No time seems better than now for Culture Club.

The multi-racial, gender-bending British pop group brings its reunion tour to the Lehigh Valley with a headline performance at Musikfest, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 8, Sands Steel Stage, SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.

Culture Club formed in 1981 with George O'Dowd, better known as Boy George, on lead vocals; Roy Hay, guitar, keyboards; Mikey Craig; bass, and Jon Moss, drums.

The group was unique at the time for featuring a flamboyant, androgynous gay front man and a multi-racial mix of band members.

Culture Club received a 1984 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and had a string of Top 10 hits in the 1980s, starting with "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me," and then "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," "It's A Miracle," "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and "Karma Chameleon."

The reunion tour, which brings Culture Club to Musikfest's main stage, is the first major tour for the original line up in almost 15 years.

"I've always had the idea of us getting back together," says Craig in a telephone interview. "I've been talking about it for quite some time, but obviously if you ask George he'll tell you that it was his idea, so we'll kind of go with that then.

"The truth is, nothing can be done without George. You kind of have to wait until George is in the right frame of mind for touring and for writing and so forth. So, really, we can't do anything without him.

"He's [George] very much into the whole thing [touring] right now."

Culture Club has wrapped up recording "Tribes," the band's first studio release since 1999s "Don't Mind If I Do."

"We [recorded] it last year at a wonderful studio in the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain at a beautiful studio that is owned by the guy who produced the album. His name is Youth, and he was a former bass player with a punk band called Killing Joke. He turned producer after he left that band.

"I would have never put us together with Youth, with somebody from a punk background, but somehow it seemed to work. The settings and the whole atmosphere ... We couldn't help but make wonderful music."

Craig also credits Youth for returning closeness to the group.

"He made us into a band again. He brought us back together. He got us back to basics of just literally playing our instruments and writing the way we did when we were young, without using technology for writing. We sat down with just a couple of instruments. The best songs for the album were written in the most simplest form."

Craig expects that after "Tribes" is released in early 2016, there will be additional touring and TV appearances.

"You can never tell with Culture Club," he laughs, "But for the next year, maybe two years, we should be really promoting the album. But as I say, you can never tell with Culture Club. It can be two weeks. It can be two years. Whatever it is, I'll take it, I guess."

Culture Club's music has certainly aged well. The band's signature mix of calypso, reggae, funk and salsa rhythms has stood the test of time and does not sound dated in comparison to the synth-laden sounds popularized by their New Wave peers of the 1980s.

The live show is expected to offer a blend of familiar favorites, as well as new tracks from "Tribes." To the listener, the new and old are often seamless. The members of Culture Club are at a point where they can embrace the past while also showcasing their maturity and musical growth over the decades.

"I think, originally George, tried to run away from that [the past]. He didn't want to be nostalgic as we approached writing the album. But I think he realized in the end you just can't get away from it. It even came through in writing the new album. It sounds very much like us. It's there in our DNA. We can't get rid of it."

Many have considered Culture Club to be on the forefront of the equality and acceptance of LGBT people. George's willingness to be himself on stage during a time when it was not often safe to be openly gay and proud was groundbreaking and an inspiration for young people.

In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling recognizing same sex marriage in the United States and the increased visibility of transgender issues with the coming out of Caitlyn Jenner, the Culture Club tour is timely. In fact, Caitlyn Jenner appeared on stage to a standing ovation prior to Culture Club's July 24 concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

"George is always saying that he wishes that what's happening now had happened 30 years ago. He wished he had had the lifetime of all of the experiences and liberties everybody will receive now.

"Certainly it's nice to think that we played a part in all of that, opening the doors for people like Caitlyn and other people in other walks of life. I'm not gay, but it's nice to see the men hand in hand walking down the street quite frequently. Hopefully, Culture Club played a part in giving the people this freedom.

"There's always work to be done and there's probably more work to be done, but we are obviously very happy and we feel that we played a part in paving the way for Caitlyn Jenner and other people like that in this world, to be able to enjoy the freedom that they are enjoying now.

"It's wonderful being back on the road. We haven't been on the road properly for about 15 years or more. It took a while to get back into it, but we are up and running and it feels really good."

The response to the tour has been positive and enthusiastic, says Craig.

"The audiences have been really psyched and really pumped. It's been fantastic and I really appreciate that.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the audiences wherever they are for the support they have been giving us. It's been really, really lovely and beautiful."