Street sweeper Boy George 'responded well' to punishment

Boy George has “responded extremely well” to his week sweeping the streets of New York as a punishment for wasting police time, his manager said today.

The camp 80s singer – real name George O’Dowd – lost his temper when he was mobbed by media on the first day of his community service, and had to be taken back to the sanitation department depot to work behind the safety of a wire fence.

But since then he has been in the streets of Chinatown picking up litter – and almost enjoying it – for eight hours a day, his manager Jeremy Pearce said.

“It’s been great actually,” said Mr Pearce.

“It’s been really quite positive. I think George has responded extremely well.

“He just kind of took to it. He did it very conscientiously. He liked the people he was working with, both those who were doing community service and the people who ran the Sanitation Department, who were very fair.

“It was hard work but he seemed to almost enjoy it. He put his back into it and did a good job.

“I think people were quite surprised. I think they thought he was going to be a diva.”

Mr Pearce said the former Culture Club frontman, who finishes his five-day stint later today, had made friends with his fellow workers, and might even keep in touch with some of them.

“I think they liked him because he was so down to earth,” he said.

O’Dowd, whose hands became blistered during the week as a result of his dedicated sweeping, wore a luminous orange regulation issue jacket, special gloves and wraparound shades as he pounded the streets.

The last day of his community service marks the end of a months-long saga which at one point saw a judge blast the star for a suggestion that he should fulfil the sentence by holding a fashion and make-up workshop or Djing to raise money for Aids charities.

Judge Anthony Ferrara was furious with O’Dowd for failing to turn up for a court date in July, and not signing up for community service since being sentenced in March.

O’Dowd’s problems began in October when he called police to his Little Italy apartment to report a burglary and ended up being arrested when officers found a small amount of cocaine there.

In March he admitted false reporting of an incident under a plea bargain which saw a cocaine possession charge dropped, sparing him the possibility of a prison term.

Instead he was handed a $1,000 (€780) fine and the community service, and was also ordered to go on a drug rehab programme.

Yesterday O’Dowd was confronted at the end of his shift by a charity event organiser who claims he is owed $10,000 (€7,800) paid as a deposit for a DJ appearance in Rhode Island the musician had to cancel after he was arrested.

Chris Harris alleged he sent the money to a booking agency but had never got it back.

But Mr Pearce said the cash had never been passed on to O’Dowd.

“As soon as George was arrested we cancelled all his gigs in America for obvious reasons,” he said.

“He hasn’t received a penny for any of those gigs.”

He said the star might now be able to reschedule the performance in Rhode Island.

O’Dowd reportedly told Mr Harris: “As you can imagine, there is a lot going on. I didn’t take your money.”