Boney M frontman Bobby Farrell dies at 61

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Bobby Farrell of the group Boney M performs May 14, 2005 in Zurich, Switzerland. He was found dead Thursday in his hotel room in St. Petersberg, Russia, where he was on tour. (Alessandro Della Bella/Keystone/Associated Press)

Bobby Farrell, frontman of the 1970s pop group Boney M, was found dead in his hotel bed in St. Petersburg on Thursday while on tour in Russia. He was 61.

Farrell was discovered by hotel staff after he failed to respond to a wakeup call. He had given a concert in St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening.
His agent, John Seine, said he had complained of breathing problems, but the cause of death has yet to be determined.

Boney M was put together by German singer and songwriter Frank Farian in 1974, and had a huge following in Europe, including the Soviet Union, in the 1970s.
Farrell, who was more a dancer and showman than a singer, was the male face of the group, which included three other West Indian session singers - Marcia Barrett, Liz Mitchell and Maizie Williams.

Farian had a hit with Baby Do You Wanna Bump? and created Boney M to support the song.
The group went on to have hits such as Daddy Cool, Sunny, By the Rivers of Babylon and a favourite in North America, Rasputin'.

Boney M had 38 top-10 hits, including 15 that hit No. 1 in Germany, where they were then based, including Brown Girl in the Ring and Mary's Boychild.
Farrell was born Alphonso Farrell on Oct. 6, 1949, in Aruba. He left home at 15 as a sailor, then worked as a DJ in Germany before being picked by Farian to front Boney M.
In 1978, Boney M was the first Western music group to perform in the Soviet Union. They sang for an audience of 2,700 Russians in Red Square after being invited by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

The original group broke up in 1986. Williams is also touring with a group referred to as Boney M.
Farrell had been performing as Bobby Farrell of Boney M with three female backup singers. He continued to perform Boney M hits, and a mixture of calypso and disco songs.

Farrell, who made his home in Amsterdam, had been scheduled to perform a New Year's Eve concert in Rome.
With files from The Associated Press
 
Rest in peace and thank you for the Memories.
 

Thursday, Dec 30 2010 6PM 4°C 9PM 3°C 5-Day Forecast

Boney M's Bobby Farrell dies on the same day and in the same town as Rasputin... the subject of one of the band's biggest hits



Last updated at 4:41 PM on 30th December 2010

Life sadly imitated art for Boney M's Bobby Farrell today as his death turned into an uncanny coincidence relating to one of his biggest hits.
The frontman died in St Petersburg yesterday on same date and in the exact same town as mad Russian monk Rasputin - who was the subject of the band's 1978 top three single.

The eccentric frontman was found dead in his hotel room aged just 61 just hours after a performance in the city where the band rose to stardom in the Soviet era, according to his agent.

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Weird coincidence: Boney M singer Bobby Farrell was found dead on December 29 in St Petersburg... just like Rasputin


But while the cause of Farrell's death is still not clear, it couldn't be more different to that of Grigori Rasputin, who, said the lyrics in Boney M's song, was the 'lover of the Russian Queen'.
Rasputin, was 47 when he his body was recovered from Neva River. He had drowned after being been poisoned, shot four times, badly beaten, and thrown in the river.
WHO WAS RASPUTIN?


Grigori Rasputin has been described as one of the most scandalous figures in Russian history.

Born the son of a peasant in 1869, he was a self-styled 'holy man' who is believed to have had a huge influence on Emperor Nicholas II, but especially his wife Alexandra, and their son Alexis, who seemed to miraculously overcome his hemophilia when Rasputin was around, and the family began to trust him and call him their 'holy man' and 'our friend'.

Alexandra acted as ruler when Nicholas took command of the Russian troops fighting the Germans during the First World War and Rasputin acted as her advisor, giving her advice on how to run the troops and the nation, which Nicholas went with, but eventually left the country in ruin.
Members of the Russian nobility, including Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich and Prince Felix Yussoupov, blamed all the troubles on Rasputin and plotted to kill him.
His body was fished out of the icy Neva River after being been poisoned, shot four times, badly beaten, and thrown in.


He was the subject of Boney M's hit which was a Top 5 hit across Europe.
Today, Farrell's agent John Seine - who is based in the Netherlands - said of Farrell: 'He did a show last night as part of Bobby Farrell's Boney M and they found him this morning dead in his hotel room.

‘He did not feel well last night, and was having problems with his breathing, but he did the show anyway,’ Seine added.

The cause of his death was not immediately clear, according to Sergei Kapitanov, a representative of St. Petersburg's branch of Russia's investigative committee.

Boney M - consisting of Farrell, Maisie Williams, Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett - were one of the most successful bands of the late 1970s with Farrell becoming famed for his lip-synching as much as his dancing in the disco band.

The band's hits included Daddy Cool, Ma Baker and Rasputin. Indeed, their version of Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord was the Christmas No1 in 1978 and is the tenth biggest-selling single of all time in Britain.
The double A-sided single Brown Girl In The Ring and Daddy Cool, also released in 1978, was the biggest-selling single of that year. Indeed, it remains the sixth biggest selling single of all time in Britain.

Farrell was born on the island of Aruba, one of the Lesser Antilles. He lived in Norway and the Netherlands before moving to Germany.

He worked largely as nightclub DJ before music producer Frank Farian signed him up for the new pop group he was putting together, which became Boney M.

Farrell was the sole male singer in the group.

However, Farian later revealed that Bobby made almost no vocal contributions to the group's records.

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Heyday: Bobby with other Boney M members. The band reached their peak in the 1980's but Bobby performed the night before he died


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Bandmates: Maizie Williams, Bobby Farrell, Marscia Barrett and Liz seen in Moscow in 1981


Instead, Farian himself sang the male parts on the songs in the studio. Farrell did, however, perform the songs live.
The band Boney M was put together by German singer-songwriter Frank Farian who also produced most of the vocals for the group.

The original Boney M band broke up more than 20 years ago. Farrell was the frontman for a group called Bobby Farrell and Boney M.
Frank was also producer to group Milli Vanilli and caused controversy when he admitted that the guys who fronted the group did not actually sing the songs.





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Right up to the end: Bobby performed the night before he died







http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...subject-bands-biggest-hits.html#ixzz19cCSpkT3​
 
watu weengi wamekuwa wakihisi Boney M ndilo jina la Bobby.
Dah hakika nitamkumbuka sana kamanda huyu haswa nitakapokuwa naitizama Video ya wimbo Plantations Boy coz unavyoanza anakuwa kama anafyeka majani kwa kutumia Mundu...
 
sauti lake kubwa limeunguruma ktk nyimbo ya river of babylon pale mwanzo, na pia kwenye nyimbo za hooray hooray its holiday, na kwenye nyimbo ya El Lute pia kaunguruma.
Lakini kwenye Dady cool ndo noma lake utalijuwa...
Hakika hakuwa anacheza, bali alikuwa na vurugu twaweza sema.

Dah kwaheri ya kuonana Bobby...
 
katika turntable atakuonyeha jinsi vidole vinavyofanya kazi,mpe mic hakika utajua music si kubana pua,mwachie jukwaa uone anavyolishambulia kwa uchezaji wake wa kipekee na si kukata viuno visivyo na mpangilio....ukimuita daddy cool hujakosea sana kwani humo ndo alionyesha kwamba kuna wakati mziki unaweza kudaiwa chenji na aliyeufanya.....kwaheri farrelll!!!!!
 
Boney M Singer Bobby Farrell Dead
Frontman of '70s disco band died at age 61 while on tour in Russia.
​

Bobby Farrell of the 1970s chart-topping group Boney M has been found dead in his hotel bed while on tour in Russia, his agent said.

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The 61-year-old singer performed as scheduled in St Petersburg on Wednesday night, but complained of breathing problems before and after his show, according to agent John Seine.

Bobby, who lived in Amsterdam, was more a dancer and showman than a singer when he was part of the original Boney M in the 1970s.

The group, based in Germany, broke into the charts with Daddy Cool in 1978. That year their version of By The Rivers Of Babylon sold nearly two million records in Britain alone, keeping it at number one for five weeks.

Alphonso "Bobby" Farrell left his home on the Caribbean island of Aruba at 15 to work as a sailor, then drifted to Norway and Germany to pursue a career as a DJ, according to his official biography.

He was chosen in 1974 to front Boney M, put together by German singer and songwriter Frank Farian, who did much of the recorded singing.

In 1978 Boney M were the first Western music group invited by a Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, to perform in the Soviet Union. A Soviet military plane flew the performers from London to Moscow, where they sang for an audience of 2,700 Russians in Red Square.

The original group broke up in 1986 and Bobby continued on his own or with various female back-up singers, maintaining his flamboyant style and glittering costumes.

Seine said the cause of death was not known, but Bobby had suffered health problems off-and-on for 10 years. He said he was found dead by hotel staff after he failed to respond to a wake-up call.


Source: .msnmusic | mtvnews
 
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