or, to be more accurate, Wanky Judge Spots Good Publicity In High Profile Celebrity Case.

Harmless, victimless crime; typical "it's a good story" sentence...

Makes me sick.

And I bet the male prostitute is on the line to Mr Clifford... will fit nicely with the class of the rest of his clients.

It's a bit of a bussmans holiday though isn't it;

For the crime of gaining gratification from the imprisonment of a man, we sentence to you to prison with lots of men.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7748323.stm

Jonathan, the guy in November had already sold his story to the Norwegian press before the trial, if you read the above thread. I suspect Mr Clifford may have had a hand in that transaction.

I notice he actually wasn't charged with criminal damage on Boy George's computer. He wasn't even in the witness box as he was too traumatised.

Yes, I have to agree with you on this pathetic outcome, if he had pleaded guilty (probably advised to), then he probably would of only got a six-month sentence.

15 months does seem a bit harsh, however I don't know about a victimless crime. You can't just go around handcuffing people in your house. I know that Max Clifford is evil, however you can't blame people flor hiring him because he's probably the most well-known publicist and naive youngsters aren't going to be aware of his 'get a good story at any cost' approach.

apparently his lawyer was genuinely surprised at the sentence.

Ok so he was unlucky this time to get 15 months in prison, however a couple of years ago he was incredibly lucky to just get 1 week of community service, when he could have got 15 years for possession of drugs, a crime that is usually frowned upon in the US. He should have learnt his lesson then.

I feel very sorry for George..he is a genuinley lovely intelligent person with a drug problem for which he is continually punished for. Especially when it should be treated for what it is..a health probem.

I can't know what went on that night but I suspect it wasn't as the hustler said. Genuine victims don't go off and prattle to the media. I know because I've been one. The judge is a right ponce.."traumatised"..not on my fucking nellie !

They weren't famous then but Boy George ,Marylin, Steve Strange and a whole lot of those kids used to crash at my Portobello Road mews house every Tuesday night after the Blitz Club.

Unforgettable nights and mornings made all the madder as I was working on a film at the time starring Farrah Fawcett Majors & Kirk Douglas.

Having not been in jail (JK can advise !!)at least George will be popular..he is wonderful company. Others should be wary of taking him on..he has a mean left hook and not afraid to use it.

Another Irishman falls foul of British authority !

Maybe just maybe he actually comitted a crime and has been suitably detained? If it was Aled Jones i'd be surprised.

Were you one of the original new romantics who frequented the blitz club. That must have been a fascinating period to have lived through.

You're not Robert Elms are you?

Ha !..no I'm not Robert Elms but I certainly lived through the New Romantics era and it was fun (having just come through the Punk era).

I was working in films (just on the crew) and I usually got a company car to drive as I often drove the stars back and forth. Hence I was pretty popular on those Tuesday nights when no-one could get home to the suburbs..they would all pack into the back of Kirk Doublas's Merc..if he only knew what went on in his car at night !

I recall waking up one morning and going to the bathroom and there in the bathtub asleep..was Des O'Connor's daughter and Max Bygraves daughter..nutters.

all in all this sentence is way over the top...

After the pre-sentence report a panel of experts recommended that the judge award a suspended sentence.

Instead of which he gave a severe sentence in relation to the crime- I mean kidnapping someone for 15 minutes when both people were on ,and a medical expert said that the injuries sustained were "unlikely" to have been inflicted by anything that happened in George's flat.

George has turned his life around in the last year and a half. I think he could well be released in 6 months or so on good behaviour.

Now if only somebody would chain up Max Clifford and beat him!
If only we had a law stopping 'victims' selling their story before the outcome of a legal case it'd certainly reduce the kind of rubbish we're witnessing here.

Sounds amazing, I was really interested in the new romantic scene in terms of the fashion and the music. Unfortunately I was only about 12 or 13 so couldn't enjoy the club scene and was living well outside London anyway.

That was the last truly great youth culture scene in this country.

it's really odd to hear someone was only 12 then !! A co-incidence that you picked up on Robert Elms..many people thought we were related as we looked similar.

I was also working part-time on doing publicity for a music publishing company and one group I looked after was Japan-then pretty unknown in the UK but doing well in Germany & Asia.

They were fascinated by the New Romantic scene which they had really anticipated totally seperately. I once took David Sylvian to the Blitz..which was the home of the Romantics..and I hadn't understood until then how there was a real market for them in the UK..David was treated in awe by the kids there.

Most of the kids lived far out in the suburbs which is why they couldn't get back home when the place shut. Including Marlyn who I managed for a while when Boy George became famous (although he was unmanageable). He really dressed and looked like Marylin Monroe at the time an I asked him what his mother thought when he left home each afternoon.."she just cries" he said.

Back at my place with a dozen people collapsed on the floor..hopefully George, Marylin and Phillp Salon would starta bitching session which was like watching a full cabaret..hysterically funny .

I was 18 or 19 and often used to bump into Mr Elms and friends at the local cafe.

Anyone from the era will also be saddened to hear of Gary and Martin Kemps` parents sad passing this week.

"Give me the time to realise my crime"

First line of his first hit and how prophetic


I suppose Pete Burns will claim he went to prison first and George is just copying him.

re The Kemp's parents???? both of them???? what happened?

Yes - really sad in the news.

www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/01/17/...art-115875-21047576/

Yes it was very sad to hear about Gary and Martin's parents. It often happens that couples die quite soon after each other. I guess they are so broken hearted that they just don't have the will to go on. Alan Lake and Diana Dors both died within months of each other.

This is a very moving statement issued by George's friend and musical director John Themis.

BOY GEORGE: THE REAL MAN

Bring us closer to our feelings
So the truth is all we ever serve
Bring us Gods we can believe in
Let no cry go unheard
(Lyrics: George O’ Dowd Jan 2009)

This was one of the latest songs I wrote with him called “Let No Cry Go Unheard” mainly with the unfortunate baby P in mind and generally about all hidden injustice and suffering.

It’s unbelievable and incomprehensible how a supremely talented genius like Boy George could be locked away for a disproportionate 15 months for effectively making a citizens arrest in his own home for catching a story selling gold digging opportunist stealing his property.

I am John Themis and have been working, writing, producing and musically directing for George for the best part of 18 years. He is without doubt one of the most talented artists in the world . I know this man. I know the truth and I will share it with you. I will not conveniently distance myself from George like some others have done as if they were going to catch some sort of “association disease” from the latest false stories and misrepresentations that have been banded about in the various media conduits who have been, to say the least and to coin a phrase, “economical with the truth”.

What a target for the media. Boy George. A perfect way of increasing all the ratings so that more expensive advertising space can be sold. Jump on the bandwagon with every one else like a bunch of school bullies. Build em’ up and knock em’ down, it all makes for good copy.

By no means is he the Mother Teresa of the gay world or is he squeaky clean. I know that he has the reputation of being a right bitchy scathing so and so just like we all can be at times. The difference is that we don’t make the gossip column at that moment of news worthy bitchiness. Squeaky clean. Are you? If your private life was dragged through the arena of the public gaze consistently over the years, how many skeletons would you have in your wardrobes? Yet we still cast the stone at the Oscar Wildes, Quentin Crisps and Boy Georges of the world so that we can quench our thirst for crucifixion. He is an open target for the press at the moment which is a shame as they seem to have the knack of catching him in his worst light. Boy George has had his share of drug dramas like a big chunk of the media figures we all know but he has been clean for just under a year now after attending, even chairing at drugs anonymous and let me tell you, according to him there were a few celebrities there, you would be surprised.

He is one of the most considerate and generous persons I have ever met and has proven this to me and people that I have been associated with over the years. The amount of friends and even just acquaintances he has literally put up in his house for months because they were in trouble hard up or had no where else to turn to is beyond most people’s comprehension of charity. Free charity events over the years have been just par for the course. He is an eloquent speaker, a good conversationalist and an extremely intelligent human being, this is why TV companies and radio stations have fallen over themselves and continue to do so just to get him on their shows. He is a loyal and dedicated friend whose unprejudiced tolerance of all races, creeds, sexes and religions is known to many and has been echoed in a lot of the songs that he has written over the years. Unlike some other tax exiles, he has made and lost fortunes in the UK but has stayed here and paid his taxes. He is a Godfather to many children and looks after his nephews, nieces and rather large immediate family even buying his mum a house. Not only is George a magical, shining, spell bounding, talented performer, but also an inspiring illuminating soul to be with who has a unique sense of humour unlike no other. There is never any artistic compromise with George only artistic integrity. On stage and in the studio, everything is real, everything is honest and everything is a reflection of his immensely knowledgeable colourful life’s experience, present and past.

I have received letters emails and phone calls from celebrities and supporters all over the world who like me are dumbfounded at this travesty. Singer, performer, media figure, song writer, poet, designer, photographer, painter, creative genius, it is a pleasure and a privilege to know him, be his friend, work with him and be associated with him. Just like the Phoenix, he will rise out of his own ashes.

John Themis