To think what happened to Milli Vanilli is so sad

[ineeduourhelp]

I was under 5 when this whole scandal happened so don't remember it at the time but till this day still play the track and absolutely love girl you know it's true.

I also have a crush on them (especially Fab 🤣)

But on a serious note it's so so sad what happened to these guys it breaks my heart - mainly because they could actually sing!

It's so bizarre they were not allowed to take over and start singing themselves as I'm convinced they could have had fame in their own right.

Was anyone perhaps a bit older to remember when all this happened?

Back in the '80s I knew someone who appeared on TOTP. He told me they weren't allowed to sing live on the programme, so everybody had to mime (can't for the live of me remember what the reason was). With the Milli Vanilli thing I think the problem was they won a Grammy for the song, and it later came out they weren't singing. Without the Grammy the song would probably just have been remembered as a great record.

And Natalie Wood in West Side Story as well as many others,

www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/arts/music/marni-nixon-singer-soprano-dies-86.html

Useless but pertinent thread trivia.

Frank Farian, the producer and actual vocalist on Boney M's recordings, was also the man behind Milli Vanilli.

Life of me, not 'live of me' > Freudian slip 😀

Fair point!

My favourite protest at having to mime was a performance of No More Heroes by the Stranglers. They mimed to each other’s voices and pretended to play each other’s instruments. Excellent song too.

Agree with Jennifer Lopez too, at least one of her songs she mimed to Ashanti I think. Same with Scream and Shout by Britney, Tulisa sang the opening

Didn't Jimmy Somerville and Alison Moyet swap parts too, in the same way?

I remember watching that when it was on! Loved that song, Martha's Harbour. The singer clearly couldn't hear the playback and that she was supposed to have started miming. She just sat there looking round at her fellow band member, who also clearly couldn't hear it either, as he was supposed to be playing the guitar and his hands weren't moving. Think they realised half way through the song when the audience started cheering. Poor sods.

Back in the '80s I knew someone who appeared on TOTP. He told me they weren't allowed to sing live on the programme, so everybody had to mime

There's a scene about this in Bohemian Rhapsody, with Queen being pissed off they couldn't perform live. I assume the producers thought audiences would want the performance to sound just like the released single; and also, since it was, I recall, originally a live broadcast, pissed up and drugged up bands were too much of a liability with a live microphone.

@Tsort thanks! I think it's legitimate!
Still can't get in board about Mariah and soul 2 soul though! (Forgot you posted that!) I've seen jazzy b locally djing several times over the past few years... maybe I'll ask him next time! 😀

Why do they think that? It's clearly the gorgeous and uber cool DC Lee in the earlier Wham videos. I was gutted when she left (but loved her in the Style Council)

Apologies... I meant to say...forgot who posted that!

@BitossiBlues
Yes!!
This has made me smile that someone else knows this!

www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/16/how-we-made-black-box-ride-on-time

Straight from the horse's mouth, what Black Box say about Ride / Right on Time!

The singer singing Ride on Time was NOT Heather Small!!!

It WAS

Loleatta Holloway!

I love this thread. 😂

Just tried to listen to Black Box and the official videos are clearly Heather Small now. But this one is the original, Lolleatta Holloway version, I'm sure.

This version

Anyone interested in the experiences of the unsung backing and studio singers should watch the documentary "20 Feet From Stardom". So many amazing singers - more often than not black and female - who had their voices stolen by music industry bosses because they didn't have the right "look". And so many legendary performances by bands like The Rolling Stones that overlook the contribution of the backing vocalists to the overall sound.

🤣🤣🤣

I'll raise you with the original.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=R3aW9kkfvWk

Check out how much slower it is.... this is the original version everyone did, and believe or not, still do dance to at raves!
Early house music could be quite slow with still high energy.... I mean even how slow is new order's blue Monday, but that's a house classic.
If there's one thing I can talk about all night is house music, especially when it's my day off tomorrow 😄

It's interesting how often unknown 'backing' singers are used to carry the headline lead singer - even when they do appear on stage. A lot of classic, well-loved older artists, when their age has caught up with their voice, will be 'present' at the front of the stage but in reality, the 'backing' singer(s) is/are really doing all of the heavy lifting. Effectively a tribute act, but with the original artist also bumbling around on the stage!

Diana Ross and Rod Stewart could probably both have done with this set-up at the Platinum Jubilee concert, if they could have got away with it. A certain ex-Beatle might want to consider it now for his concerts as well.

Am I the only one who sometimes has to think twice as to which band was Black Box and which band was Red Box?! Please, nobody add Living In A Box into the equation - I'm confused enough already....

Black Box is the one with Milli Vanilli except they weren't credited so now everyone thinks they are heather Small.