Boney M Founder & Producer Frank Farian Passes Away, Aged 82

Frank Farian, the founder of German groups Boney M and Milli Vanilli and the Latin pop band No Mercy, passed away at the age of 82.

BBC reports that Farian’s family confirmed his passing via a statement through the singer and producer’s agency. Farian died in his apartment in Miami, Florida, yesterday (23 January) two years after undergoing life-saving heart surgery, which involved inserting a pig valve into his heart in 2022 (per The Mirror US).

In 1974, Farian recorded the song Baby Do You Wanna Bump (a cover of a Prince Buster song) and, in 1976, released it as a single and featured it on the album Take The Heat Off Me under the pseudonym Boney M. He then recruited other members of the band, including frontman Bobby Farrell, vocalists Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell, and dancer Maizie Williams.

It was later revealed that Farrell didn’t sing for Boney M and was lip-syncing to Farian’s vocals. As the founder and vocalist in Boney M, Farian found great success with songs like Daddy Cool, Rivers Of Babylon, Mary’s Boy Child and the unforgettable Rasputin.

Farian orchestrated the same lip-syncing technique with Milli Vanilli by hiring several session musicians and putting attractive dancers Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan in the spotlight.

After the lip-syncing scandal was discovered, Pilatus and Morvan were forced to return their 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Over 26 lawsuits were filed against Milli Vanilli, claiming consumer fraud.

Farian also had involvement with the groups No Mercy, Eruption, La Bouche, and more. He produced the 1986 Meat Loaf album Blind Before I Stop and featured as a backing vocalist on the single Rock ‘n’ Roll Mercenaries, played in a supergroup called Far Corporation with members of Toto, and produced the Daddy Cool musical, which ran from 2006 until 2016.

In 2021, Farian released a cover of Kool & The Gang’s Cherish with his daughter, Yanina, which you can watch below.

Boney M will return to Australia on their farewell tour this June and July, with demand to see the band leading to fourth and final shows in Melbourne and Sydney, and second and final shows in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. You can find all the dates and remaining tickets to the concerts here.