40 Fun Facts About Boney M.

Whose studio voice sang the deep male parts that Bobby Farrell mimed on Boney M.'s biggest hits?

Frank Farian, the producer who invented Boney M., recorded the male vocals himself and hired Farrell to dance and mime them on stage and television.

Boney M.'s producer borrowed the group's name from a TV detective series made in which country?

Australia produced Boney, an outback detective series of the early 1970s, and the producer liked the sound of the title when he caught its closing credits.

On the intro of Boney M.'s "Daddy Cool", the producer tapped a rhythm on his own teeth with what?

A pencil clicked against his teeth gave the record its odd ticking opening, a percussion gimmick the group reused on "Ma Baker" a year later.

Bobby Farrell of Boney M. died in which Russian city, on the anniversary of Rasputin's death there?

St Petersburg is where Farrell was found in his hotel room on 30 December 2010, the morning after a show and 94 years to the day after the mystic's murder.

The viral TikTok routine set to Boney M.'s "Rasputin" was copied from which video game series?

Just Dance 2 gave the song its high-kicking routine in 2010, and when users copied it on TikTok in early 2021 a single from 1978 went viral.

Which pop duo, built by Boney M.'s producer a decade on, lost a Grammy over lip-synced vocals?

Milli Vanilli repeated the Boney M. formula of faces miming to other voices, but this time the fallout cost the duo their Best New Artist award in 1990.

The words of Boney M.'s chart-topper "Rivers of Babylon" are adapted from which book of the Bible?

Psalms 137 and 19 supply nearly every line, a lament of exiles far from home that became one of Britain's best-selling singles.

Duck Sauce's 2010 club hit, built on Boney M.'s "Gotta Go Home", is named after which singer?

Barbra Streisand is both the title and the only words of the Duck Sauce track, whose whole hook was replayed from the 1979 Boney M. single.

Which carol, sung as a medley, gave Boney M. the UK Christmas number one of 1978?

Mary's Boy Child, joined to a new section called Oh My Lord, spent four weeks at number one and has sold more than 1.8 million copies in Britain.

Boney M. were barred from performing "Rasputin" at a December 1978 concert in which capital city?

Moscow welcomed the group as rare Western guests, but Soviet authorities would not allow a disco song about the imperial court's notorious holy man.

Which singer had the first UK number one, in 1957, with the carol Boney M. revived for Christmas 1978?

Harry Belafonte's calypso original sold over a million copies in Britain and was the first UK number one to run longer than four minutes.

In which British sci-fi series does a villain disguised as the mad monk dance to Boney M.'s "Rasputin"?

Doctor Who used the song in the special The Power of the Doctor, where the Master poses as the healer at the court of 1916 Russia and dances to it.

Boney M.'s "Rivers of Babylon" topped charts across Europe but stalled at number 30 in which country?

The USA never took to Boney M.: number 30 was the group's best showing there, for a single that sold two million copies in Britain.

Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, the two women who sang on Boney M.'s records, were both born on which island?

Jamaica was home to both singers until their families emigrated to England, and each had moved on to West Germany well before the group existed.

The real woman behind Boney M.'s "Ma Baker" died in a 1935 shootout with agents of which organisation?

The FBI killed Kate "Ma" Barker and her son Fred at a Florida hideout, and the song changed her surname because the new one sounded better.

Boney M.'s "Ma Baker" stalled at number two in Britain behind "I Feel Love" by which disco star?

Donna Summer kept the single off the top in 1977, though it still became the group's third straight number one in West Germany.

Boney M.'s label first wanted the "Daddy Cool" single led by a cover of which reggae star's song?

Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" was the label's pick, until the producer tested both tracks in his own discotheque and the crowd chose the other one.

Boney M.'s "Brown Girl in the Ring" began as a traditional children's ring-game song from which region?

The West Indies gave the group more than a tune: Liz Mitchell had already recorded the song in 1975, three years before it became a hit B-side.

Bobby Farrell, the dancing frontman of Boney M., was born and raised on which Caribbean island?

Aruba was Farrell's home until he left at 15 to spend two years as a sailor, passing through Norway and the Netherlands before he settled in West Germany.

Boney M.'s second German number one, "Sunny", was a cover of a 1966 hit written by which soul singer?

Bobby Hebb wrote the song after his brother was killed outside a Nashville nightclub, and it went on to become one of the most recorded songs in pop.

Boney M.'s "El Lute" tells the true story of a jailed outlaw, later pardoned, from which country?

Spain pardoned Eleuterio Sánchez soon after the single came out, and on a promotional visit the group handed him a gold record for its sales.

Which 1978 Boney M. album, their best seller, carried both "Rasputin" and "Rivers of Babylon"?

Nightflight to Venus was the group's first UK number one album, and its title track runs straight into the song about the Russian mystic.

Which Cole Porter standard, covered on the record, gave Boney M.'s second album its title?

Love for Sale also became known for its sleeve: Atlantic Records found the chained cover photo too raunchy and swapped it for the back-cover shot.

Before Boney M., Liz Mitchell moved to West Berlin to join the German cast of which rock musical?

Hair took Mitchell from England to Germany, where she stepped into a part just vacated by a future queen of disco.

Boney M.'s hit "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" reworks the tune of which old folk song?

Polly Wolly Doodle gave the single its singalong tune, and although it ended a run of seven straight German number ones it still reached number three in Britain.

Daddy Cool, a stage musical built on the songs of Boney M., had its 2006 premiere in which city?

London's Shaftesbury Theatre staged the show, a Romeo and Juliet story of rival music crews, until it closed the following February and moved on to Berlin.

What was Bobby Farrell's regular job in Germany before Boney M.'s producer hired him as a frontman?

A DJ in German clubs, Farrell was hired for his moves rather than his voice: on television he danced to full playback of vocals recorded by someone else.

What was Maizie Williams's profession when an agent recruited her for Boney M. in a Hanover restaurant?

A model who had won the title Miss Black Beautiful in 1973, Williams was hired to dance and mime, and never sang on the studio recordings.

Boney M.'s producer re-released their song "Felicidad" with new words saluting which newly elected leader?

Barack Obama inspired the 2009 single "Felicidad America", recorded with two new vocalists and released under the Boney M. name in the month he took office.

Boney M.'s "Rivers of Babylon" was a cover of a 1970 song by which reggae vocal group?

The Melodians saw their original briefly banned at home for its Rastafarian references, wording the disco cover removed before release.

Boney M.'s UK top-ten single "Painter Man" was first recorded in 1966 by which British band?

The Creation only reached number 36 in Britain with their own version, and guitarist Eddie Phillips first learned of the disco cover by seeing it on television.

Boney M.'s first single, "Baby Do You Wanna Bump", reworked the ska hit "Al Capone" by which artist?

Prince Buster went uncredited on the label, which gave the writing credit to the producer's alias, Zambi; the producer also sang both the deep lead and the falsetto.

A late-night performance of "Daddy Cool" on which West German TV show made stars of Boney M. in 1976?

Musikladen put the group on air on 18 September 1976 in daring stage costumes, and a single that had made little impact went to number one.

In which country did TV filler before 1982 World Cup games make Boney M.'s "Rasputin" a lasting favourite?

Vietnam's broadcasters filled the waits before live matches from España 82 with the song, and the group stayed popular there for decades.

Which singer replaced Bobby Farrell in Boney M. and went on to sing lead on "Kalimba de Luna"?

Reggie Tsiboe sang on the group's last three albums, and when Farrell returned in 1984 the famous quartet simply became a quintet.

The tune of Boney M.'s "Ma Baker" was adapted from "Sidi Mansour", a folk song from which country?

Tunisia's popular folk tune was discovered by the producer's assistant while on holiday, and he rewrote it as a disco track about a gangster.

The tune of Boney M.'s "Rasputin" drew 1970s claims that it copied a folk song from which country?

Turkey has a traditional song called "Kâtibim" with a strikingly similar melody, though the group denied borrowing anything.

The producer who created Boney M. trained for which job before rock and roll changed his plans?

A cook by training, he formed a band whose first single flopped in 1964, and he was still a schlager singer when he dreamed up the group.

Boney M.'s "Rasputin" recounts the mystic's hold over the family of which Russian tsar?

Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra turned to the healer for their haemophiliac son Alexei, the source of the influence the song describes.

Boney M.'s comeback hit "Kalimba de Luna" was a quick cover of a song by a drummer from which country?

Italy's Tony Esposito had the original hit, and the cover gave the group its first German Top 20 single in three years.