Boonoonoonoos

Boonoonoonoos is the fifth studio album by Boney M., released in September 1981.

Boonoonoonoos
Studio album by
Boney M.
ReleasedSeptember 1981
Recorded1980–1981
Length59:39 (MC + 1994 CD 61:06)
LabelHansa (FRG), Atlantic (UK)
ProducerFrank Farian
Boney M. chronology
Children of Paradise – The Greatest Hits of Boney M. – Vol. 2
(1981)		 Boonoonoonoos
(1981)		 Christmas Album
(1981)
Alternative cover
Limited edition double album.
Singles from Boonoonoonoos
  1. "Malaika"/"Consuela Biaz"
    Released: June 1981
  2. "We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World) / Boonoonoonoos"
    Released: November 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusiclink

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 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 [1] to record a TV special and perform live in concert with Rita Marley, shoot photos for the album inner sleeve and a projected photo book that was never published, and one of the final songs "Silly Confusion" was recorded in Bob Marley's Tuff Gong studios in Kingston.[2]

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:

  1. "Boonoonoonoos" (Frank Farian, Giorgio Sgarbi, Catherine Courage, Fred Jay) - 4:37
  2. "That's Boonoonoonoos / Train to Skaville" (Frank Farian, Larry Dillon, Rainer Maria Ehrhart) / "I Shall Sing" (Van Morrison) - 5:56
  3. "Silly Confusion" (Frank Farian, Dietmar Kawohl, Mats Björklund, Harry Baierl, Catherine Courage) - 7:12
  4. "Ride to Agadir" (Mike Batt) - 5:09
  5. "Jimmy" (Frank Farian, Johan Daansen, Brad Howell) - 4:07
  6. "African Moon" (Frank Farian, Helmut Rulofs, Liz Mitchell, Catherine Courage) - 2:55

Side B:

  1. "We Kill the World (Don't Kill the World)" (Frank Farian, Giorgio & Gisela[3] Sgarbi) - 6:28
  2. "Homeland Africa (Ship Ahoy)" (Kenneth Gamble, Frank Farian, Leon Huff) - 4:20
  3. "Malaika" (Farian, Reyam, Traditional) - 3:27
  4. "Consuela Biaz" (Farian, Courage, O'Hara) - 4:37
  5. "Breakaway" (Kelvin James) - 4:18
  6. "Sad Movies" (John D. Loudermilk) - 3:22
  7. "Goodbye My Friend" (Farian, Rulofs, Courage) - 5:25

Personnel

Production
  • Frank Farian - producer
  • Christian Kolonovits - arranger
  • Geoff Bastow - arranger
  • Giorgio Sgarbi - arranger
  • Harry Baierl - arranger
  • Stefan Klinkhammer - arranger
  • Tammy Grohé - sound engineer
  • Recorded at Abbey Road Studios London, AIR Studios London, Audio Studio Berlin, Atlantic Studios Munich, Rainbow Studios Munich, Union Studios Munich, Vigilant Studios Nice, Bob Marley Studios Kingston Jamaica, Hitsville Recording Studios Hollywood California. Vocals recording and mixing at Farian Studios in Germany.

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8] 21
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 31
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[10] 42

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany — ~250,000[11]
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[12] Gold 10,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[13] Platinum 100,000^
Yugoslavia — 59,032[14]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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
  1. Boonoonoonoos promo material
  2. Marcia Barrett interview 1999
  3. "Gisela Sgarbi". Discogs. Retrieved Jan 11, 2021.
  4. "Austriancharts.at – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  5. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. "Norwegiancharts.com – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  9. "Swedishcharts.com – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  10. "Portuguesecharts.com – Boney M. – Boonoonoonoos". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  11. "West Germany - Domestic Product Makes Chart Inroads". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 2. 16 January 1982. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via Google Books.
  12. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1982". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  13. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish), Iberautor Promociones Culturales, 2005, ISBN 8480486392, retrieved 25 April 2018
  14. Hudelist, Darko (1 October 1984). "Rang-lista licencnih izdanja". Yugopapir. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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