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Frank Farian: Boney M founder dies aged 82

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/5884/production/_132406622_gettyimages-83205344.jpg
Frank Farian's family released a statement saying he had passed away in Miami, Florida

German music producer Frank Farian - founder of the funk band Boney M - has died at the age of 82, according to his family.

They released a statement on Tuesday via Farian's agency saying he had passed away at his home in Miami in the US state of Florida.

Boney M, which formed in 1976, had a string of hit singles including Daddy Cool, Rasputin and Mary's Boy Child.

Farian also went on to found the duo Milli Vanilli in the 1980s.

naptu2:
This is the other record that was different. Vinyl records are usually black, but Barry White's record was white. This one was even more different. Not only was it yellow, but it was also translucent. You could see through parts of it. It was my favourite record (because of both the songs and the material).

naptu2:
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

Another one of my B-side favourites (I think it was on the B side of the "Hurray, It's A Holiday" single, a beautiful translucent record).


Ribbons of blue,
Remind me of you.
Ribbons of red,
Are the way that my heart bled.


Memories so clear,
Are still ringing in my ear.
And I want to send to you,
My whole ribbons of blue.



Boney M - Ribbons Of Blue.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2POKr9-MY8

naptu2:
Ribbons of blue,
Remind me of you.
Ribbons of red,
Are the way that my heart bled

Memories so clear,
Are still ringing in my ear
And I wanna send to you
My old ribbons of blue.

naptu2:
Got me a ribbon,
Bright blue ribbon for my head.
Made me a promise.
Now I know he didn't care.

Touched by his first kiss,
Fooled by his first song,
The way he left me alone
With my ribbons undone.

naptu2:
This is one of the most underrated disco songs. It's the B side of "Holiday".

My favourite part is the third verse. Liz sings the third verse at the same time that the rest of the group sings the chorus.


The video isn't bad either. So much fun!


Boney M. - Ribbons of Blue (1979).

naptu2:
Blue ribbon dreamer,
Came with words that sounded right.
Took me dancing,
Held me close and
Held me tight.
Fooled by his first kiss,
Touched by his first song,
The way he led me along,
With my ribbons undone.

naptu2:
This is an absolutely lovely song.


Boney M - Ribbons of Blue (1979).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9JnEBvf9eA

naptu2:
This is the moment that it happened.


Milli Vanilli were a pop group that had massive hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, they had a little secret. The two guys that were in all the videos and who performed on stage were not really the people that sang the songs.

You see, Rob and Fab, who were the face of Milli Vanilli, approached German producer Frank Farian and told him that they could sing. He recorded their album, but part way through the recording sessions, he decided that they didn't have the quality that he needed, so he hired other people to sing the songs. Yet, Rob and Fab were the public face of Milli Vanilli.

It wasn't the first time that Frank Farian was doing this. He had created a super disco group called Boney M and they had massive hits in the 1970s. Frank Farian was the male voice of Boney M, but he didn't think that he looked good enough to appear on stage and in the videos, so he hired a Jamaican dancer to lip sync the songs on stage and in the videos. The female voices were sung by just one of the female members of the group, while the other female members lip synced on the videos.


However, problems arose for the first time during an MTV concert in 1989. The record skipped as Rob and Fab were performing on stage and it kept repeating, "Girl you know it, girl you know it, girl you know it". Rob ran off stage. However, MTV convinced Rob to return and the audience did not seem to notice the problem.


In fact, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy Award for best new act in 1990.

However, Rob and Fab actually wanted to sing on the records, but Frank Farian wouldn't let them. Eventually they made too much trouble for him and he sacked them in November 1990. He subsequently publicly announced that Rob and Fab were not the real singers and that they only lip synced. Milli Vanilli were made to return the Grammy Award. It was a huge scandal.


Frank Farian tried to recover from the incident by promoting the original singers as a new group called, "The Real Milli Vanilli", but people were not impressed.


Rob and Fab tried to make a comeback c1997, but Rob had been depressed because of all that had happened. He turned to drugs and he eventually committed suicide before their comeback album could be released.


This is the moment when the record skipped at the MTV concert in 1989.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvPXmkYMHFg?si=R2i-6Gr-NTJjFddR

Streetmovement:
Wotoporiously speaking

My mom wouldn't like this news 😭 I will call and tell her later

RIP to Frank Farian

naptu2:
Frank Farian was actually the male voice of Boney M, but he thought that he didn't look good enough to be on stage/in front of the camera, so he hired Bobby Farrel (picture below) to be the face of Boney M. Bobby was a dancer.

DMerciful:
Are you saying the face we know was just lip synching? Miming?

GOFRONT:


Oh no!!! Death why??..........This man here is too useful and beneficial to die this very early........over here, we have one very Useless, Good for nothing Old vegetable druggie occupying the top of a famous Rock in my country.

God why not do me a favor by taking the latter away and bringback the former.

naptu2:
Frank Farian was actually the male voice of Boney M, but he thought that he didn't look good enough to be on stage/in front of the camera, so he hired Bobby Farrel (picture below) to be the face of Boney M. Bobby was a dancer.

GOFRONT:


Oh no!!! Death why??..........This man here is too useful and beneficial to die this very early........over here, we have one very Useless, Good for nothing Old vegetable druggie occupying the top of a famous Rock in my country.

God why not do me a favor by taking the latter away and bringback the former.

naptu2:
Check out Bobby's hair in the Musikladen (live) video.

naptu2:
"Boney M for dancing".

There was a rumour in Nigeria that one of the girls (I think it was Marcia) was actually a man and that she had a sex change operation. Of course the rumour is false.


I'm going to post two videos. The first video is a live video and it went viral worldwide on Twitter last week because of Bobby's dancing. The second video is of the album version of the song.

Boney M. - Daddy Cool (1976).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odMZh_2JaE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIt-WiNkB8g