Boney M Founder Frank Farian passes away aged 82

Frank Farian, founder of Boney M and pioneer of the eurodisco genre has passed away aged 82.

Farian's death was confirmed after his family released a statement on Tuesday January 23 via Farian's agency saying he had passed away at his home in Miami.

As well as his work with Boney M, Frank Farian was also known as the momentum behind the pop duo group Milli Vanilli, where Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus acted as the lip-syncing dancers, with a host of studio singers performing on the actual tracks. This eventually erupted into a scandal when it was revealed that Morvan and Pilatus did not perform on any of their own tracks and saw the musical duo have their grammy award revoked in the early 90s.

Farian was born in Franz Reuther in 1941 in Kirn, south-western Germany, and trained as a chef while also pursuing a musical career - first as a singer and then as a producer.

In 1976, Farian had his first musical success in the form of a schlager version of the country song 'Rocky', it was around this time that Farian conceived of the idea for his best known and most influential musical project; Boney M.

Boney M, was a disco group made up of four West Indian singers and dancers including frontman Bobby Farrell. Much like Milli Vanelli, Farian performed the famous rich bass vocals for Boney M with Farrell acting as the male face of the group who performed the songs live.

Boney M charted worldwide with such songs as 'Daddy Cool' (1976), 'Ma Baker' (1977), and 'Rivers of Babylon' (1978) along with Just Dance classic 'Rasputin' (1978).

Sometimes dubbed "Mr German Hit", Farian had recorded the Milli Vanelli's first songs before its members ever met in a studio. It emerged after the duo achieved mega international success and won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist that the pair were not the sonic force behind the act.

Farian also worked with the likes of Meat Loaf and Stevie Wonder in his capacity as song writer and producer. He is reported to have sold an estimated 800 million records worldwide, making him one of the most successful German music producers ever.

He also produced Eurodance hit 'Be My Lover' by La Bouche

Speaking to his early career as a chef,  Farian once likened his method of producing chart hits to cooking. “The ingredients have to be right,” he told Der Spiegel. “You need a fantastic interpreter, you can’t do it without a good voice. And the song has to be catchy, with a good melody and a memorable chorus.”

In 2022, Farian revealed he had undergone heart surgery and had a pig heart valve inserted, which he said saved his life. he died peacefully in his home in Miami on January 23 2024.