Warsaw Voice - Pop Sensation

By Magda Kuszewska
12 January 2005

Boney M, whose hits include "Daddy Cool," "Rasputin" and "Rivers of Babylon," will perform at the Lords Club. For three decades, Boney M's hits have been party standards around the world.

The four vocalists who formed Boney M started their career from "Baby, Do You Wanna Bump?" Prior to that, in the early 1970s, their lead vocalist Liz Mitchell had started a solo career in Berlin, where she moved from her home country of Jamaica. Persuaded by her friend Marcia, she joined Boney M, a band conceived by German manager Frank Farian, initially a project that no one expected to become so successful. Since its inception, the group's lineup featured three women-Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams and Marcia Barrett-as well as vocalist Bobby Farrell. Initially, their songs were played at clubs and discos. The group's upbeat, simple tunes won popularity and satisfied mainstream tastes. Soon after, Boney M started performing at larger concerts and festivals. The band were spectacular on stage thanks to excellent contact with the audience, a little theatrical style and glittery outfits. In 1976, they performed on the famous German TV show Musikladen and performed their hit "Daddy Cool." The song went to number one in Germany and later that year on the prestigious British charts. "Daddy Cool" and the hits that followed made Boney M incredibly popular across Europe. The next hit, "Sunny," was again number one in Germany and Britain and the public also loved "Rivers of Babylon." Another success was "Brown Girl in the Ring," which made the Top 40 in the United States.

In 1978, the new hit was "Rasputin," followed by "Mary's Boy Child (Oh My Lord)", both of which still sell well today. Boney M's hit of 1979 was "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday."

While Boney M somewhat fell into oblivion in the 80s, in the 90s the band topped charts again with the release of compilations of their old hits. Boney M have eight platinum and 15 gold records to their name and a total of 200 gold and platinum singles.

Boney M concert: Jan. 21 (Friday), Lords Club, 97 Pańska St., tel. 331-91-67, start at 8 p.m. Tickets cost zl.65 and are available at the Lords Club and Traffic music store.