| Boonoonoonoos | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1981 (Germany), November 20, 1981 (UK) [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1980–1981 | |||
| Genre | rock, reggae, ballads | |||
| Length | 59:39 (MC + 1994 CD 61:06) | |||
| Label | Hansa (FRG), Atlantic (UK) | |||
| Producer | Frank Farian | |||
| Boney M. chronology | ||||
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| 2LP cover | ||||
 Limited edition double album. | ||||
| Singles from Boonoonoonoos | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    link |
Boonoonoonoos is the fifth studio album by Boney M..
Originally announced for a release on September 1,1981, [2] it was eventually postponed. Offizielle Charts [3] cites an official release date of September 28,1981. In Billboard of September 26,1981,it is mentioned that the album "generated strong advance orders,spurring Hansa to press up 100,000 copies." [4] However,it seems more likely that it hit the record stores towards the end of October as Boonoonoonoos first entered the German charts at No. 59 in mid-November and reached its peak at No. 15 already in the following week (November 23,1981). In January 1982,it was reported it still had not sold gold after nearly three months on the market. An Ariola spokesman blamed the lack of a major hit single as a cause. [5] It stayed in the German charts until March 8,1982. [6] It was the group's first new studio album in two years and marked the beginning of the group's commercial decline. In the UK where the group had come off 3 consecutive No. 1 albums 1978–80,Boonoonoonoos failed to chart at all. [7] It also marked the last album to feature original member,the group's charismatic dancer Bobby Farrell,who was fired by the group's producer Frank Farian in November 1981,just weeks after the album's release.
The album reportedly cost 800,000 DM/$400,000 to record, [5] and more than 100 titles were eventually demoed. [8] The production costs further increased by employing the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording of Mike Batt's symphonic rock piece "Ride to Agadir". Despite producer Frank Farian having announced by the end of 1979 that Boney M. were to take a break,recording sessions for a new album began already in the first months of 1980,and the title "Boonoonoonoos" (a Caribbean word for "Happiness",derived from Latin "Bonus" = good) already appeared as one of the first completed tracks,a cover of Larry Dillon's ska-title "Train to Skaville",which was intertwined with new rap parts as "That's Boonoonoonoos". It was announced in fan club magazine Friends of Boney M. to be a new single in April 1980,but instead two new recordings,"I See a Boat on the River" and "My Friend Jack" were issued to promote The Magic of Boney M. –20 Golden Hits .
Farian invited the singers Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett and his crew of musicians to Nice in the summer of 1980,where several new songs were recorded. A new double A-side single "Children of Paradise"/"Gadda-Da-Vida" was released in September,announcing the as yet untitled new album to be released in November '80. [9] Despite heavy promotion all over Europe,the single peaked at No. 11 in Germany,their first not to enter the Top 10 [10] and the first to be vetoed by Atlantic Records in the UK and Ariola Records in Spain. Worried by the declining success,Farian decided not to go ahead with a new album in November.
While new pressings of "Children of Paradise" now promoted "The Magic of Boney M." on the back cover, [11] the band instead issued another single in December,a cover version of "Felicidad (Margherita)". "Felicidad",originally recorded by Italian band Massara as "Margherita (Love in the Sun)" in 1979,managed to get Boney M. into the German Top 10 again where it stayed for 27 weeks,becoming one of their longest-running chart entries, [12] although it was once again not released in the UK and Spain. In the Netherlands,where Massara's version had been a hit,the B-side "Strange" was chosen as the A-side instead [13] but failed to become a hit.
At the same time,singer Marcia Barrett issued the solo single "You" / "I'm Lonely",produced by John Edmed,and written by Kelvin James. Released in Germany in December 1980, [14] and belatedly released in the UK in April 1981,the single failed to chart in either of the countries. [15] Another song from the same sessions,"Breakaway",ended up on Boonoonoonoos as a Boney M. track with Frank Farian on lead vocals. [16]
Atlantic UK finally decided to release "Children of Paradise" in the UK on January 30,1981 [17] –nearly 4 months after its continental release –but the single only stayed in the UK charts for two weeks,peaking at No. 66,their lowest chart entry yet. [18] Also in February,Boney M. flew to Jamaica [19] to record a TV special and perform live in concert with Rita Marley [20] and shoot photos for the album cover. One of the final songs "Silly Confusion" was recorded in Bob Marley's Tuff Gong studios in Kingston. [21]
A white-label pressing of the album emerged,presumably around April,featuring 11 tracks. [22] None of the previous single releases were included. Apparently it was felt that the album did not have any strong lead single,as Frank Farian had Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett back in the studio in May to record a cover version of Fadhili Williams' "Malaika",released in June as a double A-side with the ballad Consuela Biaz.
Edited versions were now added to side 2 of the LP,now announced to be called Boonoonoonoos and given a release date of September 1,1981. [2] although it would be another two months before the album was eventually released. By December,a Limited Edition 2LP was released in Germany,France &the UK with slightly longer versions of some tracks. [23]
The first single to be lifted off the finished Boonoonoonoos album in Germany was double A-side "Malaika"/"Consuela Biaz" in June 1981 which became their second single not to reach the German Top 10,peaking at No. 13. [3] Furthermore it was another single that Atlantic deemed unsuitable for the UK market and didn't release. Boney M. premiered "Consuela Biaz" on WWF on June 12,1981, [24] followed by "Malaika" on ZDF Disco on June 22. [25] By then,Frank Farian had already remixed both tracks,and new mixes [26] were circulating along with the original mixes. [27]
"We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World)" was the second single,premiered on Showbizzquiz October 14,1981. [28] It was the first single in 4 years to have Marcia Barrett on lead vocals on the rocky up-beat part. The two-part single had a children's choir on the second ballad part. The single peaked at No. 12 in Germany [29] and briefly returned the group to the UK Top 40. [30] It found greater success in Spain and South Africa where it reached No. 1. The other side of the single featured a 5-and-a-half-minute edit of the album medley "Boonoonoonoos" which the group had already premiered nearly two months earlier in German Show-Express (September 10,1981). [31]
"Jimmy" was mentioned in UK fan magazine Friends of Boney M. as a new single in April 1982 after Bobby Farrell's exit from the group. A new and more up-beat version was recorded,but the single release was cancelled. Instead Farian offered it to Hansa label-mate Precious Wilson who declined it. Boney M.'s version would eventually be included on their Ten Thousand Lightyears album in May 1984.
Boonoonoonoos marked Bobby Farrell's debut on record. [32] Having previously only mimed to Frank Farian's vocals on TV (but having sung live in the group's concerts),Farrell was featured on the track "Train to Skaville" (part of the song "Boonoonoonoos",as a rapper). He also did the spoken intro on "We Kill the World". [32]
Boney M. member Maizie Williams had also done a small part on "Train to Skaville" (featured in the group's TV special),and so the track would have been the first recording to actually feature all four group members,but her part was eventually re-recorded by Liz Mitchell for the released version of the song. [33]
Boney M.'s visit to Jamaica in February 1981* resulted in the TV-Special Ein Sound geht um die Welt (A Sound Goes Around The World) where they are seen performing to early mixes of songs recorded so far:Train To Skaville,Boonoonoonoos,Homeland Africa,African Moon,I Shall Sing,Ride To Agadir,We Kill The World. Furthermore the group is seen performing "Rivers of Babylon" with Rita Marley at a live concert. Prior to that their manager is seen running around the island to find the M. of the group's logo which has gone lost. The TV-special aired on December 12,1981 [34] when Bobby Farrell was no longer in the group.
*The Boonoonoonoos LP promo material states the footage was filmed in August 1981,but the first group photo from Jamaica was posted as a poster in German music magazine Bravo on February 19,1981, [35] and the group's return from Jamaica confirmed in a TV-performance of "Felicidad" on February 24,1981 [36] Also Marcia Barrett's UK single "You",released April 1981,featured a photo of the singer from Jamaica.
Although hundreds of photos had been taken during the group's trip to Jamaica,photographer Didi Zill did not manage to capture a satisfactory photo of Boney M. standing in the sea as the sun was setting too fast, [37] and instead both front and back cover of the album were shot in a studio in Germany,the front cover with Boney M. posing as black silhouettes with raised hands against a setting sun on a red sky. The innersleeve featured a cartoon drawing of Jamaica on one side with the head line "Sun,Sea And Jamaica –That's Boonoonoonoos" with various small photos of the group. The other side with the song credits was originally supposed to have been a shot of the group posing in the Ocho Rios waterfalls,but due to Liz Mitchell's clothes being soaked, [38] it was replaced with a photo of the group in a boat. [39] The LP promo material promised the publishing of a photo book. This never materialised. The LP was released with a 6-fold poster of the album cover. The 1994 CD release and featured slightly alternate shots of both front and backcover.
Note: Tracklist based on cassette / CD releases. Lengths vary between LP releases,and there are numerous German Hansa releases with different mixes. Some LP's have "Consuela Biaz" as track B3 before "Malaika". [40]
Side A:
Side B:
2LP Track List:
Disc 1:Side 1:A1-A3,Side 2:A4-A6
Disc 2:Side 3:B1-B3,Side 4:B4-B7
2007 CD reissue bonus tracks:
|
|
| Chart (1981–82) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [42] | 14 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [43] | 7 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [44] | 35 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [45] | 15 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [46] | 21 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [47] | 31 |
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) [48] | 42 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | — | ~250,000 [49] |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [50] | Gold | 10,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) [51] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Yugoslavia | — | 59,032 [52] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Boney M. are a R&B, reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974, who achieved popularity during the disco era of the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original 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. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with different members.
Malaika Nakupenda Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian artist, Adam Salim in 1945 and recorded for the first time by Kenyan musician, Fadhili William. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili songs in the world. Malaika in this context means "angel" in Swahili, and this word has always been used by the Swahili speakers to refer to a beautiful girl.
Maizie Ursula Williams is a British model, dancer and singer who became one of the original members of the successful 1970s disco music group Boney M. Though she did not sing on the studio recordings of their songs, she did perform live and subsequently established an independent career as a singer.
Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in June 1978. The album became a major success in continental Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada, topping most of the album charts during the second half of 1978 and also became their first UK number one album. In Canada, it received a nomination for a 1980 Juno Award in a category 'International Album of the Year'.
Marcia Barrett is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M.
Gold – 20 Super Hits is a 1992 greatest hits album by group Boney M. Shortly after record label PolyGram had acquired the rights to the ABBA back catalogue and had issued the multimillion-selling hits package Gold: Greatest Hits, BMG and producer Frank Farian followed suit with Boney M.'s Gold – 20 Super Hits which resulted in their best chart entry in the UK and most other European countries since 1980's The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits.
Take the Heat off Me is the debut album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album became a major seller in Europe, specifically in the Nordic countries, but in the U.S. the album just missed the album chart. Tracks include the hits "Daddy Cool", "Sunny" and the debut single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump".
Oceans of Fantasy is the fourth studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. Released in September 1979, Oceans of Fantasy became the second Boney M. album to top the UK charts and features the hits "El Lute / Gotta Go Home" and "I'm Born Again / Bahama Mama".
Christmas Album is the sixth studio album by Boney M. It was recorded in the summer of 1981 and released on 23 November 1981. In certain territories the album was given the alternate title Christmas with Boney M.
Ten Thousand Lightyears is the seventh studio album by Boney M. and the first to feature new member Reggie Tsiboe, who had taken over Bobby Farrell's role as the band's leading man in early 1982.
Kalimba de Luna – 16 Happy Songs is a compilation album by Boney M. released in late 1984. On the strength of two carbon-copy cover versions, "Kalimba de Luna" and "Happy Song" which gave Boney M. their first Top 20 hits in Germany in three years, this compilation was rush-released in November 1984. Besides the 12" versions of the two singles, the latter marking Bobby Farrell's return to the band but neither featuring Liz Mitchell or Marcia Barrett, the compilation includes 3-minute edits of tracks from albums Boonoonoonoos and Ten Thousand Lightyears as well as non-album singles "Children Of Paradise"/"Gadda Da Vida" (1980), "Felicidad (Margherita)" (1981), "Going Back West" (1982) and "Jambo - Hakuna Matata " (1983), as well as a new remix of "Calendar Song" from the Oceans Of Fantasy album. Just like in the case of 1980 compilation The Magic Of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits, many of these edits were to re-surface on a number of hits compilations in the future, the latest being 2007 Sony-BMG release Hit Collection.
The "Happy Song" single was originally released under the name 'Boney M. with Bobby Farrell & the School-Rebels' and this compilation as 'Boney M. with Bobby Farrell'.
The Best of 10 Years – 32 Superhits also known as 32 Superhits - Non-Stop Digital Remix is a remix album by Boney M. released in 1986.
Eye Dance is the eighth and final studio album by the vocal group Boney M., released in 1985. The cover artwork was symbolic of the state the group was in at that time, as neither the famous "Boney M." logo nor the group members appeared on the cover, and were replaced by an anonymous drawing.
Daddy Cool – Star Collection is a compilation of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG-Ariola's mid-price label Ariola Express in Germany in 1991.
The Complete Collection is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG/CMC Records in Denmark in late 2000.
"Felicidad (Margherita)" is a 1980 single by German band Boney M., not included in any original album by the group. It returned the group to the German Top 10, peaking at #6 but was not released in either the UK or Spain. In the Netherlands, the B-side "Strange" was chosen as the A-side track. "Felicidad" and its B-side "Strange" were included in the 2 x 12" set Boney M. for Dancin' and were added as bonus tracks to the 2007 re-issue of Boney M.'s Boonoonoonoos album.
"We Kill the World " / "Boonoonoonoos"" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M., the second single released from their 5th album Boonoonoonoos. The single was a South-African and Spanish #1 hit and peaked at #12 in Germany. In the UK, it fared better than their previous two singles, peaking at #39. Boney M. would use the double A-side format in this period, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. The sides would usually be switched on the accompanying 12" single.
La Mama is a German pop and disco trio who worked in Frank Farian's studios in the first half of the 1980s. Adapting their name from New York theatre La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, they released three singles and two albums and worked as backing singers on a number of recordings for other artists.
"Children of Paradise" / "Gadda-Da-Vida" is a 1980 single by German band Boney M. Intended to be the first single from the group's fifth album Boonoonoonoos, the single was ultimately never included because the album release was delayed for one year. "Children of Paradise" peaked at #11 in the German charts whereas it became the group's lowest placing in the UK at #66 only when released in February '81. Boney M. would use the double A-side format in this period, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. The sides would usually be switched on the accompanying 12" single.
"Malaika" / "Consuela Biaz" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M. and the first single taken from their fifth album Boonoonoonoos (1981). It peaked at #13 in the German charts, their lowest placing so far after their commercial breakthrough. Boney M. would use the double A-side format in this period, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. "Consuela Biaz" was first promoted as the A-side in Germany where the group performed it in pop show Musikladen. After a promotional visit to Spain where the group found "Malaika" had become a Top 10 hit, the title was remixed and then promoted as the A-side. It was the second consecutive Boney M. single not to be released in the UK and Japan.
Broadcast 24.02.81 – at 4:42 Thomas Gottschalk says: They have just come back from Jamaica
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| Greatest hits album | |
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