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.
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'.
"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.
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.
The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits is a greatest hits album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., issued in 1980, which contained all their biggest hits up until that point, including non-album singles "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday", album tracks from Take The Heat Off Me, Love for Sale, Nightflight to Venus and Oceans of Fantasy as well as their most recent double A-side single release "I See a Boat On the River"/ "My Friend Jack".
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.
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.
"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" is a 1978 Christmas single by Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit "Mary's Boy Child", put in medley with the new song "Oh My Lord".
"I See a Boat on the River" / "My Friend Jack" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M., taken from their 1980 compilation album The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits. "I See a Boat on the River" peaked at #5 in Germany but marked the group's waning popularity in the UK where "My Friend Jack" was promoted as the A-side, faring even worse than their former single "I'm Born Again", stalling at #57. Boney M. would use the double A-side format over the next years, 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.
"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.
"Somewhere in the World" is a single by disco band Boney M., the only single to be released from their seventh studio album Ten Thousand Lightyears. Featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the ballad marked another commercial low for the band when it peaked at #11 in the Swiss charts and at #49 in Germany. The full length 5:07 version was released on the 12" single.
Lead Vocal: Liz Mitchell. Backing Vocals: Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett.
"Stories" is a 1990 single by German band Boney M. It peaked at #26 in Switzerland and #94 in the UK. The single was based on an instrumental 1989 underground favourite by Izit, which itself was a re-work of a 1972 recording by Belgian group Chakachas. With added lyrics by Peter Bischof-Fallenstein, "Stories" was released as a response to the withdrawn "Everybody Wants to Dance Like Josephine Baker", released illegally under the group name by original members Marcia Barrett, Bobby Farrell, Maizie Williams and new singer Madeleine Davis. "Stories" launched a short-lived 'official' Boney M. line-up consisting of original lead singer Liz Mitchell and Reggie Tsiboe and two new girls, Sharon Steven and Patty Onoyewenjo. Never appearing on any studio album by the group, Stories was added as a bonus track on the remastered 2007 edition of the group's 1977 album Love for Sale. An unreleased 3:54 mix was used in the video clip for the track.
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.
