Song · Culture Club
“Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club
From the EP Karma-Chamaleon (1983)
“Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club appears on 13 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 1983 and 2026. It was first released in 1983 on the EP Karma-Chamaleon. Its best result is #11 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #12 alternative song of 1983, #2,353 alternative song of all time and #193 of the '80s.
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"Karma Chameleon" came off Culture Club's 1983 album Colour by Numbers, and it's pure sugar with a twinkle in its eye. Boy George sings it with a light, knowing lilt over a bouncy, country-tinged shuffle, Judd Lander blows a harmonica hook you can't shake, Roy Hay covers guitar, keyboards, piano and even sitar, and Mikey Craig on bass and Jon Moss on drums keep it skipping along, with Helen Terry lifting the backing vocals. Steve Levine produced, and guest keyboardist Phil Pickett shares the writing credit with the band.
Out as a single in Britain that September, it became their second UK number one after "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", held the spot for six weeks and ended up the biggest-selling single of the year there. It topped the charts in 20 countries, ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in early 1984, and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 25 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 | 107 |
| 1983 | 11 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 153 | 91X | 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) | 191 |
| 1999 | 83 | Channel 104.9 | Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) | 104 |
| 1999 | 431 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 102 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 300 |
| 1999 | 324 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 1999 | 976 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 377 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 338 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 552 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 443 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2026 | 79 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
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