''Boonoonoonoos'' is the fifth studio album by

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

, released in September 1981.

Background

Despite producer Frank Farian having announced by the end of 1979 that Boney M. were to take a break, recording sessions for a new album began in the spring of 1980, and the title "Boonoonoonoos" (a Caribbean word for "Happiness", derived from Latin "Bonus" = good) already appeared as one of the first completed tracks, a cover of Larry Dillon's ska-title "Train to Skaville", which was intertwined with new rap parts as "That's Boonoonoonoos". Two of the new recordings, "I See A Boat On The River" and "My Friend Jack" were issued to promote ''

The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' in April 1980. Farian invited the singers Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett and his crew of musicians to Nice in the summer of 1980, where several new songs were recorded. A new double A-side single "Children Of Paradise"/" Gadda-Da-Vida" was released in September, announcing the as yet untitled new album to be released in November '80. The single reached number 11 in Germany, but in the UK their popularity was now quickly slipping. When released in February 1981, the single peaked at a disappointing number 66. In the meantime, Farian had decided to revise the whole album. While new pressings of "Children of Paradise" now promoted "The Magic of Boney M." on the back cover, the band instead issued another single in December, a cover version of " Felicidad (Margherita)" backed with "Strange". "Felicidad", originally recorded by Italian band Massara as "Margherita (Love In The Sun)" in 1979, managed to get Boney M. into the German Top 10 again and it became a sizeable hit in most of Europe as well. In the Netherlands, the single was released with "Strange" as the A-side. At the same time, singer Marcia Barrett issued the solo single "You" / "I'm Lonely", produced by John Edmed, and written by Kelvin James. Released in Germany in December 1980, and belatedly released in the UK in September 1981, the single failed to chart in either of the countries. Another song from the same sessions, "Breakaway", ended up on ''Boonoonoonoos'' as a Boney M. track with Frank Farian on lead vocals. New recording sessions took place in the spring of 1981. The band flew to Jamaica in August 1981 to record a TV special and perform live in concert with

Rita Marley Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) Rita is a female given name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of Margarita. The feast day of Rita is generally celebrated on May 22 in honor of Saint Rita of Cascia. Th ...

, shoot photos for the album innersleeve and a projected photo book that was never published, and one of the final songs "Silly Confusion" was recorded in

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Tuff Gong Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard " ...

studios in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. ''Boonoonoonoos'' – originally intended to be released as a double-album – was subsequently trimmed to a one disc, thirteen track release. A limited edition double album was, however, issued in Germany, France and the UK, containing slightly longer versions of certain songs, but with the same number of tracks.

Singles

The first single to be lifted off the finished ''Boonoonoonoos'' album in Germany was double A-side "Malaika"/"Consuela Biaz" in June 1981 which became the first Boney M. single since their breakthrough not to reach the German Top 10. The single was not released in the UK. "We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World)" was the second single, released in November, and marked the first single since "Belfast" featuring Marcia Barrett as the lead singer. It peaked at #12 in the German charts.

Track listing

Note: Tracklist based on cassette/CD releases. Lengths vary between releases. Side A: #"Boonoonoonoos" (Frank Farian, Giorgio Sgarbi, Catherine Courage, Fred Jay) - 4:37 #"That's Boonoonoonoos / Train to Skaville" (Frank Farian, Larry Dillon, Rainer Maria Ehrhart) / "I Shall Sing" (

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

) - 5:56 #"Silly Confusion" (Frank Farian, Dietmar Kawohl, Mats Björklund, Harry Baierl, Catherine Courage) - 7:12 #"

Ride to Agadir Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substanti ...

" (

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...

) - 5:09 #"Jimmy" (Frank Farian, Johan Daansen, Brad Howell) - 4:07 #"African Moon" (Frank Farian, Helmut Rulofs, Liz Mitchell, Catherine Courage) - 2:55 Side B: #"We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World)" (Frank Farian, Giorgio & Gisela Sgarbi) - 6:28 #"Homeland Africa (Ship Ahoy)" (

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

, Frank Farian,

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

) - 4:20 #"

Malaika Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili ...

" (Farian, Reyam, Traditional) - 3:27 #"Consuela Biaz" (Farian, Courage, O'Hara) - 4:37 #"Breakaway" (Kelvin James) - 4:18 #" Sad Movies" (

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

) - 3:22 #"Goodbye My Friend" (Farian, Rulofs, Courage) - 5:25

Personnel

Liz Mitchell Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pul ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

(A2, A5, A6, B3, B4, B6 & B7),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

Marcia Barrett Marcia Barrett (born 14 October 1948) is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M. Early years Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, British Jamaica; her parents brought her to Croydon, En ...

- lead vocals (B1, B5), backing vocals *

Frank Farian Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther; 18 July 1941) is a German record producer, musician, singer and songwriter, who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created v ...

- lead vocals (A4 & B5), backing vocals *

Bobby Farrell Roberto Alfonso Farrell (6 October 1949 – 30 December 2010) was an Aruban dancer and singer. He was the male member of the 1970s pop and disco group Boney M. Biography Birth and early life Farrell was born and raised on the island of A ...

- rap (track A2), spoken intro (B1) * Cathy Bartney ( La Mama) - backing vocals (A3, B1 ("Don't Kill the World") & B3) * Madeleine Davis (La Mama) - backing vocals (A3, B1 ("Don't Kill the World") & B3) * Patricia Shockley (La Mama) - backing vocals (A3, B1 ("Don't Kill the World") & B3) * Brian Paul - lead- and backing vocals (B1 ("Don't Kill the World")) * Brian Sletten - backing vocals (B1 ("Don't Kill the World")) * Dave King -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

* Günther Gebauer -

* Helmut Rulofs -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

* Johan Daansen -

* Mats Björklund -

* Curt Cress -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

* Harry Baierl - keyboards *

Kristian Schultze Kristian Schultze (21 January 1945 – 22 November 2011) was one-half of the German new-age band Cusco. Schultze partnered with Michael Holm and the two produced numerous new-age albums. The two met in late 1970s, when they discovered ...

- keyboards * Max Greger Jr. - keyboards * Dino Solera -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

(A5, A6) * Tom Scott - saxophone (A1, B5) *

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Sym ...

- orchestra (A4)

Production

* Frank Farian - producer * Christian Kolonovits -

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

* Geoff Bastow - arranger * Giorgio Sgarbi - arranger * Harry Baierl - arranger * Stefan Klinkhammer - arranger * Tammy Grohé -

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Recorded at Abbey Road Studios London,

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

London, Audio Studio Berlin, Atlantic Studios Munich, Rainbow Studios Munich, Union Studios Munich, Vigilant Studios Nice,

Studios Kingston Jamaica, Hitsville Recording Studios Hollywood California. Mixed at Farian Studios.

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications and sales

Reissued

* 1994: CD, BMG, 74321 21267 2 * 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 88697094802 * 2011: ''Boney M. Original Album Classics'', 5 CD, Sony Music, 88697928702 * 2017: ''Boney M. Complete'', 9 LP, Sony Music, 88985406971

References

External links

Rate Your Music, detailed discography

Discogs.com, detailed discography
* Allmusic, biography, discography etc.
Boney M. FAQ
{{Authority control 1981 albums Boney M. albums Albums produced by Frank Farian Atlantic Records albums Hansa Records albums