German singer-songwriter Frank Farian (real name Franz Reuther) recorded the dance track "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" in December 1974. Farian sang the repeated line "Do you do you wanna bump?" in a deep voice (entirely studio created) as well as performing the high falsetto chorus. When the record was released as a single, it was credited to "Boney M.", a pseudonym Farian had created for himself after watching the Australian detective show Boney. After a slow start, the song became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium. It was then that Farian decided to hire performers to 'front' the group for TV performances. The Katja Wolfe booking agency found model-turned-singer Maizie Williams (originally from Montserrat) and her Jamaican singer friend Sheyla Bonnick for him, along with a dancer known only as "Mike" for the first gigs. Also during 1975, a girl named Nathalie joined but was soon replaced by Claudja Barry. Then Bonnick and Mike left, and Maizie Williams brought in Bobby Farrell, an exotic male dancer from Aruba. Singer Marcia Barrett (also from Jamaica) joined the group, which then went through another change in line-up when Claudja Barry – tired of merely lip-synching – left in February 1976 to pursue a solo career as a disco singer. Finally Liz Mitchell, former member of the Les Humphries Singers, stepped in. The line-up was finalised with Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams, Marcia Barrett, and Bobby Farrell.
Take the Heat Off Me
Boney M.'s first album, Take the Heat Off Me, was released in 1976. It contained tracks that Marcia Barrett had already recorded with Farian, including the title track and "Lovin' or Leavin'", both of which were previously recorded in German by another Farian act, Gilla. As Maizie Williams' voice wasn't considered suitable for recording purposes by Farian, and a try-out with Bobby Farrell performing "No Woman No Cry" didn't work, Farian decided to use only Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett along with his own studio-enhanced voice to create the Boney M. sound.
Liz Mitchell claimed that only she and Farian had sung on the hit recordings, but that Farrell did, however, perform live in some of the various later touring incarnations of 'Boney M'.
The album's commercial performance was initially lukewarm. However, the group rigorously toured discos, clubs and even country fairs to earn a reputation for themselves. The group's big break came when, at the end of summer 1976, German television producer Michael 'Mike' Leckebusch (of Radio Bremen) requested the group for his show Musikladen. Boney M. appeared on the live music show on September 18, 1976, after 10 pm and in their daring stage costumes, where they performed the song "Daddy Cool". The song quickly went to no.1 in Germany, with the album following the success of the single. Another single, "Sunny" (a cover of the 1966 Bobby Hebb song) gave the group their second no.1 hit. The group's popularity had also grown throughout Europe, with "Daddy Cool" reaching no.1 in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Austria. Both singles were also Top 10 hits in the UK which would become one of their biggest markets.
Love For Sale
In 1977, Boney M. released their second album, Love for Sale, which contained the hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". The group embarked on their first major concert tours with a live band of musicians called 'The Black Beautiful Circus' (given their name after Maizie Williams' first band, 'Black Beautiful People'). Though slow to start, Love for Sale made the UK Top 20 and was certified Gold a year after its release. Both singles from the album reached no.1 in Germany and the UK Top 10. By this time, sales had also slowly increased for their first album which had only peaked at no.40 in the UK but was now certified Silver.
Nightflight to Venus
1978 was the group's biggest year. They released a new double A-sided single, "Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl in the Ring", which became a massive hit all over Europe, reaching #1 in several countries as well as becoming one of the biggest selling singles of all time in the UK. It also became their most successful single in the United States, peaking at #30 on the U.S. pop singles chart. Following this came their biggest-selling album, Nightflight to Venus, which spawned another hit single, "Rasputin". Continuing with their success, they released "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord", which was the 1978 Christmas number one single in the United Kingdom and became another of the biggest selling singles of all time there. Also during 1978, Boney M. made a much publicized promotional visit to the Soviet Union, one of the very few Western acts along with Elton John to do so. Although tracks like "Rasputin" were not released in the Soviet Union due to their lyrics, the band was welcomed by the Soviet regime and this visit resulted in an enormous popularity in the entire former Eastern Bloc that has lasted for more than three decades.[citation needed]
While it had never been a secret that Bobby Farrell never was in the studio providing vocals for the studio recordings (Farian did the male vocals in the studio), in 1978 it became public knowledge that Maizie Williams did not sing on the studio recordings either "since her voice wasn't suited for this kind of music", as Farian stated in an interview with German teen magazine Bravo. Since this had become common practice within the disco genre of the late '70s, few people cared – unlike when Farian did the same thing with Milli Vanilli in the late 1980s. While only two of Boney M.'s official members actually contributed to the band's records, all four members of the group, including Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell, performed the vocals live at Boney M. concerts. The band's live sound was also augmented by several backing vocalists, which served to enhance any vocal deficiencies the group may have had compared with the studio productions.
Oceans of Fantasy
1979 saw Boney M. release a brand new single, "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday", which became another Top 10 hit across Europe. Later in the year they released their fourth album, Oceans of Fantasy, containing two hit singles – "Gotta Go Home"/"El Lute" and "I'm Born Again"/"Bahama Mama". The track "No More Chain Gang", one of a number of black freedom songs the group recorded, exemplified Boney M.'s mix of white and black music. The album also included a "Lead" and "Backing Vocals" credit for the first time. The album made no.1 in the UK and was certified Platinum, though their run of Top 10 singles had now ended with "Gotta Go Home" peaking at no.12 and "I'm Born Again" peaking at 35.