Boy George left ‘devastated’ as his beloved mother Dinah O’Dowd dies aged 84

Boy George’s beloved mother Dinah O’Dowd passed away on Monday aged 84.

The Culture Club singer’s representatives confirmed the sad news to MailOnline, revealing that he is ‘devastated’ by the loss. 

They also said Dinah was surrounded by family, including George, and they ask for privacy at this time. 

Boy George’s close friend DJ Fat Tony paid tribute to Dinah on Instagram: ‘God bless you you amazing woman Dinah ….my heart goes out to @boygeorgeofficial and the entire O Dowd family what an incredible beautiful strong woman we will miss you x’ 

In 2020, Boy George revealed his mother returned home after being hospitalised for two days with ‘heart or lung problems’ in April.

Awful: The Culture Club singer’s representatives confirmed the sad news to MailOnline, revealing that he is ‘devastated’ by the loss

Dinah required medical attention at Greenwich Hospital for issues unrelated to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 a fortnight ago, but has since been released into the care of her family.

And speaking to Lorraine from his London home, George shared his relief that his mother is away from an environment where she could potentially contract the killer bug.

He said: ‘My mum’s good, she’s back home now. She was in hospital for two days, luckily it was not corona related so that’s good. 

‘And it wasn’t what we initially thought so everything about it was just getting her home from the hospital because obviously with everything that’s going on, my mum’s 82 so it’s not the best place for her to be.’

Reflecting on Dinah’s time in hospital, George admitted she received the best possible care from dedicated NHS workers who did their best to keep her spirits high.

‘I managed to speak to her on the phone, which was really funny,’ he recalled. ‘There was this really beautiful moment where this nurse was singing to mum, and my mum said “I can’t hear you, take your mask off!”

George previously asked fans to pray for his ‘beautiful mother’ after doctors said they ‘won’t resuscitate if things go wrong’ following her hospitalisation.

Taking to Twitter, the Culture Club star, real name George O’Dowd wrote: ‘My beautiful mum is in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Woolwich.

‘A problem with her heart or lungs. She’s stable but they have said they won’t resuscitate her if things go wrong? Apparently, it won’t work? How can they know. Please pray! @LG_NHS.’ 

The singer has four brothers and one sister. His father Jeremiah died in 2003 but George has spoken in the past about how his father beat his mother.

In 2017, he detailed how he once kept his mother alive following an overdose.

Talking on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, he said: ‘She took pills. I remember sort of keeping her awake and not really understanding what had happened.’

Referencing the problems between his mother and father, George had said: ‘I used to tell my mum to leave my dad when I was like nine.

Boy George’s close friend DJ Fat Tony paid tribute to Dinah on Instagram: ‘God bless you you amazing woman Dinah ….my heart goes out to @boygeorgeofficial and the entire O Dowd family what an incredible beautiful strong woman we will miss you x’

Opening up: In 2020, Boy George revealed his beloved mother returned home after being hospitalised for two days with ‘heart or lung problems’ in April

‘I loved my father don’t get me wrong, I really loved him, but he wasn’t a good dad and he wasn’t a good husband.’

George also said: ‘My dad was quite an extreme man. (He) could lose his temper and chuck the entire Sunday dinner over and everybody went hungry.

‘He hit us all the time, punched us, but everyone in the 70s punched you. It happened a lot.

‘He’d fly off the handle quite easily but he was also extremely charismatic and funny. He was a real contradiction and it wasn’t until I got to about 15 or 16 that I realised how strong my mum was.’