Recommendations of the Editorial team
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Boney M.’s founding in 1976. It is primarily the creation of its producer Frank Farian and for several years one of the most successful pop exports from Germany. “Daddy Cool” became a hit worldwide, “El Lute” is definitely one of the best German songs. To date, the band has sold 150 million records and is one of the most successful disco groups of all time alongside ABBA and the Bee Gees.
A new documentary entitled “Boney M.: Disco. Power. Legend” now sheds light on the lives of Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell in front of and behind the scenes. What is described is a “field of tension between art, commerce and identity,” as it says in a statement. Among other things, unpublished archive material from the photographer Didi Zill will be shown. Previously unknown Super 8 recordings also made it into the documentation.
A psychogram by Frank Farian (“a brilliant maniac with a flair for hits – but also a control freak who gave his artists little leeway”) and the descriptions by singers Mitchell and Barrett about everyday racism they experienced promise a new look at the group.
The film by Oliver Schwehm (“Born To Be Wild – A Band Called Steppenwolf”) just celebrated its premiere at the Lichter Filmfest and will also be shown on ARD on May 11th at 11:20 p.m. and at the same time in the stream in the ARD media library.
New look at the “exploitation” of Boney M.
In addition to the musicians, companions such as Thomas Anders and Sebastian Krumbiegel also have their say. In addition, Professor of Global African Arts, Natasha A. Kelly, advocates for a new look at Boney M. in the context of exoticization and appropriation of “foreign” traditions as a marketing strategy.
“Rasputin”, which surprisingly went viral in 2021 and garnered an incredible 22 billion views on TikTok, proved that Boney M. is still able to fascinate a large audience.
