Boy George doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wants to entertain.
The British artist is planning a free concert for his one-time coworkers at the New York Department of Sanitation as a sign of appreciation for the good will he was shown while performing community service in the city two years ago.
George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, will perform during the department’s annual Family Day on Aug. 17. More than 5,000 people are expected at the event.
“The people I worked alongside showed great kindness to me at a very difficult time, and I wanted to thank them all in a way that would show my appreciation,” George said.
The former Culture Club frontman was so hounded by paparazzi on his first day of hauling trash that he was quickly moved from his visible post to a fenced-off area inside a parking garage.
“‘New York’s Strongest’ are delighted that Boy George will join us at our Family Day outing in August and perform some of his fabulous hits for our hard-working men and women and their families,” First Deputy Commissioner Michael A. Bimonte said in a statement.
“Keeping New York City safe and clean is a daunting challenge–as Boy George well knows–and we welcome his generous offer to entertain those who have made our City the cleanest it has been in more than 30 years.”
George pulled sanitation duty for five days after pleading guilty to falsely reporting an incident to police in order to avoid a drug-possession charge after NYPD officers, responding to a report of a break-in at the singer’s apartment, found 13 bags of cocaine in lieu of a burglar.