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"Shirley Temple Moment" is a track from the Culture Club box set, of the guys in the recording studio attempting to record Victims for their 2nd album, Colour By Numbers, but their tempers got in the way! Says George (in an interview for remembertheeighties.com) "I had heard about that tape for years and it was almost one of those urban-myth things - everyone kept saying there was this tape going round of Culture Club rowing and when I heard it I thought it was hysterical, and I thought it was hysterical that we were trying to perform this beautiful song and it was all 'you're a cunt!' and 'you fat bastard!'... what came out of it was just so funny, but that was always the way - you fought all the time and then something really magical would happen!"

Here is the transcript/lyrics of "Shirley Temple Moment"...

: "... 8 counts"

: "Plenty of echo on my voice, a bit more, bit louder me...

Oh, the Victims we know so well, they shine in your eyes when they...

: "Shut up"

: "Fuck off you spotty fucking heterosexual cunt"

: "Big-nose gay"

: "That's right, c'mon, (adopts campy voice) wanna stop messing about, right?"

: "Alright girls, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8..."

(the guys launch into Victims - and Mikey stops playing his bass or the bass is cut out)

: "stop it, stop"

: "Play it Mikey"

: "Stop (the guys stop playing)... he just stopped, come on Mikey"

: "1, 2, 3..."

: "... cock"

: "How much toast do you eat?"

: "1, 2, 3, 4... (Jon and Mikey start playing) 2"

: "... oh come off it, for fuck's sake!"

: (sarcastically laughs)

: (to Jon) "you always do 8 counts - then he suddenly changes"

: "You just did 4 in... "

: "Do it Roy, er, Jon and stop being a little wanker"

: "Don't call me a little wanker - I'm not doing it now, sorry - I'm not doing it now"

: "Big deal, who cares? It's for you anyway"

: "No, it's not for me"

: "Come on, girls"

: "No"

: "Look, it's for Phil, just do it boys"

: "No, not doing it"

: "... split"

(Roy starts playing the chords to Victims and Jon drums in...)

: "Come on, you all get a free air gun if you do this"

: "Oh good, we can blow your head off"

: "And you get a free rent boy if you do this"

: "Come on..."

: "1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4"

(the guys all launch into Victims)

:

"Oh, the victims we know so well
They shine in your eyes when they kiss and tell
Strange places we've never seen
But you're always there like a ghost in my dream
And I keep on telling you
Please don't do the things you do
When you do those things, pull my puppet strings
I've the strangest void for you...

Oh, we love and we never tell
What places our hearts in the wishing well
Strange lover I've never been
But you must be strong, you must come clean
If I keep on loving you, it's the only thing to do
There are stranger things if I do those things
I'm a puppet king for you..."

(George misses his cue to come in)

Pull the strings of emotion..."

Don't know where to come in...

: "I just told you where you came in!"

: (collectively, obviously annoyed) "Ohhhhhhh"

: "Bye"(as he leaves the studio)

: "Oh come off it, can we just record the fucking thing"

: (out loud so George can hear)"What a fucking wanker! You fucking big fat wanker!"

(Mikey laughs in background)

: "Oh come on"

: "Well he's not doing it man"

: "No, he just wants to go to a party"

: "No, he wants to go and fucking see - he wants to see himself on tele and go to the parties"

: (out loud so George can hear) "Have a nice party"

(George enters the recording studio again and Mikey laughs while Jon does a drum roll...)

: "Come on"

: "No way, you called me a fat cunt"

: "Well, you are a fat cunt - go and see yourself on tele and go to your stuff, go on, you're not interested in this band"

: "Here he comes..."

: "You sit there and let him do that - you go to fucking hell"

: "I've done nothing wrong, mate - oh, it's all my fault now, is it?"

: "That's right - fucking dwarf" (slams door and leaves studio)

: "Yeah - it's all my fault boys"

: "Grown ups!"

: "Have a good party George"

: "Grown ups!" (and laughs)

: "I love the way he blames me, you know"

: "Come on lads, let's knock it out"

: "Can't we do it without him"

: "Yeah, let's do it without him man, fuckin' hell..." (Roy's outside the room arguing with George) "Roy, Roy, come on we'll do it without him, please..."

: "The chord's alright and it's all my fault"

: "I'm fucking tired and I want to sleep now man, you guys, we'll do it without him"

(Roy, George and Jon are arguing - mostly out of the microphone's reach)

: "How dare you blame me for that"

: "You're sacked"

: "But you walked off"

: "No, he's sacked right, there's no working with him"

: "Stop it, I know you..."

: "How can he be sacked, Roy, George? He can't be sacked, there's a lot of legislation there you're chatting about man, it is"

: "... don't do that to me again, right"

: "... called me a soft target..."

: "it's slightly different George"

: "no it's not"

: "... the truth is it's slightly different and you were rude to him "

: " that's it... ... I meant it"

: "... cruel"

: "no I meant it"

: "It's only because you wanted to go, you're only making excuses"

: "No..."

: "you want to go"

: "...Why would I end it? In fact I'm worried..."

: "Oh, promises"

: "Get it in your little thick head, Jon"

: "Don't have a go at me, I've done nothing, I've been in here all day working, you can't even fucking sing for 5 minutes"

: "Get it in your little thick head, get it in your brain, right, I'm serious, get it in your brain, I'm serious right,"

: "Why can't you concentrate"

: "Get it in your brain, I mean it, OK I mean it, I'm dead serious, Jon, get it in your brain."...

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