Boney M frontman Bobby Farrell found dead in Russian hotel room at 61

By Ben Todd
Update: 11:41 a.m. EDT, December 30, 2010

He was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s although he did not sing on his band’s hits.

However, earlier today, Bobby Farrell, the eccentric frontman of pop disco band Boney M, was found dead in a hotel room in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The 61-year-old’s body was discovered just hours after a performance in the city where the group rose to stardom during Soviet times, his agent said.

“He did a show last night as part of Bobby Farrell’s Boney M and they found him dead this morning in his hotel room,” Netherlands-based agent John Seine said.

“He was not feeling well last night and had breathing problems, but he still put on the show,” Seine added.

The cause of his death was not immediately clear, according to Sergei Kapitanov, a representative of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Boney M – consisting of Farrell, Maisie Williams, Liz Mitchell, and Marcia Barrett – was one of the most successful bands of the late 1970s, with Farrell becoming famous for his lip-syncing as much as his dancing in the disco group.

The band’s hits included Daddy Cool, Ma Baker and Rasputin. Indeed, their version of Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord was Christmas No.1 in 1978 and is the tenth best-selling single of all time in Britain.

The double-sided single A Brown Girl In The Ring and Daddy Cool, also released in 1978, was the best-selling single of that year. Indeed, it remains the sixth best-selling single of all time in Britain.

Farrell was born on the island of Aruba, one of the Lesser Antilles. He lived in Norway and the Netherlands before moving to Germany.

He worked largely as a nightclub DJ before music producer Frank Farian enrolled him in the new pop group he was forming, which later became Boney M.

Farrell was the only male vocalist in the group.

However, Farian later revealed that Bobby had virtually no vocal contributions to the band’s records.

Heyday: Bobby along with other members of Boney M. The band peaked in the 1980s, but Bobby performed the day before he died

Companions of the group: Maizie Williams, Bobby Farrell, Marscia Barrett and Liz seen in Moscow in 1981

Instead, Farian himself sang the male parts of the songs in the studio. Farrell performed the songs live, however.

The group Boney M was formed by German singer-songwriter Frank Farian who also produced most of the group’s vocals.

The original group Boney M broke up over 20 years ago. Farrell was the frontman of a group called Bobby Farrell and Boney M.

Frank was also a producer for the band Milli Vanilli and caused controversy when he admitted that the guys who ran the band didn’t actually sing the songs.

Until the end: Bobby played the day before he died