Boney M.

German producer and singer Frank Farian (Franz Reuther) adopted the name Boney M from an Australian detective show as a pseudonym for his 1974 dance single “Baby Do You Wanna Bump?” When it became a hit on the European disco circuit, Farian hired a group to perform the song on television shows. After various personnel changes, the classic Boney M line-up of Bobby Farrell, Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams, and Marcia Barrett came together although Mitchell and Barrett were the only ones who actually sang on their 1976 debut album Take The Heat Off Me. Their glamorous stage image, driving dance beats and straightforward pop hooks hit it big in 1976 with “Daddy Cool” and “Sunny.” Their biggest hits, however, came in 1978 with the double A-side single “Rivers of Babylon” / “Brown Girl In the Ring” and the UK Christmas Number 1, a souped-up version of “Mary's Boy Child.” The group’s albums – including Love for Sale (1977), Nightflight To Venus (1978), and Oceans of Fantasy (1979) – were also successful. Bobby Farrell was replaced by Reggie Tsiboe in 1982, but the group never repeated their 1970s success and split in 1986. Various attempts to revive the name met mixed reactions while Daddy Cool, a musical based on Boney M songs, was staged in 2006. Bobby Farrell died of heart failure on December 30, 2010, at the age of 61. Frankie Farian – who later became known worldwide as the man behind Milli Vanilli - died on January 23, 2024, at the age of 82.

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