MAIZIE WILLIAMS of Boney M: A Return To The Time Songs Told Stories
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
Maizie Williams longs for a return to the age of when singers told stories; a time when a song meant something, a gift from the heart or the life story of an infamous character. Speaking from her home in the UK the 66 year old laughs as she remembers the early days of when she was first selected to join what would go on to become one of the most infamous musical groups in the world, up there with the likes of Abba.
So how did a young model, born in the West Indies and raised in Birmingham end up in Boney M?
“My brother was the one who encouraged me actually. I mean he was the one who encouraged me period, in business, in everything I did. It started off with modelling, and then I went on to dancing, and he was the one who took me to classes to teach me how to dance. He used to hear me singing around the house, and he said ‘You should go and sing or do some singing, you got a nice voice’ and so he was the one who encouraged me in everything really.”
And your inspiration for singing?
“Well when I started out I had heaps of people telling me that I could sing, but I didn’t start out thinking I was going to be a singer, or in singing; I wanted to be an entertainer! I just really loved show business and I wanted to be part of it. So like I said it started off with my modelling, I went to modelling school and the academy of modelling so that was my first entrance into the business and then one thing lead to the other.
After my brother encouraged me to dance, I started dancing and acting, you know like theatre work, pantomimes and things like that. One thing lead to the other and I was sent to Germany by my modelling agency for a fashion show over there and [laughs] that’s where I was approached to join a group that Frank Farian was putting together and so that was my real big first moment of being in the music business really.”
Williams had already had a taste of success however before making the move to West Germany. After winning the title of Miss Black Beautiful in 1973, Williams went on to front her own band by the name of Black Beautiful People at the tender age of 22.
Boney M found fame and fortune during the disco era of the late 1970’s. Originally created by the German singer-songwriter Frank Farian and named after an Australian detective show called ‘Boney’; Farian had written and recorded the song ‘Baby do you Wanna Bump’ under the pseudonym of Boney M. After the song started to become a success, Farian decided that he required performers to ‘front’ the group for TV performances. For a group of young people from places such as Montserrat, Aruba and Jamaica, this was a dream come true. And the early days as Williams explains were a lot of fun;
“It was great you know, we were young and full of energy and we had lots of ambition, we were enjoying ourselves, actually enjoying what we were doing. And I think when you have started off that young and you end up having fun . . . that’s what it really was, a lot of fun. You know we felt good working with each other, we got on very well together and we laughed a lot and we did a lot [laughs] of things, new things, together. I mean you know we spent a lot of time in each other’s company so we were really friends; we had a good time in the beginning.”
So who were you closest to in the group?
“I think it would be Bobby, you see Bobby and I were the first two members of the group. We started out together, before the other members; so Bobby and I, you know we got to know each other before we met Marcia and Liz. Bobby was my friend as well as my colleague and then after that – when the rest of the group developed – we all got on very well together. I mean we had a couple of arguments here and there like anyone would but we got on really very well altogether back in the days.
But you know it’s never easy when you are in a group because everyone has different opinions and different mentality; I mean even when you grow up in a house with your sisters and brothers you all have different temperaments so you argue and you have those quarrels but at the end of the day, it never lasts long. You know we had them, and then the next minute we’re laughing and just joking and hugging each other and getting on with what we enjoy doing and that’s the way it really was. I think it was much nicer going back to those days before we had the major fame issues because then everything started to change.”
After the initial successful years of Boney M, the band started to fall apart after waning sales and Farian losing interest. Members began to split off and form their own versions of Boney M, some with the support of Farian and some, well, ended up in court cases.
In 2009, Williams received judgement in a court case she initiated against Farian and Sony/BMG after he had her vocals excluded from official recordings, Williams was also seeking the rights to perform under the name Boney M. Judgement was found in her favour and she must now receive pay on all record sales and future sales of ‘Oceans of Fantasy’, Boney M’s 1979 album.
Williams enjoys performing and loves the classic nature of Boney M’s songs, which is why she says, she is still touring and performing them all these years later. But she still finds it hard to pick a favourite!
“I do love all of the songs; I want to be quite clear about that, I do love all of the songs mainly because they are all so different with all their different meanings. So yeah, I really do enjoy performing them. You give a totally different performance in each one of the Boney M songs; it brings out a different persona in you. For example you take a song like ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’ that is one of the favourites that everyone can sing along with no matter what age you are. Everyone can join in on that song and it really does take you back to your childhood, so that brings out, you know the child in you. And then you have a song like ‘Rasputin’ or even ‘Daddy Cool’, I mean these are stories! Daddy Cool is a very playful song; it’s a song that every man likes because they all think it is referring to them [laughs] so that’s always their favourite song.
But then you have the serious side, like Babylon. Rivers of Babylon, lyrically it has quite a serious side, but in reality it also has quite an uplifting side to it. You can dance to it, you can sing to it, you can sit back and listen to it if you wish to. So I think I will say that I do love the Rivers of Babylon, I think it is my most favourite at the end of the show. That song still really touches me after this many years. It is a classic, it really is and I think everyone who comes to see a Boney M show just waits for that song. They love all the songs; they love the performance the singing and the dancing and having a great time but when Rivers of Babylon comes on its like ‘Yay!’ [laughs].”
But it’s not just all about Boney M for Williams; in 2006 she released a solo album of gospel music entitled Call Upon Jesus, and she has definite plans for releasing another, but this time it will be a different genre.
“I had always wanted to do a gospel album, mainly because of my Christian faith but I am going to do another album. I want to do like a jazz album, something like the old classics, I would enjoy doing that. That kinda Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, kind of old classic – Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett album which is very laid back. Back then in the day music was amazing because the talent that was out there was amazing; it was different; these people they were singing from their heart, it was singing exactly what they were feeling. . .their emotions were coming out in their music! They actually painted the emotions that went into a song, Sarah Vaughn painted a picture for you, you were actually seeing it, you’re feeling it with her, so you know, there was a difference then.
Today, I think there are a lot of singers – I mean there are still a lot of beautiful singers around – but they still do not have that je ne sais quoi that it takes to paint a picture in a song. Today, they just sing it for the sake of singing it. And that’s the part that the modern day singer is sometimes missing, that experience of life. I mean with all these talent shows today it is more of a financial picture than anything else. They do it because they want to make a lot of money; but the ones who are actually singing and feel it really truly from their hearts they’re the ones that you want to listen to, it’s lovely when you can hear that, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Speaking with Williams one feels quite uplifted, she is so full of joy and laughter that it is hard to believe there is anything in the world that gets her down. However travel is the one area of her life she struggles with.
Do you feel it was easier to travel back then compared to now?
“Oh heck yeah – it was like 100% easier! First of all we didn’t have all this hustle and bustle at the airports then like now. Travelling now is very, very, stressful. To be honest if I could do without travelling I would! I enjoy doing the shows but I do not like the travelling anymore but you can’t do one without the other can you? Travelling back then it was beautiful, travelling by air was a glamorous thing to do but travelling now is a task, it really is.”
Well we are very thankful that you chose to travel all the way to New Zealand!
“[laughs] Yes it’s a long flight, but it’s worth it once we are there. That’s the only thing, you kinda have to build up the courage for the flight, but once you step foot in the country, it’s all worth it!”
Maizie Williams will be performing live with Boney M across the country this June. Tickets are still available for all shows from Classic Promotions (But get in VERY quickly as they are selling quickly)! For more information on Boney M you can visit their Artist Profile, and you can follow Maizie on Facebook for up to the minute news. You can also visit the Ambient Light Facebook for the next week for a chance to win a double pass to any show on this tour – so get into it!
