Bobby Farrell

Who is Bobby Farrell?

Roberto Alfonso "Bobby" Farrell was an Aruban-born dancer, singer and performer best known as the flamboyant onstage frontman of the disco group Boney M. Born on 6 October 1949 in Aruba, then part of the Netherlands Antilles, he left school at fifteen, worked for a period as a sailor, and later moved through Norway and the Netherlands before settling in Germany, where he worked as a club DJ. There he was discovered by record producer Frank Farian, who recruited him in 1976 to be the visible face and dancer of Boney M., miming vocals that were actually recorded by Farian and other singers while performing alongside vocalists Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett and Maizie Williams. With hits such as "Daddy Cool," "Rasputin" and "Rivers of Babylon," Boney M. became one of the best-selling disco acts of the late 1970s and early 1980s, selling well over a hundred million records worldwide. After the group's commercial peak faded, Farrell continued to tour under the name Bobby Farrell's Boney M. He died of heart failure on 30 December 2010 in a hotel room in Saint Petersburg, Russia, while on tour, and remains one of the most internationally recognized entertainers to come from Aruba.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Bobby Farrell" · Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness, Health and Nutrition, "Bobby Farrell of Boney M."