Boney M - biography of the legendary band. The history of the Boney M group

As a teenager, Franz fell madly in love with English and American pop music, but according to his own recollections, instead of the Beatles, he listened to Sam Cooke, Little Richard and Otis Redding. The guy worked on his voice for a long time and, trying to imitate the soul hits popular in America, began performing in local eateries, in which American soldiers longing for their homeland often hung out. The audience loved him very much, and this charged him with inspiration.

In the early 60s, the young vocalist gathered a whole group of black music enthusiasts around him and, calling themselves Frankie Farian And The Shadows, they quickly developed in their hometown as the best band, performing covers of Drifters and Otis Redding (usually everyone started with this). But further than Saarbrücken, their popularity did not seep, because many believed that no one could play black music better than blacks, and whites could only imitate. But Farian did not give up and in the 70s not only did not abandon his business, but gradually switched to the production front. The ballad pro-American style, in which he was considered an expert on the famous Hansa-Ariola label, finally began to bear fruit, and his two songs "Dana My Love" (1972) and especially "Rocky" (1976), which topped the national hit parade of Germany , entered the gold fund of German English-language pop music. Then there was a sharp transition to a more fashionable disco, and it was the turn of grandiose projects, the first of which was called BONEY M.

It all started at the end of 1974, when Farian made a record under the pseudonym Zambie, absolutely different from everything he had done before, the song "Baby Do You Wanna Bumb". Farian recorded the song himself, using his own voice and the voices of the staff vocalists of the Europa Sound Studios in Offenbach (Offenbach).

In 1975, the Hansa Record Company released the single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" with the name BONEY M. in the "Artist" column. Frank Farian got the idea for the band's name after watching one of the episodes of the Australian comedy television series popular in Germany in the early 70s, the protagonist of which was named Boney.

"Bump" becomes a rather famous hit in Germany, as well as in Holland and Belgium. The single sells 500 copies a week. Soon, requests for television and concert performances began to come in, but since Farian himself was not going to go on stage, he, with the help of the artistic agency Katja Wolf, formed the group Boney M., which included model and dancer Maizie Williams (Maizie Williams, 25.03.1951), singer Sheila Bonnick and Claudja Barry, dancer Mike. The group was introduced to the press and photographers, and began appearing on television programs and performing in clubs with studio soundtracks.

Towards the end of 1975, when the success of "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" began to wane, Farian decided to take the project seriously and signed new contracts with Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett (10/14/1945), a singer already active solo single, Claudja Barry and disc jockey and dancer Robert (Bobby) Farrell (6.10.1945). However, Claudia Barry did not believe in the future of the project and left Boney M. at the first opportunity, later she successfully performed as a solo performer.

For an urgent replacement of Barry for three performances at the Franks club in Saarbrücken, on the recommendation of Marcia Barrett and Katie Wolf, Liz Mitchell (12.7.1952) was invited, who had already taken part in the productions of the musical "Hair" in Berlin and Hamburg, and also sang in the famous ensemble Les Humphries Singers (1970-73).

Farian saw Liz Mitchell only during the third performance and made an appointment with her in the studio. The next day, Liz recorded demo versions of "Fever", "Sunny" and "Got A Man On My Mind", songs for which Marcia Barrett had previously also recorded demos.

Hansa offered Liz Mitchell a one-year contract with the option to renew for another two years.

Farian wanted all the band members to sing on the album, for Bobby Farrell he planned "No Woman No Cry", the recording was made in a very expensive Union Studios, where such stars as Donna Summer worked, but no one liked the result and decided to give the song to Liz Mitchell ... Farian was more worried about how well Bobby opens his mouth to the soundtrack than working with Liz, since by that time Marcia had already recorded demo versions of songs for the first three albums of Boney M ..

Recording "No Woman No Cry" changed Farian's plans, after listening to the tape, he immediately redistributed the songs between Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell. Needless to say, this did not lead to a stronger friendship between Liz and Marcia. During the first clean recordings, in December 1975, it became clear that the best results were achieved when Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett and Frank Farian were in the studio to record all the lead and support parts. In 1978, the Hansa management suggested that Farian replace Liz Mitchell with Precious Wilson, since her voice was more suitable for the American market, but this idea was abandoned - the voice of Liz Mitchell was already perceived by listeners as the voice of Boney M.

BONEY M. enjoyed phenomenal success with Farian's songs. In 1976 the group first performed the song "Daddy Cool" on the TV show "Musikladen", after a while the sales of the single "Daddy Cool" (07/1976) reached 100,000 copies per week, a month later it topped the German charts (in England the single hit sensationally in the top ten). "Daddy Cool" was certified gold in nine European countries, and Boney M.'s first album, "Take The Heat Off Me", topped the charts across Europe. Then the remake of Bobby Hebb's song "Sunny" (12/1976) did a double (took 1st place in Germany and Great Britain).

In May 1977, the single "Ma Baker" (05/1977) was released - the plot of the song was based on the real story of the gangster gang of Mama Barker and her sons, found by Farian in a book about crime in the USA (Ma Barker was changed to Ma Baker for better sound ). The single repeated the success of "Sunny" at the same time hitting # 1 in Germany and the UK, selling 8 million copies worldwide, making "Ma Baker" the best-selling disco record of all time.

Boney M.'s second album "Love For Sale" was released in the summer of 1977, except for the singles "Ma Baker" and "Belfast" (No. 1 in Germany and No. 8 in Great Britain), it contains such famous songs as "Love For Sale", "Plantation Boy ", vintage gospel" Motherless Child ", great covers of Creedence hits" Have You Ever Seen The Rain "and Yardburds" Still I "m Sad, emotionally sung by Liz Mitchell.

The next single "Belfast" (10/1977), for which Marcia Barrett recorded a solo, became # 1 in Germany and # 8 in the UK, despite the fact that the single hit the UK Top 10, it was banned from broadcasting on radio stations in Northern Ireland.

In order to refute reports in the press that Boney M. is using studio backing tracks, the band performed "Belfast" live on another Musicladen program. The band undertook a "Love For Sale" concert tour with a large group of musicians and backing vocalists. Despite the fact that critics were skeptical about the concerts of Boney M., the audience received the band's performances very warmly. At the end of 1977, the group collected a large harvest of awards: Carl Allen Award as the most successful group in the UK, Golden Otto from BRAVO magazine, The Golden Europe, Golden Antenna, Golden Lion and recording industry awards in the form of numerous platinum, gold and silver discs. ..

1978 was the YEAR of BONEY M. The band cemented their stardom with the release of the album "Nightflight To Venus", with the single "Rivers Of Baylon" (05/1978), which became a # 1 hit worldwide and for 4 weeks took first place in Australia, displacing ABBA, 5 weeks in the UK and 16 (!) Weeks in Germany. At the end of the year, Boney M. became third with Rivers and 25th with Rasputin.

One of the most popular hits on British radio was the song "Brown Girl In The Ring", the single reached # 2 on the UK Charts and stayed on the charts for 40 weeks. Album "Nightflight To Venus" immediately became number 1 in most countries, in the UK it was at number 1 for 4 weeks. The following singles from the album were also successful: "Painter Man" (9/1978) - UK # 1 and "Rasputin" (03/1979) - Germany # 1, UK # 2.

The band performed with 15 musicians at the UK's TOP OF THE POPS TV show, and were received by Queen Elizabeth after performing at the Royal Variety Concert.

At the end of December 1978, up to 175,000 copies of Boney M.'s Christmas single "Mary" s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) "were sold daily, in total, the British bought 2.2 million copies of the single! The record became # 5 on sales of singles in the UK, almost repeating success of "Rivers Of Babylon" - # 2.

LP "Nightflight To Venus" with a "space" sleeve and unusual song titles has become one of the best-selling records in Europe of all time. In the UK, it charted for 65 weeks! In addition to the singles, the album has other brilliant numbers: a cover of Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold" or "Never Change A Lover In The Middle Of The Night" with a solo by Marcia Barrett.

On December 9, 1978, Boney M. began touring the USSR. They performed in the Rossiya Concert Hall in Moscow, gave a private concert in the Kremlin, as well as in the Concert Studio of the TV Center in Ostankino, the program included all the band's major hits, with the exception of Rasputin. The group also filmed material on Red Square for the video for the single "Mary" s Boy Child. For the tour of Boney M. Melodiya released a disc of the group with a circulation of 100,000 copies.

The arrival of Boney M. caused a stir in Moscow, but tickets for the concerts were allocated in advance and were not available for sale.

Here is what the Soviet press wrote about the performances of Boney M .:

"The technology of making songs according to the recipe of Farian and" Boni M "is technically complex, but simple musically. Any source material is suitable - sentimental ballads, Negro spirituals, rock 'n' rolls, even protest songs. "intoxicating electronics.

Actually Jamaican folk music - reggae, sometimes referred to as "Boney M", does not play a significant role in their repertoire. Still, it was the original rhythm and melody of the national Jamaican music that turned out to be that fresh blood that revived Frank Farian's schemes. Although, of course, the group is very far from the genuine temperament, soulfulness and expressiveness of genuine folk singers, be it Jamaican reggae or American soul. This explains the fact that "Boney M" is not very popular in America and in his native Jamaica. Strictly speaking, the revival of interest in the folk music of the West Indies is not Farian's goal. Its tasks are more pragmatic.

Concert performances are the strong point of "Boni M", and the ensemble proved it on tour in Moscow. The agility and inexhaustible energy of the artists are simply amazing. Without a break, stringing one song after another, they did not relieve the tension of the audience for a second. You will not refuse them in professionalism, stage skills

Songs "Boni M" attract listeners primarily by their temperament, perfection of performance, extraordinary coloring of sound. Bright melodic things are not uncommon in their repertoire. Compared to "ABBA", the ensemble, in many respects close in concept to "Boni M", the latter is more exotic and emotional. Another undoubted quality of Boney M's music is its easy digestibility. The reaction to such music is unambiguous - a carefree mood, relaxation. "

(A. Troitsky magazine "Musical Life")

The beginning of 1979, Boney M. spent on numerous tours, they were practically the first Western pop group to visit Israel, Syria and Jordan. In Jordan, members of the group were poisoned by fish dishes during dinner and King Hussein sent his personal doctor to get them in shape for the upcoming concert. Something similar happened in Bangkok. In Singapore, the concert was interrupted for ten minutes, as the musicians did not have a permit to work in this country, the paperwork was completed during the show.

In the spring of 1979, Farian recorded with Boney M. a new version of the traditional song "Polly Wolly Doodle" which was once sung by the movie star Shirley Temple, the famous "Hooray! Hooray! It" s A Holiday "(04/1979) which again became a hit in Germany (No. 4) and Great Britain (No. 3).

DISCO fever peaked in Europe and German producers decided to make a disco movie, something like American Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta. German film producer Hans Jahnisch began filming DISCO FIEBER (Disco Fever), in which Boney M., the teenage rock band The Teens, Eruption and La Bionda, played, danced and sang, bringing to life the trivial story of how a girl fell in love with a boy who loves another a girl, and at this time the famous groups Eruption and Boney M perform in the local disco. However, as soon as it became known that Boney M. was filmed in the film, it was purchased for showing in 80 countries ...

Boney M.'s 1979 tour ended in South Africa, and after that tour, the band began recording a new album. In August 1979 the pilot single "El Lute / Gotta Go Home" was released. One of the first performances of Boney M. with a new song took place during the Intervision competition in Sopot, to which the group was invited as guests, the concert was broadcast on Soviet television. "El Lute" is the true story of a young man in Spain during the Franco regime - the single was banned in several countries.

In November 1979, the album "Oceans Of Fantasy" was released, fantastic "underwater" themes were used in the design of its sleeve, the disc immediately took the leading positions in the world charts. The new songs were in the style of Boney M., but new soul, funk and rock elements were added to the sound. The drum parts sounded in a new way - they were arranged by Michael Cretu. The new album was featured on the TV show Fantastic BONEY M. In December, the next single "I" m Born Again / Bahama Mama "(Germany # 7) was released.

"Oceans Of Fantasy" features Eruption frontman Precious Wilson, she recorded solos for "Let It All Be Music" and "Hold On I" m Coming. Marcia Barrett sang solo on "No Time To Lose" and alongside Liz Mitchell on "Ribbons Of Blue", "Two Of Us" and "No More Chain Gang." It was later revealed that Preshes Wilson was offered to take Maisie Williams' place at Boney M., but she opted for a solo career. Hansa making changes in Boney M.'s line-up did not improve the relationship between the band members. Marcia Brrett once said in an interview: “At times we just hated each other, but success made us stick together. Farian is a fantastic producer, what we four singers would be without his material. Ultimately it all depended on him as a songwriter, producer, leader and founder of the group. We had to play by his rules. "

The success of the new album by Boney M. was ensured by a massive advertising campaign - the group performed in 50 (!) TV shows. After 18 months of hard work, Farian decided to take a break to give the band members a break from live performances and studio work.

In the spring of 1980, the first collection of hits of the group "The Magic Of BONEY M." was prepared for release, which again sold millions of copies. The album featured major Boney M. hits such as "Daddy Cool", "Rivers Of Babylon", "Rasputin" as well as "No Women No Cry" and "Still I" m Sad. The album included the new single "I See A Boat On The River / My Friend Jack "(Germany # 5).

In September 1980 a new single by Boney M. "Children Of Paradise / Gadda Da Vida" appeared on sale and in November "Felicidad (Margerita) / Strange" (FRG # 6). Both singles were released without live support from the group, whose members were minding their own business: Liz spent time with her family, Bobby and Marcia worked on solo projects. But all four confirmed that they remain members of Boney M. even if they release solo singles.

The album "Boonoonoonoos" hit record stores in October 1981, the two singles "Malaika" and "We Kill The World" did not climb above 12 on the charts, and the album itself sold much worse than the group's previous work.

For Christmas, the "Christmas Album" was released in Germany and "Mary" s Boy Child - The Christmas Album "in the UK. This album became the basis for several Christmas compilations of the group:" The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs Of The World "1986," Happy Christmas "1991 and" The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Of The World "1992.

In 1982, Bobby Farrell was replaced by the far from newcomer in show business Reggie Tsiboe (b. 1950) from Ghana, who performed in "Hair" and even in "Jesus Christ Superstar" and proved himself as a talented producer and author songs that have become quite popular.

In 1982-83, 3 Boney M singles were released: The Carnival Is Over / Going Back West (07/1982), Zion's Daughter / White Christmas (11/1982), Jambo (Hakuna Matata) / African Moon (07 / 1983).

New work by Boney M., the album "10,000 Lightyears" was released in May 1984. It seems that Farian did his best to return the lost positions to Boney M., but one of the band's best albums practically failed - the audience was interested in completely different music ...

To somehow change the situation, dance singles "Kalimba De Luna" (08/1984) and "Happy Song" (10/1984) (under the name "Boney M - with Bobby Farrell and The School Rebels") are urgently recorded , and then the eerie compilation "Kalimba De Luna" (11/1984) is released, which is a mixture of singles and songs from albums released in the 80s.

In 1985, the recording of the "Eye Dance" album began, Bobby Farrell returned to the group, and the members of another Farian's project, the La Mama group, were also involved in the work on the album. All compositions were arranged in Hi Energy style with a rather harsh computer sound. The end result was very vaguely reminiscent of the Boney M. from the 70s and even the early 80s. The album, which was released at the end of the year, had no success with listeners, despite the fact that it included the singles "My Cherie Amour" (05/1985) and "Young, Free And Single" (09/1985).

Boney M. last appeared on the charts with "The Best Of 10 Years", which peaked at number 35 on the UK charts in 1986.

In 1988, Farian reunited the band to record a two-part remix compilation "Greatest Hits Of All Times".

By that time, relations in the group had deteriorated so much that Liz Mitchell refused to participate in the tour and came only to record on television. At the same time, she was preparing her first solo album. It was tantamount to leaving the group. Mitchell was accused of using the name Boney M. to advertise her solo project. Marcia, Bobby and Maisie were able to secure a ban on Liz Mitchell's solo single on television shows, and they also tried to obtain legal rights to the name "Boney M."

Farian was outraged by what was happening, he sided with Liz.

In early 1989, Farian recorded the single "Stories" (03/1989) with Liz, Reggie Ciboe and two girls Patty Onywenju and Sharon Stevens, which was released under the name Boney M. feat. Liz Mitchell.

The rest of Boney M., along with Mitchell's replacement Madeline Davis, former Boney M. backing vocalist and La Mama member, recorded and released the single "Everybody Wants To Dance Like Josephine Baker / Custer Jammin" "( 11.1989) This was the last collaboration of the original band members.

Since 1992, Frank Farian has been regularly releasing remixes of Boney M. songs, which are popular in European countries. "Boney M Megamix" (1992) peaked at # 7 in the UK charts, and at the end of 1992 the single "Christmas Megamix" and the album "The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Of The World" were European bestsellers. Two collections "Gold" (1992) and "More Gold" (1994) were well received in Germany and Europe. More Gold has released 4 new songs - "Papa Chico", "Time To Remember", "Da La De La", "Lady Godiva", recorded by Liz Mitchell, and the remix "Ma Baker - Remix" 93 ".

After the success of the "Gold" compilations, BMG reissued all Boney M albums on CD in 1994: "Take The Heat Off Me", "Love For Sale", "Nightflight To Venus", "Oceans Of Fantsay", "Boonoonoonoos", "10,000 Lightyears", "Kalimba De Luna" and "Eye Dance".

In 1999, DJ Sash received permission from Frank Farian to remix "Ma Baker", which marked the beginning of a new remix album, "20th Century Hits", released by Farian's team under the name Boney M 2000 in November 1999.

In 2000 BMG Nederland released a compilation "25 Jaar Na Daddy Cool", in the same year Farian prepared a compilation Boney M. - "Their Most Beautiful Ballads".

Since 1997, there are three line-ups under the name Boney M.: Liz Mitchell, who has permission from Frank Farian to use the name Boney M., as well as the group of Bobby Pharrell and Maisie Williams. Marcia Barrett acts as a solo artist.

Boney M. is a legendary disco band from Germany. Formed in 1975 by producer Frank Farian. It happened, one might say, spontaneously. In 1974, Frank experimented with the then newly emerging disco style and recorded the single Baby Do You Wanna Bump ?. To publish this song, he had to come up with a name for a new band, and he opted for "Boney M." - on the name of the main character of the then fashionable detective film series, and the letter "M." added for significance. He did not expect that the composition would arouse great interest - invitations to perform at concerts and appear on television immediately appeared. Frank realized that an urgent need to gather a group, which he did by inviting the Caribbean team.

The final line-up was approved in 1976, it included immigrants from the Caribbean: Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Montserrat Maisie Williams and Bobby Farrell. They all went to Western Europe as teenagers and became professionals there in the artistic environment. The popularity of the "Boney M." quartet in the whole world was so great (apart from the United States of America) that their commercial success was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. And such songs of the group as "Sunny", "Rasputin", "Ma Baker" (the translations of the songs can be read below) have become immortal disco hits. But, in the early 80s, Bobby had a conflict with Farian due to the fact that he gave him too little role in the group. And in 1981 Farrell left the band. Bobby replaced Reji Tsibo. However, the public was extremely unhappy with the absence of the incredibly charismatic Farrell. And Frank was forced to ask Bobby to return in 1984. But, already in 1986, Frank Farian announced the termination of the group's activities. However, until 1989, the entire band reunited from time to time to perform at concerts in support of the release of remixes of the songs "Boney M".

Frank Farian became the main owner of the rights to the group, and since 1989, only Liz Mitchell could participate in concert activities under the pseudonym "Boney M." Other former members of the group (excluding Reji Tsibo) challenged this decision in court and were given the opportunity to perform as a Boney M. show with the obligatory addition of their own name (each member organized a solo project after leaving the group). Original name "Boney M." and remained at the disposal of the founder and producer of the collective, Frank Farian. In 2006, for the 30th anniversary of the group, Frank and Mitchell recorded a disc, which included one new composition. The disc became number 1 in many countries of the world. Over the next 10 years, the permanent producer Boney M., together with Liz Mitchell, released remix albums almost every year and took the highest places in the world charts. And they are not going to stop given the fact that the fame of Boney M. seems to be imperishable.

translation www.site

Night flight to Venus

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the starship Boney M. This is the first passenger flight to Venus.

Countdown: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - ignition - start !!!
Night flight to Venus. A path in unknown space. Night flight to Venus is our new target

Ladies and gentlemen, the launch was successful on the first flight to Venus. Travel time will be 8 hours. We will be flying at 2,183 miles per second. That is, seven and a half million kilometers per hour. The distance from Earth to Venus is sixty million miles.

On the left, you can see the Moon Mountains. And right in the center, under a huge plastic dome - Luna City. There are huge gold and diamond deposits, the city is developing rapidly.
As for Venus, it took nearly ninety years to cool the planet from 500 degrees to a comfortable 75 degrees Faringate. And turn the atmosphere into a habitable Earthlings.

Night flight to Venus. A path in uncharted space. Night flight to Venus is our new target
Night flight to Venus All systems are normal. Night flight to Venus The sky was shining.

"Captain - unidentified object at 8 o'clock flight - 2 million km." Prepare for a dangerous maneuver. "The object began to approach at the speed of light - we still have eight seconds."

"The object is closer - we still have five seconds." "Change course by four and six tenths of a degree. Captain, order executed."

(It was Meteor, ladies and gentlemen, it passed us. Well, you see, even in space, the traffic is getting more intense).
Ladies and gentlemen, in a few minutes we will be landing on Venus, Press the button on the left side, the safety mechanism will do the rest by itself, We hope you enjoyed the world's first flight to Venus, and have a good time.

Photo of the BONEY M team Mizi Williams:

Photo of the BONEY M team Marsia Barrett (Marcia Barrett):

Boney M - invite the foreign group Boney M or order for a celebration, as well as the organization of solo concerts of the Boney M group

BONY M group - personal page on the official website of the agent in Russia and the CIS countries, organizing concerts and performances (Official Booking).

The history of the Boney M group (ALL THE TRUTH about the creation of the group!) >>>>>

BONEY M. (Boney Em) is a German disco band formed in 1975 by music producer Frank Farian.

Boney M (Boney Em) - we all, to one degree or another, tend to dream about the future and analyze the past, take care of progress and fall into a nostalgic mood, recalling the good times of our youth (what we wore, what we believed, what we listened to and what for danced). It is enough just to recall the name of the famous German producer Frank Farian, who for the last 25 years has consistently supplied the European dance scene with super popular groups and performers, among whom the name, familiar to everyone, does not fade away - BONEY M.
The European listener of the second half of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s doted on them in the Boney M. group. The composition of the group changed, but despite this, about 40 million discs and more than 65 million singles were sold.
BONEY M achieved phenomenal success in Eastern Europe and especially in the USSR, where they were among the first Western artists. The group performed on Red Square and even filmed a video there. Boney M has been the legends and pioneers of Eurodisco during his long career.
Eight times topped the single charts of many European countries, three times set their albums to the highest level of popularity, and in the last decade they literally flooded us with a variety of collections of their best things, Christmas albums, remixes and megamixes.
BONEY M continues to live with four current lineups - although only the one headed by Liz Mitchell is officially recognized - touring solo concerts and filming for television.
It is hard to believe that the idea to assemble such a team arose in Farian's head exactly a quarter of a century ago. The son of a tannery worker who died in World War II and a church choir soloist, Franz Reuter, who later took the pseudonym Frank Farian, was born on July 18, 1942 and grew up in the West German city of Saarbrücken, bordering France adjacent to dozens of American military bases.
Farian switched to the production front in the 70s. The ballad pro-American style, in which he was considered an expert on the famous Hansa-Ariola label, finally began to bear fruit, and his two songs "Dana My Love" (1972) and especially "Rocky" (1976), which topped the national chart of Western Germany, entered the gold fund of German English-language pop music.
Then there was a sharp transition to a more fashionable disco, and it was the turn of grandiose projects, the first of which was called BONEY M.
At first, Farian had no large-scale plans. He was driven by the usual calculation of a young producer who had just written a cute song ("Baby Do Ya Wanna Bump?"), Released it on a single with his own vocals, and he needed to consolidate his success on tour and television. Frank recruited a group of dark-skinned session musicians, immigrants from the Caribbean, most of whom sang pretty well, and in just five years produced a win-win streak of 100% dance hits with the simplest English lyrics and catchy disco rhythms.

The first lineup of BONEY M included: Maizie Williams, whose family once emigrated from their native Caribbean island of Montserrat, first to London (where Maizie became a model and even won the title "Miss Black Beauty"), and then to Germany; Sheila Bonnick a girl named Natalie and an African Mike. Then they were joined by Claudja Barry, who was soon replaced by Jamaican girl Liz Mitchell, and friend Maizi, her strong voice became the hallmark of the group. Liz has always dreamed of becoming a professional singer, and her first success came after filming the famous English musical "Hair".

Where did Farian get such a strange name for the group - everything is very simple, a big lover of television series really liked the Australian criminal "soap box" about a brave resourceful policeman whose name was Bonnie. The letter "M" completed the picture phonetically, and the name was ready for use.

BONEY M had phenomenal success with Farian's songs. When, in July 1976, the group's second line-up, which is now called the "original", namely: Liz Mitchell, Mizi Williams, another expat from Jamaica, Marcia Barret, and a native of the Caribbean island of Aruba, Bobby Farrell, who for some time worked as a dancer and DJ in one of the Dutch clubs, for the first time performed the song "Daddy Cool" on the TV show "Musikladen", a month later she topped the German charts (in England it sensationally hit the top ten), and after hits poured like a cornucopia.

In 1986, the group officially disbanded for very vague mysterious reasons, but almost every year they gathered in different lineups.
The site for organizing concerts and ordering corporate performances of the Boni m group. The official site of the vipartist, where you can familiarize yourself with the biography, and by the specified contact numbers on the site, you can invite the Boni M group to a concert for a holiday or order the Boni M group to perform at the event. Boni M's website contains photo and video information.
Personal page of the Boney M group on the official website of the agent in Russia and the CIS countries, for organizing concerts and performances (Official Booking Boney M).