Boney M.
Disco group created by Frank Farian in West Germany.
Last updated
Pavol Frešo · CC BY 2.0
Boney M. was a group that blended reggae, funk, and disco, formed in West Germany in 1974. They rose to fame in the later half of the 1970s, during the height of the disco craze. The band was the brainchild of German producer Frank Farian, who wrote most of their songs and sang on many of their recordings. The four official original members—Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba—were all based in West Germany.
After the 1980s, the group continued with various changing lineups. At their peak, Boney M. sold more than 100 million records. Their best-known hits include "Daddy Cool," "Ma Baker," "Belfast," "Sunny," "Rasputin," "Rivers of Babylon," "Brown Girl in the Ring," "Hooray!
1974–1976: Formation and early career
Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday," "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord," and "Gotta Go Home." In their home country of Germany, they scored eight number-one singles. In the United Kingdom, they had two number-one hits, both of which rank among the best-selling singles in British history. In 1974, German singer-songwriter Frank Farian cut a dance track called "Baby Do You Wanna Bump." He sang the deep-voiced refrain "Do you do you wanna bump?" and the falsetto chorus. When the single came out in early 1975, it was credited to "Boney M."—a name Farian invented after catching the end of the Australian TV detective series Boney, whose main character was Napoleon Bonaparte.
He explained that he saw the credits and thought, "Nice name... Boney, Boney, Boney... Boney M." The song was slow to catch on but eventually became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium. Farian then decided to hire performers to form a group for television appearances. In 1975, Maizie Williams, a model-turned-singer from Montserrat, and her friend Sheyla Bonnick were eating at a restaurant in Hanover, Germany, when an agent approached them and asked them to join a new pop group.
Their job was to dance and lip-sync to the studio recording of "Baby Do You Wanna Bump." Along with two other performers known only as "Nathalie" and "Mike," the four went on a discothèque tour and made a few TV appearances. No footage of this early lineup exists. Nathalie left and was replaced by Claudja Barry. Bonnick, who disliked lip-synching, quit to try a solo career, and Mike also left.
Lore & Background
Boney M. were created by German record producer Frank Farian, who recorded the dance track 'Baby Do You Wanna Bump' in 1974. Farian sang the repeated line in a deep voice and the falsetto chorus. When the record was released as a single in early 1975, it was credited to 'Boney M.' Farian created this pseudonym after watching the Australian television detective series Boney. After a slow start, the song became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, and Farian decided to hire performers to create a troupe for TV appearances.
The original four members of the band's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. Farian decided to use only Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, along with his own studio-enhanced voice, to create the Boney M. sound. The group's big break came in September 1976 when they appeared on the West German television show Musikladen, performing 'Daddy Cool', which quickly went to number one in West Germany.
1978 was the group's biggest year, with the double A-sided single 'Rivers of Babylon' / 'Brown Girl in the Ring' becoming one of the biggest selling singles of all time in the UK. They achieved eight number one singles in their native Germany, and two in the United Kingdom, both of which are among that country's all-time bestsellers. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with different members.
Reader's Guide
Boney M. were a significant force in the disco era, selling over 100 million records and achieving chart dominance across Europe, particularly in West Germany and the United Kingdom. Their music blended reggae, funk, and disco, and their hits like 'Rivers of Babylon' and 'Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord' became among the best-selling singles in UK history. The group's creation by producer Frank Farian, who used studio vocalists and a performing troupe, foreshadowed later controversies with his project Milli Vanilli.
Boney M. also made a much-publicised promotional visit to the Soviet Union in 1978, one of very few Western acts to do so. Their legacy includes enduring popularity in countries such as Vietnam, where 'Rasputin' gained widespread airplay during the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Despite lineup changes and declining commercial success in the 1980s, the group's classic recordings remain emblematic of late 1970s disco.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Boney M. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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