Saturday, May 23, 2020

BONEY M: THE INTRIGUES, SUCCESSES AND DISBANDMENT

Contrary to what many people thought, Boney M. a Euro-Caribbean vocal group was a creation of Frank Farian, a German record producer in 1976. None of the group members knew themselves prior to the formation. The four original members of the group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell, a performing artist from Aruba. 
BONEY M.
Frank Farian decided to use Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett voice along with his own studio-enhanced voice to create the Boney M. sound. Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell were not allowed to sing in the studio. They only perform in live shows. This has been the standard for the group which achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with different personnel. 
BONEY M. ON STAGE
Boney M. has sold around 100 million records worldwide and is known for international hits such as "Daddy Cool", "Ma Baker", "Sunny", "Rasputin", "Mary’s Boy Child – O My Lord" and "Rivers of Babylon".
Boney M. recorded a total of eight albums: Take the Heat off Me (1976); Love for Sale (1977); Nightflight to Venus (1978); Oceans of Fantasy (1979); Boonoonoonoos (1981); Christmas Album (1981); Ten Thousand Lightyears (1984); Eye Dance (1985).
BONEY M.
Boney M. started to disintegrate from 1985 due to internal squabbles and disagreements and from this point, different versions of the group were formed by members, some with cooperation of the creator and founder, Frank Farian, others without him, for example by independently obtaining the rights to use the Boney M. name in a different country. One version began touring in the first half of 1987 with Marilyn Scharbaai (Carrilho) taking Liz Mitchell's place. Mitchell returned for a second leg of the tour late 1987, and Marcia Barrett soon left the band. At the same time, Bobby Farrell had set up a deal for a new Boney M. album to be recorded without Frank Farian in Belgium. 
BONEY M. ON STAGE
However, in October 1988, the classic Boney M. line-up reunited without producer Frank Farian for the album “Greatest Hits of All Times – Remix ’88”, but tensions ran high between the members, and Liz Mitchell left in the spring of 1989 to be replaced by Madeleine Davis. While Mitchell promoted her solo album, the group recorded the single “Everybody Wants to Dance Like Josephine Baker”, without Frank Farian's knowledge or approval. Threatened with legal action by the producer over the use of the Boney M. name, the single was subsequently withdrawn and Farian issued "Stories" with his own new Boney M. line-up featuring Liz Mitchell, Reggie Tsiboe and two new members, Sharon Stevens and Patty Onoyewenjo. Liz Mitchell continued to tour the world with her line-up of Boney M., which is the only line-up officially supported by Frank Farian. 
BONEY M.
Furthermore, the court ruling of 1990 did not help matters in the attempt for another unification of the original members of the group. The court ruling stated that all the original four members of the group are entitled to perform their own Boney M. shows. Bobby Farrell and Liz Mitchell have released solo albums containing their own re-recordings of Boney M.'s classic hits. Maizie Williams released her first solo album in 2006 and her own single version of Boney M.'s "Sunny". Marcia Barrett has released three solo albums also.
BONEY M. ON STAGE
On a sad note, Bobby Farrell died at the age of 61 from heart failure on 30 December 2010. His agent said Farrell was complaining of breathing problems after performing with his band the evening before. Farrell lived in Amsterdam until his death. The singer was found dead in a hotel room in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he had been performing. With his death the original four members of Boney M. will never stage a comeback again!

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