‘I wanted to be a jazz singer’

Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl In The Ring and many more disco classics will come alive as the legendary Boney M. take to a city stage this weekend. In conversation with the group’s most popular voice, Liz Mitchell...

Daddy Cool first made its way into people’s homes and the top of the charts in 1976. But unlike most of its contemporaries, this song is not restricted to dusty vinyl records — it still resounds in auditoriums when the original singer, Liz Mitchel, croons to packed houses. Legends of the 70s disco era, Boney M. strikes a chord with people even today because of the message the group stands for, believes Liz who will perform for city audiences on Saturday. “We are a clear message of love and harmony. It is love that heals and music is the one thing that speaks to all our souls,” she writes to us over an e-mail interview.

Frank Farian, the founder of the band had once said that all voices in Boney M. could be replaced, except Liz. True enough, her’s is the one voice that has been a constant with the band. “I don’t think it was a compliment. I think he was telling the listener about the music and the role I played. If I had not sang the songs, he most certainly would not and could not have said that. I thank God for the uniqueness in the sound of my voice.” she says ignoring the obvious praise.

The group may have become a pioneering name in the disco scene but disco, quite interestingly, wasn’t Liz’s first choice. She wanted to be a blues, jazz or gospel singer. The fact that she was born in Jamaica, grew up in the UK and moved to Germany for work only fuelled the fire to experiment, thanks to the exposure. “Being a Jamaican by birth is wonderful. I heard the music in my childhood and loved it. I would go to church with my grandmother and be filled with the spirit as the glory songs were sang praising God. I joined my family in the UK and discovered that I loved pop music just the same. I also heard the music from the US and was blown away. I really wanted to be a blues/jazz/gospel singer, but times had changed and disco was now the music — the new sound. I embraced it with all my heart and the rest is history.” Liz has recorded a solo album of gospel music as well.

Boney M. has crossed multiple milestones over the years — By The Rivers Of Babylon and Mary’s Boy Child made it into the Guinness Book of Records as two of the 10 best-selling British records. Among the other highlights of her personal journey Liz mentions, “My first Top of the Pops, meeting the Queen, being the first to visit the USSR and meeting all their leaders and all the world leaders over the years, going to India...the list can go on and on. There are too many highlights to choose from.”

Since the late 70s to the year 2015, how have things changed “The journey got better over the years. Changes happened and we followed accordingly. I would say I embraced life as any normal person would. I got married, and we have three children. We just embraced life as life presented itself to us. We overcame the bad and embraced the good. There isn’t any particular period that stands out. Every period brought something good and something bad. Ever period spoke wisdom into my life. Every period has helped me to become who I am today,” she says.

Liz, who has been to India before, has pleasant memories of her stay and is looking forward to an encore. “Music will never die. It will change as the interpreter comes into being. It is the heart of men that music speaks to. Today the message is clear. People are very unhappy. The music expresses pain and stress as one sentence is repeated over and over, to beat it in our minds. It’s almost like poetry has taken a backseat for a while and so has melody. This is the time for this sound,” she says referring to the lineup they’ll present in their upcoming gig.

The group is expected to play hits such as Daddy Cool, Ma Baker, Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl in the Ring, and the disco stomper Ra-Ra-Rasputin among many more.

Catch Boney M. on Saturday, November 21, at Dublin Square, Phoenix Market city, Kurla Tickets are available on bookmyshow.com