Boy George remembers bemoaning that “this would never have happened to Bowie” when he was doing community service.
The Culture Club singer has struggled with addiction in the past and had run-ins with the law.
He was ordered to complete community service in America after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary in 2006. In 2009 he served four months of a 15-month sentence in the UK for the assault and false imprisonment of a male escort in his East London apartment.
"In prison, I was like, ‘This is my fault if I'm here now,’” he told the French edition of Vogue. “In New York, when I swept up the streets of Chinatown during my probation, I remember I was saying, ‘This would never have happened to [David] Bowie...’ I always thought I would be reasonable at 40. It took me seven more years, but now I control my life."
The 50-year-old confessed that a lot of his troubles came from his own refusal to mature.
He wanted to remain young and irresponsible for ever.
"The most important thing that has happened to me over the past five years is that I grew up,” he said. “A confession that I would never have imagined before. The idea was like a capitulation. I hated that. I wanted to stay immature forever. There is a real power when you grow up and it was like a revelation for me."
George is relieved that he has been able to survive his many ups and downs.
The star added he was saddened by the death of Amy Winehouse earlier this year. He believes the singer never got to realise her full potential.
"Amy [is the last singer who moved me]. Her voice was so natural. It went out like this - as if she didn't have to do anything. In my opinion, she didn't use half of her resources," he said.
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