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Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created vocal groups in which the publicised members merely lip-synced to songs sung by session performers. Farian owned the record label MCI and several subsidiaries. Over the course of his career, Farian sold over 850 million records and earned 800 gold and platinum certifications.[1]
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Farian was born in Kirn, Germany on 18 July 1941.[2][3] He and two siblings were raised by his mother, because his father was killed in World War II before his birth.[4] He trained as a cook before discovering rock and roll, renaming himself Frank Farian, and forming a band called Frankie Boys Schatten.[2] In 1964, they released their first single, "Shouting Ghost", which was a failure.[5]
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In April 1967, he released a cover of Otis Redding's "Mr. Pitiful" under the name 'Frankie Farian'. After signing a recording contract as a solo performer, he moved into pop and appeared on the TV programme Hitparade.[2] In 1976, Farian's German-language cover of Dickey Lee's "Rocky" stayed at No. 1 for four weeks.[where?] His 1973 single "Was kann schöner sein?", a German language cover of the Lynsey de Paul/Ron Roker song "When You've Gotta Go", was listed as one of the Top 100 all time "Schlagerlieder" by German magazine Popkultur.[6]
Boney M.
In late 1974, he recorded "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" (a remake of Prince Buster's song "Al Capone" from 1967), first released in 1975 as a single and on the 1976 album Take the Heat off Me under the pseudonym Boney M. He recruited a line-up which included vocalists Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett along with a front-man, Bobby Farrell, and a female dancer, Maizie Williams. Under the name Boney M., he achieved his biggest success in Europe as well as world-wide with songs including "Daddy Cool", "Rivers of Babylon", "Rasputin" and a remake of "Mary's Boy Child".[2] As later with Milli Vanilli, Farrell did not actually sing; in performances, he lip-synced to Farian's own vocals.[2][7]
Far Corporation
Farian also started the supergroup Far Corporation (named after the first syllable of his last name), which featured Steve Lukather, David Paich, Bobby Kimball, Simon Phillips (all from Toto fame), and Robin McAuley. Far Corporation were the first act to chart with a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"; their cover was a top 10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985.[8]
Meat Loaf
In 1986, Farian produced and mixed the Meat Loaf album Blind Before I Stop. He also sang backing vocals on the album's lead single, "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries", which was credited to Meat Loaf featuring John Parr.[9]
Milli Vanilli
On 14 November 1990, Farian confessed to orchestrating the events leading to the Milli Vanilli scandal. As a producer, he assembled a group of session musicians and fronted it with physically attractive dancers Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan. Following a 1989 performance where a backing track error first revealed the singers had been lip-syncing, Farian later confirmed to the press that others had sung on the albums.[7][10] Milli Vanilli's 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist was revoked, and at least 26 lawsuits were filed in the United States under U.S. consumer fraud protection laws.[11][12][13][14]
La Bouche, Le Click, Eruption, No Mercy
Following the Milli Vanilli controversy, Farian developed similar Eurodance groups La Bouche and Le Click. He also produced the 1997 version of "Tic, Tic Tac" by Chilli Feat. Carrapicho.[15]
Some other groups and solo acts Farian was involved with are Eruption (whom he managed in 1977), singer Precious Wilson, and Latin pop band No Mercy, which was based in Germany.[citation needed]
Daddy Cool musical
On 15 August 2006, the musical Daddy Cool opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End, featuring Michelle Collins, Michael Harvey, Javine Hylton, and singer/songwriter Darvina Plante. The £3 million show was produced by Farian and Robert Mackintosh. The story, written by Stephen Plaice with Amani Naphtali, is predominantly based on the songs of Boney M., but also has songs by Milli Vanilli, Eruption, La Bouche, and No Mercy. A second show opened on 23 April 2007 in Berlin, Germany, and toured in the Netherlands[16] from August 2011 to February 2012, Spain (Palma de Mallorca) in July 2012, Switzerland from November 2015 to January 2016,[17] and Germany in 2016.[18]
Other activities
In 2006, Farian was credited as co-writing the song "Doin' Fine" with British producers Nathan Thomas and Carl M. Cox. (Other writers involved in the song were Chris Rudall, Baz Qureshi, Peter Wilson, Chris Richards, and George Reyam). Described as paying tribute to the 'sound' of Boney M., the song was essentially a new composition featuring the string arrangement from Boney M.'s 1976 number one hit "Daddy Cool". It was recorded by Australian pop singer Peter Wilson.[19] It was initially released in the UK on 16 April 2007 in its extended format, entitled "Daddy's Cool 12" Mix", and reached number one on the EuroDanceHits EuroNRG Top 40 in May 2007.[20] The original version of "Doin' Fine" was featured on Peter Wilson's debut album, Follow Me,[21] released in the UK on 8 October 2007. It was also recorded in 2008 by Amanda Lear.
Documentary series
On 3 September 2024, it was announced that there is a documentary series covering the life and career of Farian in pre-production by Australian film producer Kaine Harling and Kelly Hauge, titled Behind the Curtain: The Frank Farian Story.[22]
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Later in life, Farian resided in Miami, Florida, United States.[23] He had three daughters and a son with his former common-law wife, Chinya Onyewenjo.[24][25] His daughter Yanina sang with him in 2021 on a cover of "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang.[5] In 2022, he announced that his life had been saved by a surgery to replace an ailing heart valve with tissue from a pig's organ.[26]
Farian died in Miami on 23 January 2024 at the age of 82.[27][28]
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Studio albums
- So ein Tag (1971)
- So muß Liebe sein (1973)
- Rocky (1976)
- Division One (1985)
- Solitude (1994)
Compilation albums
- Star Discothek (1978)
- The Hit Man – The Best of 25 Years (1994)
- The Hit Collection – The Best of 25 Years (1994)
- The Hit Man II (2000)
- Summer Hits (2001)
- Dieter Thomas Heck präsentiert: 40 Jahre ZDF Hitparade (2009)
- Produced by Frank Farian (2009)
Singles
- "Shouting Ghost" (1964)
- "Yakety Yak" (1964)
- "Under the Boardwalk" (1965)
- "Mr. Pitiful" (1967)
- "Gipsy" (1968)
- "Dana My Love" (1968)
- "Ein Kissen voller Träume" (1969)
- "Speedy Jack" (1970)
- "Du bist wunderbar" (1971)
- "Morgens, mittags, abends – Barbara" (1971)
- "So ein Tag" (1971)
- "Gold in Acapulco" (1972)
- "Leg den Kopf an meine Schulter" (1972)
- "Was kann schöner sein" (1973)
- "So muß Liebe sein" (1973)
- "Wunderbar" (1973)
- "Bleib bei mir" (1974)
- "An mir soll es nicht liegen" (1974)
- "Atlantica" (1975)
- "My Decision" (1975)
- "Cara mia bleib" (1975)
- "Rocky" (1976)
- "Spring über deinen Schatten, Tommy" (1976)
- "Sie war erst 17 (und neu in der Stadt)" (1977)
- "Mother and Child Reunion" (1985)
- "Stairway to Heaven" (1985)
- "Fire and Water" (1986)
- "You Are the Woman" (1986)
- "One By One" (1987)
- "Sebastian" (1987)
- "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (1994)
- "Rainy Days" (1994)
Albums produced (selection)
- Boney M.
- Take the Heat off Me (No. 2 Germany, No. 1 Sweden)
- Love for Sale (No. 1 Germany, No. 1 Sweden, No. 2 Netherlands)
- Nightflight to Venus (No. 1 UK, No. 1 Germany, No. 1 Netherlands)
- Oceans of Fantasy (No. 1 UK, No. 1 Germany, No. 3 Netherlands)
- The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits (No. 1 UK, No. 2 Germany, No. 2 New Zealand)
- Gold – 20 Super Hits (No. 2 Netherlands, No. 2 New Zealand)
- Gilla
- Help! Help! (1977)
- Meat Loaf
- Blind Before I Stop (1986) (No. 28 UK, No. 21 Switzerland, No. 51 Germany)
- Milli Vanilli
- All or Nothing (1988) (No. 4 Germany, No. 1 Australia, No. 1 New Zealand)
- Girl You Know It's True (1989) (No. 1 USA, No. 1 Canada)
- La Bouche
- Sweet Dreams (1995) (No. 2 Finland, No. 2 Switzerland, No. 10 Australia)
- No Mercy
- My Promise (1996) (No. 4 Australia, No. 3 Netherlands)
- Eruption
- Eruption, also released as I Can't Stand the Rain (1977)
- Leave a Light (1979)
- Precious Wilson
- On the Race Track (1980)
- All Coloured in Love (1982)
- Funky Fingers (1983)
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