Boney M

Boney M. formed in 1976 and though the group was based out of Bon, West Germany none of it’s core members were natives of the country. Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett were both born in Jamaica, Maizie Williams was originally from Montserrat, West Indies and Bobby Farrell was from Aruba. Though these singers did not start performing together until 1976 this project was already underway in 1974.

During this year Farian had already come up with the group’s name (which he derived from a popular TV series) and had recorded it’s 1st single “Baby do You Want to Bump”. The track caught on in the Netherlands and Belgium and this spurt of popularity cited Farian to compile a group of singers and dancers to front his work. For the group’s first incarnation he recruited singers Maizie Williams, Sheyla Bonnick, and a dancer known simply as Mike. The group expanded to include Claudja Barry and Bobby Farrell. The group finally reached a degree of stabilization when Maricia Barrett and Liz Mitchell joined.

In 1976 the group released their studio debut album “Take the Heat off Me”. Although the group had coalesced into a stable line up, Barrett and Mitchell were essentially the only performers to appear on the album alongside Farian (who contributed the majority of the male vocalizations). The album was an obvious nod to the disco genre and included two original singles “Daddy Cool” and “Baby Do You Want to Bump” as well as the Bob Marley cover “No Woman, No Cry”. Though the album just barley missed the cut on the US Billboard Album charts, it was a huge success in many European countries, topping both Sweden and Finland’s album chart, landing at No. 6 on Austria’s album chart and No. 2 on Norway’s.

The band’s sophomore album, “Love for Sale” was released 1 year later. It was a commercial hit, going on to achieve Gold certification in the UK and featuring two hit singles “Ma Baker” and “Belfast”, which peaked at No.1 on the German Singles chart. Prior to this release the band had been rigorously performing at local disco’s and nightclubs, but after the release of “Love for Sale” they were able to embark on their first headlining tour.

In 1978 the group released what is considered to be their best album, “Nightflight to Venus”. This release was their first to take No.1 on the UK album charts. Though the album continued to draw inspiration from R&B, Dance and Disco music, some of the tracks chosen for this album were stylistic variations from these genres, such as the cover of Neil Young’s classic folk tune “Heart of Gold” and the Country standard “King of the Road”. The group’s biggest hit was a Wiest Indies Children’s traditional “Brown Girl in the Ring”.

Their 4th album “Ocean’s of Fantasy” saw release in September 1979. It was their second album to reach No.1 in the UK. This album featured the two singles “Gotta Go Home”/”El Lute” and “I’m Born Again”/”Bahama Mama”.

Boney M’s hype started to fade in the 80s. They released a successful greatest hits compilation in 1980, but a comparatively weak 5th studio album “Boonoonoonoos”. This release was followed by the departure of Bobby Farrell. Later that year the band put out a Christmas album and in 1984 released “Ten Thousand Lightyears”, their first album without Farrell’s promotional support. Farrell returned in 1984 in time for the release of two moderately successful singles “Kalimba de Luna” and “Happy Song”. The group’s 8th and final studio album “Eye Dance” was issued in October 1985; however, Farian had noticeably lost interest in the group at this point and the resulting album was panned by critics and also did poorly on the market.

Boney M’s “Greatest Hits of All Times - Remix ’88” came out in 1988; however, the band was basically defunct at the time. Several different incarnations emerged and imploded throughout the 90s and 2000s, with the longest lived being Maizie William’s line up who embarked on an Australian tour in 2014.

Born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Washington, D.C. at the age of nine, Haddaway was raised on an early diet of Louis Armstrong, and subsequently learned to play the trumpet. After graduating from high school and forming his first band known as the Chances, the singer moved to Cologne, Germany in 1987, and began working in bars and singing whenever the opportunity arose.

In 1992 Haddaway earned his big break signing with German label Coconut Records. A year later the singer issued his debut single “What Is Love”, which took Europe by storm, selling over 2.6 million records. Reaching No. 2 on the UK and German singles charts, the record became an instant club staple and has since earned a host of remixes. Haddaway subsequently released the single “Life”, another smash hit single, before issuing his debut Eurodisco full-length “The Album” in September 1993. Charting at No. 5 on the German Albums Chart and No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart, the record also proved popular in Scandinavia, aided by its fun-loving Eurodance aesthetic. Released on Coconut Records, the album’s subsequent singles included “I Miss You” and “Rock my Heart”.

The dance-inspiring musician’s sophomore album “The Drive” was released in June 1995 led by the singles “Fly Away”, “Catch a Fire”, and “Lover Be Thy Name”. Whilst failing to prove as popular as his debut “Haddaway”, the album earned favourable reviews, later peaking at No. 32 on the German Albums Chart. Used as the soundtrack for Saturday Night Live’s Butabi brothers sketch by Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, “What Is Love” enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, later charting at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Taken in a more soulful direction, Haddaway’s third and fourth albums “Let’s Do It Now” and “My Face” failed to chart despite the charting singles “What About Me”, “What Do You love”, and “Love Makes”. The non-album single “What Is Love Reloaded” followed in 2003, after which the singer released the studio album “Pop Splits” featuring the single “Spaceman”. Following a series of collaborations with the likes of Dr. Alban, Klaas, and The Mad Stuntman, Haddaway issued his sixth studio album “Gotta Be” in 2011.

East 17 began when singer and songwriter Tony Mortimer absolutely aced a record label showcase with London Records. The label weren't looking for a solo artist but knew talent when they saw it, so they signed Mortimer up and decided to form a band around him, deciding on Terry Coldwell and John Hendy to join him. All three of the band members hailed from Walthamstow, a north-eastern district of London, and so the band was named after their post-code, East 17. The final piece of the puzzle came during the recording session for the band's first single, when Brian Harvey, who had been employed as a back-up singer and dancer originally, was overheard singing away from the mic. Astonished by his singing voice and very aware of his charisma, Harvey was promoted to lead vocalist, and the classic line up of East 17 had been formed.

Mortimer was trusted to write the band's songs, and while Harvey sung the lead vocals, Mortimer was the band's rapper. They soon built up a reputation for themselves as the harder, cooler, more street-wise alternative to the other boy-band on top of the world of British pop music, Take That, and right off the bat, they were an absolutely huge deal. Their debut single, 1992's “House Of Love”, was a top ten hit in the U.K that also charted solidly all over Europe, even hitting number one in Sweden, and their debut album, 1993's “Walthamstow”, rocketed to number one as well. For the rest of the 1990's very few bands came close to matching the success of East 17, who scored twelve Top 10 hit singles on the UK charts in 6 years. However spectacular this run was, it was nothing compared to the band's breakup.

In January 1997, Harvey claimed in an interview that “It's cool to take drugs”, and that “Ecstasy can make you a better person”. While East 17 were seen as the cool boy-band, this was still a step too far, and the media were soon baying for his blood, even tying his statement into the tragic case of Leah Betts, a school girl who had died after taking MDMA two years earlier. Harvey, understandably, was sacked and Mortimer left a couple of months afterwards. East 17 were dead, but in 1998, Coldwell and Hendy invited Harvey back into the fold to start the band up again, renaming themselves E-17 in the process. The band had some initial success, with their first single “Each Time” hitting number 2 in the charts, but they couldn't last after public interest in the new project waned, and they split up in 1999.

Over the 2000's, the band were constantly trying to reform and failing due to the existing friction between Harvey and Mortimer, both of whom were trying to start solo careers due to varying degrees of success. In the end, Coldwell and Hendy found that the best way of bringing East 17 into the 21st century is by not having Mortimer or Harvey in the band at all. In 2014, they added Robbie Craig as their new lead vocalist, and have seen more success as a live act around the U.K and Europe than they've done in over a decade. While it might be an exercise in nostalgia for most, that doesn't mean that a night with East 17 isn't a hell of a lot of fun, and that's what this pop music lark is all about in the end. For that, they come highly recommended.