Atlanta, GA 12/31/2010 11:06:32 PM
Boney M frontman Bobby Farrell died yesterday (30.12.10).
The leader of the reggae-pop group was found dead in his hotel room in
St. Petersburg, Russia, after he failed to answer to a wake up call.
Although the cause of death has yet to be established, the performer
had complained of breathing problems before his band’s show the
previous night (29.12.10).
Bobby’s agent, John Seine, said: “He did a show that night as part of
Bobby Farrell’s Boney M and they found him this morning dead in his
hotel room. He did not feel well last night, and was having problems
with his breathing, but he did the show anyway.”
Bobby was born on the island of Aruba, off the coast of Venezuela, but
left at the age of 15 to settle in Europe. It was while working as a DJ
in Germany that he was spotted by singer and songwriter Frank Farian,
who recruited him for Boney M.
While Bobby fronted the group, Frank always claimed he had sung most of
the male vocals on Boney M’s studio tracks, and Bobby – an accomplished
disco dancer – had largely mimed live.
The group became popular in the disco era of the 70s with hits including ‘Daddy Cool’, ‘Rasputin’ and ‘Sunny’.
Their track ‘Rivers of Babylon’ was a huge international hit and remains the fifth biggest selling single of all time in the UK.
Boney M were also the first western band to be invited to perform in the Soviet Union by then leader, Leonid Brezhnev, in 1978.
The group had originally disbanded in 1986, and although they re-formed
many times Bobby had headed his own group, Bobby Farrell’s Boney M in
more recent years.
