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Milli Vanilli question (1 Viewer)

BrettB

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After they made MV give back the Grammies did they then give the awards to the actual singers?
 

James D S

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The Grammies' return was never "forced" by the Grammy board. And no, they did not give them to the original singers.

I think though, Brad Howell (Rob's voice), in an interview, said that he thought they (him and John Davis) deserved them.
 

BrettB

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Sorry Vince, I had a hard time deciding where to post it. Somehow it didn't seem right putting a MV thread in the music area. ;)
It seems like the singers should have been given the awards. The music that was good enough to win the awards when they thought the other guys sang it didn't change.
 

James D S

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The music that was good enough to win the awards when they thought the other guys sang it didn't change.
The visual act was half the charm of the group and also partly responsible for the popularity.
If you think that without Rob and Fab, Milli Vanilli would have been a hit, check out "The Moment of Truth" by The Real Milli Vanilli. Currently out of print, the CD can be had on eBay for a reasonable price.
The Real Milli Vanilli, featuring the real voices from "Girl You Know It's True," Brad Howell, John Davis, and Gina Mohammed, as well as new frontman Ray Horton and "special guest" Icy Bro, was a complete failure.
And Frank Farian, GYKIT producer and mastermind of the charade, has barely been heard from since...
 

Vince Maskeeper

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But to be fair, Frank didn't exactly set the world on fire before Milli Vanilli either. He's portrayed in the 'Behind the music' stuff as a super-producer type, when in reality had very few credits -- a bad Meatloaf Album in 1986 and his endless association with German disco-pop band Boney M which was also a fabrication which he originally created to go along with a disco song he wrote.

Frank was only known in Germany/Holland, and even then affiliated mostly with the disco scene- but wasn't an A-lister in the "real world" of US standards by any stretch of the imagination.

I'd say Frank works now as much as he did before the Vanilli scandal.

-Vince
 

Dave Poehlman

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Brad Howell (Rob's voice), in an interview, said that he thought they (him and John Davis) deserved them.
Why? They were just as much a part of the conspiracy. I see them just as guilty as Rob & Fab.. it's just Rob & Fab were unlucky enough to be on the more public side of it all.
 

James D S

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I'd say Frank works now as much as he did before the Vanilli scandal.
Farian was once an A-list producer in Germany (for whatever that's worth). Though, none of it rivaled his work on Girl You Know.
For a career that looked to be sky-rocketing up, he is nowehere to be seen. Poetic justice by my reckoning.
Although, "Rasputin" and "Ma Baker" still, to this day, get regular airplay in European radio. Which is to say more airplay than the singles of GYKIT get in the states these days. It's a shame really, IMO, as that album top to bottom (not a bad song in the bunch) is some of the best examples of pop music to come out of the 80s.
1991's Moment of Truth is one of the worst examples, completely lacking the "soul" and cleverness of the original MV effort.
And if anyone's interested, Rob and Fab's solo album is worth a listen. Their self-titled debut was limited to less than 10000 copies here in the states, but can be found on eBay rather frequently.
Their story is a fascinating one and full of many lessons.
By chance, would anyone happen to have any info of Fabrice's comeback album, Love Revolution? I know he deejayed for a stint in LA a few years back and announced its eminent release. I can't find anything on it.
 

Holadem

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Milli Vanilli was my favorite group back then. They ushered me into adolescence. Great stuff.

--

Holadem
 

MikeH1

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Me too Holadem. I was 15 when I first heard Girl You Know Its True in March 1989. The truth is, I have more respect for these phoneys than with most of todays commercial radio.
 

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