, Japan, and Australia to great success (Top 5 in the US and Canada), “It’s A Miracle” became a Top 10 or Top 20 hit in several markets. “Victims” was released in Europe and Oceania and was a Top 5 hit in the U.K. and Australia, but was not released as a single in the U.S. “Mister Man” was also released as a single in South Africa.
The album was certified triple Platinum in the U.K., Diamond in Canada, and 4x Platinum in the United States where it peaked at #2 for six consecutive weeks behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1984:
1 1 KARMA CHAMELEON –•– Culture Club (Virgin)-12 (3 Weeks at #1) (1)
2 5 JUMP –•– Van Halen (Warner Brothers)-6 (2)
3 2 JOANNA –•– Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)-16 (2)
4 12 99 LUFTBALLONS –•– Nena (Epic)-11 (4)
5 3 TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP –•– The Romantics (Nemperor)-20 (3)
6 6 THAT’S ALL –•– Genesis (Atlantic)-13 (6)
7 20 THRILLER –•– Michael Jackson (Epic)-2 (7)
8 4 OWNER OF A LONELY HEART –•– Yes (Atco)-16 (1)
9 15 GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN –•– Cyndi Lauper (Portrait)-10 (9)
10 13 LET THE MUSIC PLAY –•– Shannon (Mirage)-15 (10)
11 7 RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT –•– Lionel Richie (Motown)-13 (7)
12 17 NOBODY TOLD ME –•– John Lennon (Polydor)-5 (12)
13 14 AN INNOCENT MAN –•– Billy Joel (Columbia)-10 (13)
14 18 WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER –•– The Police (A&M)-7 (14)
15 9 THINK OF LAURA –•– Christopher Cross (Warner Brothers)-11 (9)
16 8 PINK HOUSES –•– John Cougar Mellencamp (Riva)-11 (8)
17 11 BREAK MY STRIDE –•– Matthew Wilder (Private I)-23 (5)
18 10 I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES –•– Elton John (Geffen)-17 (4)
19 19 MIDDLE OF THE ROAD –•– The Pretenders (Sire)-10 (19)
20 21 YAH MO B THERE –•– James Ingram (with Michael McDonald) (Qwest)-11 (20)
