Boney M. are a disco group that specialises in R&B,reggae,disco and funk,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 group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica,Maizie Williams from Montserrat,and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1976 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s,various line-ups of the band have performed with differing personnel.
Elizabeth Rebecca Mitchell is a Jamaican-British singer,best known as one of the original singers of the 1970s disco/reggae band Boney M.
Malaika Nakupenda Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian artist,Adam Salim in 1945 and recorded for the first time by a Kenyan musician,Fadhili Williams. 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 July 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.
"Daddy Cool" is a song recorded by Boney M. and included on their debut album Take the Heat off Me. It was a 1976 hit and a staple of disco music and became Boney M.'s first hit in the United Kingdom. The song was produced and co-written by the group's founder Frank Farian,who also provided the male voice parts on the record.
Boonoonoonoos is the fifth studio album by Boney M.,released in September 1981.
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.
More Gold –20 Super Hits Vol. II is a 1993 greatest hits album by Boney M. Producer Frank Farian issued More Gold - 20 Super Hits Vol. II containing the remainder of Boney M.'s best known songs –again most of them appearing in remixed or overdubbed form but credited as the original versions –as well as four new recordings featuring lead singer Liz Mitchell. Two singles were released from the album in Europe,"Ma Baker Remix '93" and "Papa Chico",the latter credited as "Boney M. featuring Liz Mitchell" and released in early 1994.
The Best of Boney M. is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG UK's midprice label Camden in 1997.
The Complete Collection is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG/CMC Records in Denmark in late 2000.
Christmas with Boney M. a.k.a. (New) Christmas with Boney M. is an aborted second Christmas album turned into a compilation. The album was exclusively released in South Africa where the group's popularity—contrary to the rest of the world—remained high during the early 80s. The album is a sought-after item for Boney M. collectors since it includes the original recording "Mother and Child Reunion" with Reggie Tsiboe and La Mama which was remixed and overdubbed with additional vocals for a 1985 charity single for Ethiopia,released by Frank Farian Corporation. The album has never been released on CD.
"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.
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.
"6 Years of Boney M. Hits " is a greatest hits medley by Boney M.,inspired by the success of the hit medleys by Stars on 45. Originally released on the B-side of the band's 1981 Christmas single "Little Drummer Boy",the single was flipped over in January 1982 with the medley as an A-side. While failing to chart in Germany,the medley reached #6 in the Spanish charts and was also an A-side release in France and Japan. The 12" version featured a faded version on the German pressing and an unfaded version on the French pressing,while the UK version was extended with their Christmas chart-topper "Mary's Boy Child –Oh My Lord".
"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.
