A late addition to the Meltdown schedule, Boy George is the artist who is perhaps closest to curator Antony Hegarty's heart. Growing up as a lonely Anglo-American "effeminate" (his word), Hegarty was consoled by George's blurring of gender lines, and credits him with saving his life. It's little exaggeration to say Antony worships George: he admitted as much during this combined interview/performance.

"I just love you so much," Hegarty told him. "Those eyes – I've stared into those eyes so much." In his acerbic youth, George might have batted away such a compliment, but he's mellower these days. Instead, he beamed. Beaminess, in fact, characterised his whole performance, both spoken and sung. Hegarty, meanwhile, was the starstruck fanboy, looking for similarities, which were mainly illusory. He pointed out that they were both Roman Catholics, "queens", outsiders – but George gently replied: "I don't feel like an outsider."

What emerged over 90 minutes was how different they were: intense, transgender Antony, consumed by gender and feminist issues, and George, the down-to-earth bloke from south-east London. He steered the interview away from politics, toward warm memories of adventures with old pals Marilyn and Philip Salon, and his relationship with Culture Club's Jon Moss. There were few revelations (breaking news: he likes football nowadays), but he did confide the secret to his current happiness: "I have an off button now."

There was time for half a dozen songs, some surprising. Who knew George could sing You Don't Have to Say You Love Me in the original Italian? Or that Karma Chameleon – played acoustically, with the help of guitarist John Themis and formidable vocalist Zee Asha – would reveal him as a blossoming blues singer? Most moving, though, was a duet with Antony on the latter's You Are My Sister – five minutes of tender communion from two very different men.