An Overall Question About: Boney M.

[Mario]

Hello Guys...As the holidays fast approach, I notice the seasonal favorite by Boney M "Mary's Boy Child" is played quite frequently on the radio...Looking back through previous threads and posts there seems to be an overall consensus that Boney M's music was/is not particularly well liked (or maybe I'm wrong) Yet the group sold millions around the world during the disco years. Was their music to campy for 70s dancers? Or was their music not truly classified as "disco"? Was their music more appealing to European dancers than American dancers? If so, why? Thanks & Take Care...Mario :icon_cool:

[tony98]

Boney M. ? not a group i cared for at all, especially considering all the great stuff that was around at the time. In the 70's the record store i worked in supplied the majority of the Disco's in the area with new releases. but the only clubs that would buy Boney M were top 40 type venues.

[ol'skinflint]

Hello Guys...As the holidays fast approach, I notice the seasonal favorite by Boney M "Mary's Boy Child" is played quite frequently on the radio...Looking back through previous threads and posts there seems to be an overall consensus that Boney M's music was/is not particularly well liked (or maybe I'm wrong) Yet the group sold millions around the world during the disco years. Was their music to campy for 70s dancers? Or was their music not truly classified as "disco"? Was their music more appealing to European dancers than American dancers? If so, why? Thanks & Take Care...Mario :icon_cool:

I can't speak for other people, but I never heard Boney M's music in any of the discos I went to and no one I knew personally seemed familiar with them. I did try one of their albums, called "Take the Heat Off Me" but except for a song called "Daddy Cool", which reminded me a lot of Silver Convention, I didn't like it much. The music seemed really lightweight and airy, and kind of studio boosted (reminded me of Abba, and THEIR appeal puzzled me also). By the way, it NEVER really impresses me that certain music sells millions...I've found some really big hits really wretched to my ears ("You Light Up My Life", "Disco Duck", "Stars on 45")

[Videoskooter]

Maybe I'm one of the few on this board that always comes in defense of Boney M.

I liked their stuff very much, it was a typical German Eurodisco sound, heavy, with strings and base and it pumped! They were massive in our charts and they sure were played a lot in our Discos. "Baby do you wanna bump" in its full album version is still an all-time favo of mine.

Boney M was a Frank Farian-concept and spinned of Gilla and in a way Claudja Barry who was the original booked frontwoman.

Farian did all the vocals and together with some session-singers (remember Milli Vanilli and others) created that specific sound. After the first success he hired dancer Bobby Farell and the 3 (initially 2) girlies.

"Nightflight to Venus", "Rasputin", "Ma Baker", "Sunny", "Love for sale", "Daddy Cool", "Belfast", "Gotta Go Home", they all are good commercial Disco outputs.

I don't know why they are hated so much on this board. Maybe they just were too poppy for some members.

So Mario, maybe they were indeed more European-orientated! But that's cool in a way, it shows that we are not narrowminded people!

We liked Baccara and Ottawan too and we are not ashamed to tell!

[Eman]

Hey Guys!
As an American who loves disco, I loved Boney M, Baccarra and Ottawan also!!! I even bought their lps as imports when the local chains weren't carrying them, I had relatives or friends send them to me!!!! To me they are up there with the Dooleys, Nolans etc

[the disco kid]

i love the early Boney M LP's "take the Heat off me" is classic in my book, and Jim Burgess used to treat us to "Oceans of Fantasy" in his sleaze / morning sets.

[JussiK]

In most of Europe, Boney M exploded into sales charts and into television variety shows with such a force that after a couple of weeks of "Daddy Cool" many younger dancers thought that and the rest of the stuff was far too pop for comfort. Parents who considered dance music monotonous and tribal commented favourably on "Belfast" and "Mary's Boy Child", and you could hear all kinds of unlikely people humming "Ma Baker" in a bus. As a result, the tracks were massive in commercial venues while hipper clubs never gave the Boneys any spins at all, they were considered absolutely mortifying. It was basically the same story with Baccara, though seemingly "Parlez-Vous Francais" got played even in the most puritanical of BPM places, it was just too fun to resist. And now of course both troupes have become pop music legends in our continent, even in England - but whatever happened to the ferociously hyped Boney M musical that was supposed to open in the West End?

[SandraDee]

[quote=JussiK;111834but whatever happened to the ferociously hyped Boney M musical that was supposed to open in the West End?[/quote]


It's been a big success over recent weeks attracting large audiences, the latest in a series of hit musicals based on music of groups from the past. They're calling it the new Mamma Mia. I can't imagine what it's like as it stars an ex-member of 'gangster rap/UK garage' group So Solid Crew!!! That's his street-cred gone. :icon_mrgreen: :icon_rolleyes:(but his bank balance is looking healthy!)