''Boonoonoonoos'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Boney M. Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

Background

Originally announced for a release on September 1, 1981, it was eventually postponed. ''Offizielle Charts'' cites an official release date of September 28, 1981. In Billboard of September 26, 1981, it is mentioned that the album "generated strong advance orders, spurring Hansa to press up 100,000 copies." However, it seems more likely that it hit the record stores towards the end of October as ''Boonoonoonoos'' first entered the German charts at No. 59 in mid-November and reached its peak at No. 15 already in the following week (November 23, 1981). In January 1982, it was reported it still had not sold gold after nearly three months on the market. An Ariola spokesman blamed the lack of a major hit single as a cause. It stayed in the German charts until March 8, 1982. It was the group's first new studio album in two years and marked the beginning of the group's commercial decline. In the UK where the group had come off 3 consecutive No. 1 albums 1978–80, ''Boonoonoonoos'' failed to chart at all. It also marked the last album to feature original member, the group's charismatic dancer

Bobby Farrell Roberto Alfonso Farrell (6 October 1949 – 30 December 2010) was an Aruban dancer, visual performer, singer and DJ. He was a member of the 1970s and 1980s R&B group Boney M. Biography Birth and early life Farrell was born and raised on ...

, who was fired by the group's producer

Frank Farian Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequent ...

in November 1981, just weeks after the album's release.

The recording of the album

The album reportedly cost 800,000 DM/$400,000 to record, and more than 100 titles were eventually demoed. The production costs further increased by employing the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

for the recording of

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Batt created the novelty pop band T ...

's symphonic rock piece "Ride to Agadir". Despite producer

having announced by the end of 1979 that Boney M. were to take a break, recording sessions for a new album began already in the first months of 1980, and the title "Boonoonoonoos" (a Caribbean word for "Happiness", derived from Latin "Bonus" = good) already appeared as one of the first completed tracks, a cover of Larry Dillon's ska-title "Train to Skaville", which was intertwined with new rap parts as "That's Boonoonoonoos". It was announced in fan club magazine ''Friends of Boney M.'' to be a new single in April 1980, but instead two new recordings, " I See a Boat on the River" and "My Friend Jack" were issued to promote ''

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 "Hoo ...

''. Farian invited the singers

Liz Mitchell Elizabeth Rebecca Pemberton-Mitchell (born 12 July 1952) is a British singer, best known as one of the original singers of the 1970s disco and reggae band Boney M. Mitchell now lives in Reading, UK. Early life Mitchell was born in the paris ...

and

Marcia Barrett Marcia Barrett (born 14 October 1948) is a British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M. Early years Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, British Jamaica; her parents brought her to Croydon, England in ...

and his crew of musicians to Nice in the summer of 1980, where several new songs were recorded. A new double A-side single "

Children of Paradise ''Children of Paradise'' (, ) is a two-part French romantic drama film by Marcel Carné, produced under war conditions in 1943, 1944, and early 1945 in both Vichy France and Occupied France. Set in the theatrical world of 1830s Paris, it tell ...

"/" Gadda-Da-Vida" was released in September, announcing the as yet untitled new album to be released in November '80. Despite heavy promotion all over Europe, the single peaked at No. 11 in Germany, their first not to enter the Top 10 and the first to be vetoed by Atlantic Records in the UK and Ariola Records in Spain. Worried by the declining success, Farian decided not to go ahead with a new album in November. While new pressings of "Children of Paradise" now promoted "The Magic of Boney M." on the back cover, the band instead issued another single in December, a cover version of "

Felicidad (Margherita) "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 A ...

". "Felicidad", originally recorded by Italian band Massara as "Margherita (Love in the Sun)" in 1979, managed to get Boney M. into the German Top 10 again where it stayed for 27 weeks, becoming one of their longest-running chart entries, although it was once again not released in the UK and Spain. In the Netherlands, where Massara's version had been a hit, the B-side "Strange" was chosen as the A-side instead but failed to become a hit. At the same time, singer Marcia Barrett issued the solo single "You" / "I'm Lonely", produced by John Edmed, and written by Kelvin James. Released in Germany in December 1980, and belatedly released in the UK in April 1981, the single failed to chart in either of the countries. Another song from the same sessions, "Breakaway", ended up on ''Boonoonoonoos'' as a Boney M. track with Frank Farian on lead vocals. Atlantic UK finally decided to release "Children of Paradise" in the UK on January 30, 1981 – nearly 4 months after its continental release – but the single only stayed in the UK charts for two weeks, peaking at No. 66, their lowest chart entry yet. Also in February, Boney M. flew to Jamaica to record a TV special and perform live in concert with

Rita Marley Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley OJ OD ( Anderson; born 25 July 1946) is a Jamaican reggae singer. She is the widow of reggae musician Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the ...

and shoot photos for the album cover. One of the final songs "Silly Confusion" was recorded in

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

Tuff Gong Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard "T ...

studios in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. A white-label pressing of the album emerged, presumably around April, featuring 11 tracks. None of the previous single releases were included. Apparently it was felt that the album did not have any strong lead single, as Frank Farian had Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett back in the studio in May to record a cover version of Fadhili Williams' "

Malaika Malaika Nakupenda Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian artist, Adam Salim in 1945 and recorded for the first time by Kenyan musician, Fadhili William. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya a ...

", released in June as a double A-side with the ballad Consuela Biaz. Edited versions were now added to side 2 of the LP, now announced to be called ''Boonoonoonoos'' and given a release date of September 1, 1981. although it would be another two months before the album was eventually released. By December, a Limited Edition 2LP was released in Germany, France & the UK with slightly longer versions of some tracks.

Singles

The first single to be lifted off the finished ''Boonoonoonoos'' album in Germany was double A-side "Malaika"/"Consuela Biaz" in June 1981 which became their second single not to reach the German Top 10, peaking at No. 13. Furthermore it was another single that Atlantic deemed unsuitable for the UK market and didn't release. Boney M. premiered "Consuela Biaz" on WWF on June 12, 1981, followed by "Malaika" on ZDF Disco on June 22. By then, Frank Farian had already remixed both tracks, and new mixes were circulating along with the original mixes. "We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World)" was the second single, premiered on ''Showbizzquiz'' October 14, 1981. It was the first single in 4 years to have Marcia Barrett on lead vocals on the rocky up-beat part. The two-part single had a children's choir on the second ballad part. The single peaked at No. 12 in Germany and briefly returned the group to the UK Top 40. It found greater success in Spain and South Africa where it reached No. 1. The other side of the single featured a 5-and-a-half-minute edit of the album medley "Boonoonoonoos" which the group had already premiered nearly two months earlier in German ''Show-Express'' (September 10, 1981). "Jimmy" was mentioned in UK fan magazine ''Friends of Boney M.'' as a new single in April 1982 after Bobby Farrell's exit from the group. A new and more up-beat version was recorded, but the single release was cancelled. Instead Farian offered it to Hansa label-mate

Precious Wilson Precious Wilson (born 18 October 1957 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Jamaican soul singer. Background Precious Wilson started out as a backing singer for the singing group Eruption. The group enjoyed their first minor success when they won a ...

who declined it. Boney M.'s version would eventually be included on their '' Ten Thousand Lightyears'' album in May 1984.

Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell's recording debut

''Boonoonoonoos'' marked

's debut on record. Having previously only mimed to Frank Farian's vocals on TV (but having sung live in the group's concerts), Farrell was featured on the track "Train to Skaville" (part of the song " Boonoonoonoos", as a rapper). He also did the spoken intro on " We Kill the World". Boney M. member

Maizie Williams Maizie Ursula Williams (born 25 March 1951) 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 ...

had also done a small part on "Train to Skaville" (featured in the group's TV special), and so the track would have been the first recording to actually feature all four group members, but her part was eventually re-recorded by Liz Mitchell for the released version of the song.

Ein Sound geht um die Welt

Boney M.'s visit to Jamaica in February 1981* resulted in the TV-Special ''Ein Sound geht um die Welt'' (A Sound Goes Around the World) where they are seen performing to early mixes of songs recorded so far: Train to Skaville, Boonoonoonoos, Homeland Africa, African Moon, I Shall Sing, Ride to Agadir, We Kill the World. Furthermore the group is seen performing "Rivers of Babylon" with

at a live concert. Prior to that their manager is seen running around the island to find the M. of the group's logo which has gone lost. The TV-special aired on December 12, 1981 when Bobby Farrell was no longer in the group. The special released was on the DVD Fantastic Boney M. on 2007, also with a live concert from 1977. *The Boonoonoonoos LP promo material states the footage was filmed in August 1981, but the first group photo from Jamaica was posted as a poster in German music magazine Bravo on February 19, 1981, and the group's return from Jamaica confirmed in a TV-performance of "Felicidad" on February 24, 1981 Also Marcia Barrett's UK single "You", released April 1981, featured a photo of the singer from Jamaica.

The album cover

Although hundreds of photos had been taken during the group's trip to Jamaica, photographer Didi Zill did not manage to capture a satisfactory photo of Boney M. standing in the sea as the sun was setting too fast, and instead both front and back cover of the album were shot in a studio in Germany, the front cover with Boney M. posing as black silhouettes with raised hands against a setting sun on a red sky. The innersleeve featured a cartoon drawing of Jamaica on one side with the head line "Sun, Sea And Jamaica – That's Boonoonoonoos" with various small photos of the group. The other side with the song credits was originally supposed to have been a shot of the group posing in the

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth ...

waterfalls, but due to Liz Mitchell's clothes being soaked, it was replaced with a photo of the group in a boat. The LP promo material promised the publishing of a photo book. This never materialised. The LP was released with a 6-fold poster of the album cover. The 1994 CD release and featured slightly alternate shots of both front and backcover.

Track listing

Note: Tracklist based on cassette / CD releases. Lengths vary between LP releases, and there are numerous German Hansa releases with different mixes. Some LP's have "Consuela Biaz" as track B3 before "Malaika". Side A: # "Boonoonoonoos" (Frank Farian, Giorgio Sgarbi, Catherine Courage, Fred Jay) – 4:37 / 4:50 (2LP) # "That's Boonoonoonoos / Train to Skaville" (Frank Farian, Larry Dillon, Rainer Maria Ehrhart) / "I Shall Sing" (

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

) – 5:56 / 6:36 # "Silly Confusion" (Frank Farian, Dietmar Kawohl, Mats Björklund, Harry Baierl, Catherine Courage) – 6:54 / 7:12 / 7:17 # " Ride to Agadir" (

) – 5:09 # "Jimmy" (Frank Farian, Johan Daansen, Brad Howell) – 3:52 (LP) / 4:07 (MC, 2LP + CD) # "African Moon" (Frank Farian, Helmut Rulofs, Liz Mitchell, Catherine Courage) – 2:55 / 3:19 Side B: # "We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World)" (Frank Farian, Giorgio & Gisela Sgarbi) – 6:28 # "Homeland Africa (Ship Ahoy)" (

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

, Frank Farian,

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

) – 3:20 / 4:20 # "

" (Farian, Reyam, Traditional) – 2:48 (LP) / 3:27 (MC, 2LP + CD) # "Consuela Biaz" (Farian, Courage, O'Hara) – 3:50 (LP) / 4:37 (MC, 2LP + CD) # "Breakaway" (Kelvin James) – 3:46 (LP) / 4:18 (MC, 2LP + CD) # " Sad Movies" (

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "In ...

) – 3:22 # "Goodbye My Friend" (Farian, Rulofs, Courage) – 5:10 (LP) / 5:25 (MC, 2LP + CD) 2LP Track List:
Disc 1: Side 1: A1-A3, Side 2: A4-A6
Disc 2: Side 3: B1-B3, Side 4: B4-B7 2007 CD reissue bonus tracks: * 14. "Felicidad (Margherita)" – 4:39 (Massara, Conz) * 15. "Strange" – 3:28 (Bobby Dobson)

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

(A2, A5, A6, B3, B4, B6 & B7),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

– lead vocals (B1, B5), backing vocals *

– lead vocals (A4 & B5), backing vocals *

– rap (track A2), spoken intro (B1) *

La Mama La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (sometimes abbreviated as La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1961 by African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer Ellen Stewart. Located in the East Village neighborho ...

– backing vocals (A1, A3, B1 ("Don't Kill the World") & B3) * Brian Paul – lead- and backing vocals (B1 ("Don't Kill the World")) * Brian Sletten – backing vocals (B1 ("Don't Kill the World")) * Dave King –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Günther Gebauer –

* Helmut Rulofs –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Johan Daansen –

* Mats Björklund –

* Curt Cress –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The Spectrum and as the drummer in Udo Lindenberg's Panik Orche ...

–

* Harry Baierl – keyboards * Kristian Schultze – keyboards * Max Greger Jr. – keyboards * Dino Solera –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

(A5, A6) * Tom Scott – saxophone (A1, B5) *

– orchestra (A4)

Production

* Frank Farian – producer * Christian Kolonovits –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

* Geoff Bastow – arranger * Giorgio Sgarbi – arranger * Harry Baierl – arranger *

Stefan Klinkhammer Stefan Klinkhammer (26 July 1935 – 30 March 2001) was a German musician who produced and composed a number of charting hits. His compositions include, " Dance, Bunny Honey, Dance for Penny McLean and "Skateboard" for Benny. He is also remember ...

– arranger * Tammy Grohé –

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

** Recorded at:

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, London

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

, London Audio Studio, Berlin

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios is the recording studio network of Atlantic Records. Although the historic recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 Wes ...

, Munich Rainbow Studios, Munich Union Studios, Munich Vigilant Studios, Nice

Studios, Kingston Jamaica Hitsville Recording Studios, Hollywood California *Mixing and vocal recording at Farian Studios in Germany

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications and sales

Reissued

* 1994: CD, BMG 74321 21267 2 * 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment 88697094802 * 2011: ''Boney M. Original Album Classics'', 5 CD, Sony Music 88697928702 * 2017: ''Boney M. Complete'', 9 LP, Sony Music 88985406971

References

External links

Rate Your Music, detailed discography

Discogs.com, detailed discography
* Allmusic, biography, discography etc.
Boney M. FAQ
{{Authority control 1981 albums Albums produced by Frank Farian Atlantic Records albums Boney M. albums Hansa Records albums