When rain dampened disco group Boney M's Hong Kong debut
'More than $1 million worth of sound equipment – 12 tons of it – will arrive here next month, accompanied by 31 musicians, dressers, secretaries, technicians, and stage road crew which comprise the four member group
Boney M ,' reported the South China Morning Post on April 16, 1979. 'Already nearly all of the 10,000 tickets for the group's concert at the Hongkong stadium have been sold.
South China Morning Post previews the arrival of Boney M on April 16, 1979. Credit: SCMP Archives
'The group was first conceived in Germany by its manager, Mr Frank Farian, in 1976, and its first big hit was 'Daddy Cool'. Since then there have been a string of hits including 'Love For Sale', 'Ma Baker', 'Belfast', 'Rivers of Babylon', 'Brown Girl in the Ring' and 'Rasputin'.
'They have also done tours of the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and fairly recently Russia, where they proved to be very popular.
The West Germany-based Jamaican disco group, Boney M, performs at a concert at the Hong Kong Stadium in May, 1979. Photo: SCMP Archives
'The group's agent, Mr Bryan Miller [said], 'They asked us to tone down the sexy parts, which we couldn't understand as the girls are beautiful, the costumes are good and the show is not at all sexily oriented. Anyway we went ahead as if we were doing a show in Europe and everybody had a good time.'
On May 15, the Post reported that 'The original show, scheduled for Saturday was cancelled early in the day when it became apparent that the rain would not abate. Even though it eventually did, the rain was back again on Sunday, thus pre-empting that evening's concert. Yesterday dawned with more of the same, but the
promoter, Mr Pato Leung , held off the inevitable cancellation until about 4pm.
Boney M perform at the Asian Amateur Singing Contest organised by Hong Kong's Rediffusion Television station. Photo: SCMP Archives
'And following the group's television appearance at the Asian Amateur Singing Contest this evening, Boney M will be Bangkok-bound to complete the rest of its Southeast Asian tour. But not to worry, Mr Leung said yesterday. Following engagements in Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Boney M will be back to fulfil its Hong Kong commitment.
'If, however, rain once again forces cancellation of the show on those evenings, there will be no 'sixth' chance.'
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