20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine)

Admin 19/7/2010, 15:41

Boney M concert at West Bank festival

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Maizie15

Jul 16, 2010 at 11:16

Boney M to play in Ramallah as part of music, dance festival taking place across occupied Palestine territory.

JERUSALEM, July 15, 2010 (AFP) - Boney M, the 70s disco band behind hits such as "Rasputin" and "By the Rivers of Babylon," will play in Ramallah next week as part of a Palestinian festival, organisers said on Thursday.

The band, which shot to global fame with catchy disco numbers, will perform a concert in the West Bank city on July 20 as part of the six-day music and dance festival taking place across the occupied Palestinian territory.

"This is the 12th time we have held the Palestine International Festival of Dance and Music," said Hana Awwad of the the Ramallah-based Popular Art Centre, which is organising the event.

The festival was expected to attract around 13,000 visitors, she said.

The lineup includes a concert by French-Algerian Rai singer Faudel on July 21 as well as performances by the Ballet Espanol de Murcia, Jordanian composer Tareq al-Nasser and his Rum Group, a Georgian dance theatre troupe as well as many local music and dance groups.

British-born Palestinian singer Shadia Mansour, popularly known as "the First Lady of Arabic Hip Hop," will open the festival on Sunday.

The festival will run to July 24, with events taking place in five West Bank cities as well as in the port city of Haifa in northern Israel.

The event is being held to highlight the problems faced by the Palestinians in accessing water resources in the occupied West Bank, where Israel controls shared resources.

Rights groups say the water supplied by Israel falls short of Palestinian needs, but also point out that the Palestinians have failed to set up the infrastructure and institutions needed in the water sector.

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Admin 19/7/2010, 16:22

The Palestine International Festival will kick off with British-Palestinian singer Shadia Mansour in Bethlehem on Monday.

By Avi Issacharoff and Lea Penn

The disco group Boney M. will appear in Ramallah next week, headlining a festival of several international and Palestinian artists and bands. The Palestine International Festival will kick off with British-Palestinian singer Shadia Mansour in Bethlehem on Monday.
Performers will include Algerian singer Cheb Faudel, Tareq al Nasser and the Rum Group.
Boney M., known for "Rasputin," "By the Rivers of Babylon," "Ma Baker" and "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" gained worldwide fame for its music in the late '70s disco era. It will give an outdoor concert in Ramallah.
The festival is organized by the Popular Art Center, directed by Iman Hamouri.
"The festival will take place under the slogan of the Palestinians' right to get water in light of the suffering that we face because of lack of water resources controlled by Israel," Hamouri said.
A festival marking Ramallah's 100th anniversary, consisting of art exhibitions, poetry, dancing and other performances, is closing today.
Later this month a music festival will be held in East Jerusalem, with a different local or international artist - mainly from Europe - performing each night.
A film festival sponsored by the Ramallah French-German Cultural Center is being held in the city.
At the beginning of next month Palestinian artists will take part in a three-day art and music festival in the West Bank village of Sebastia.

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Admin 21/7/2010, 20:03

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Ramallah

Jubel für Boney M. bei palästinensischem Musikfestival

(AFP)

Ramallah — Die in Deutschland gegründete Band Boney M. hat mit einem Konzert im Westjordanland für Disco-Fieber gesorgt: Mit 70er-Jahre-Welthits wie "Daddy Cool", "Belfast" und "Rasputin" trat die Gruppe in Ramallah, dem Sitz der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde, vor einem begeisterten Publikum bei einem Musikfestivals auf. Unter den Zuhörern waren nicht nur Palästinenser, sondern auch Israelis, die sich dem offiziellen Verbot widersetzten, in den Palästinensergebiete zu reisen.

Das einwöchige Musikfestival soll mit zahlreichen Konzerten palästinensischer, aber auch internationaler Künstler auf die mangelnde Wasserversorgung der Palästinenser im Westjordanland aufmerksam machen. Es findet bis Samstag in fünf Städten im Westjordanland und in der israelischen Hafenstadt Haifa statt. Die Organisatoren rechnen mit mehr als 10.000 Besuchern.

Die von Frank Farian produzierte Gruppe Boney M. hatte ab der Mitte der 70er Jahre Erfolge gefeiert. Die Band trennte sich 1986. In verschiedenen Formationen, die von ehemaligen Mitgliedern gegründet wurden, lebte der Bandname aber fort. Die in Ramallah aufgetretene Gruppe wurde von Sängerin Maizie Williams geführt.

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Admin 21/7/2010, 20:14

Mit Welthits wie "Rasputin" hat die 70er-Jahre-Band Boney M. in Ramallah für Disko-Fieber gesorgt. Die in Deutschland gegründete Band liess mit ihrem Auftritt am Dienstagabend für einen Moment die Spannungen im Nahen Osten in den Hintergrund treten.

(sda) Im Publikum waren nicht nur Palästinenser, sondern auch Israelis, die sich dem Verbot widersetzten, in die palästinensischen Gebiete zu reisen. Hits wie "Ma Baker" und "Belfast" gab die Band ebenso zum Besten wie den Reggae-Klassiker "No Woman No Cry".

Einen ihrer grössten Hits sparte Boney M. aus - offenbar, um die Palästinenser nicht zu verärgern. Im Text von "Rivers of Babylon" heisst es: "Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion" - "Ja, wir weinten, als wir uns an Zion erinnerten".

Die von Frank Farian produzierte Gruppe Boney M. hatte ab der Mitte der 70er Jahre Erfolge gefeiert, bis sie sich 1986 trennte. In verschiedenen Formationen, die von ehemaligen Mitgliedern gegründet wurden, lebte der Bandname aber fort.

Die in Ramallah aufgetretene Gruppe wurde von Sängerin Maizie Williams geführt. "Wir lieben Palästina. Wir lieben Euch alle, Menschen aus Palästina!", rief Williams der begeisterten Menge zu. Auch ein Stromausfall inmitten des Konzerts konnte die Stimmung nicht trüben.

Das Internationale Musik- und Tanzfestival soll mit zahlreichen Konzerten palästinensischer, aber auch internationaler Künstler auf die mangelnde Wasserversorgung der Palästinenser im Westjordanland aufmerksam machen. Es findet bis Samstag in fünf Städten im Westjordanland und in der israelischen Hafenstadt Haifa statt.

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Admin 23/7/2010, 03:55

Palestinians, Israelis boogey ecstatically together in West Bank as 70s band belts out its nostalgic disco tunes at open-air concert

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Am16-w10

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Am16-w10

AFP
Published:
07.22.10, 08:22 / Israel Culture

Palestinians and Israelis boogeyed ecstatically together in the West Bank late into the night as 70s band Boney M belted out its nostalgic disco tunes at an open-air concert.
Tuesday's event in Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, was part of a six-day music and dance festival taking part across the West Bank to highlight water shortages in the territory.
Boney M, which won global fame with their catchy disco numbers, drew a crowd of several hundred, among them Israeli citizens who traveled to the West Bank in defiance of an official ban.
The Jamaican band that was founded in Germany in the mid-70s offered a repertoire of songs like "Daddy Cool", "Belfast", "Ma Baker" and the iconic "Rasputin" – many of which have won gold and platinum discs.
For many Palestinians, old and young alike, who attended the concert, the chorus – Ra Ra Rasputin – was sweet music that sounded more like "Ra Ra Ramallah."
The band was feted with thunderous applause when Maizie Williams, a founding member of the band, shouted: "We love Palestine. We love you all, people of Palestine."

'Rivers of Babylon' kept out
The crowd cried out for more when the band played "Daddy Cool", one of their first hits that shot them into disco fame in the mid-70s and kept them at the top of the charts into the mid-1980s.
But another hit – "By the Rivers of Babylon" – was discreetly kept out of the Ramallah repertoire, possibly for politically correct reasons since the lyrics include: "Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion."
Nearly 15 years after they broke up, Boney M is still going strong. Individual band members have used the name of the disco group as a franchise and have been holding concerts around the world.
Williams brought the group to Ramallah on Tuesday to perform as part of the 12th annual Palestine International Festival of Dance and Music.
Organizers hope to attract 13,000 visitors during the festival which runs until Friday with performances in five West Bank cities as well as in the Israeli port of Haifa.
The lineup includes a concert by French-Algerian Rai singer Faudel on Wednesday as well as performances by the Ballet Espanol de Murcia, Jordanian composer Tareq al-Nasser and his Rum Group, a Georgian dance theatre troupe as well as many local music and dance groups.
British-born Palestinian singer Shadia Mansour, popularly known as "the First Lady of Arabic Hip Hop," opened the festival on Sunday.
The event is being held to highlight the problems faced by Palestinians in accessing water resources in the West Bank, where Israelcontrols shared resources.
Rights groups say the water supplied by Israel falls short of Palestinian needs, but also point out that the Palestinians have failed to set up the infrastructure and institutions needed in the water sector.

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Am18-w10

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Am18-w10

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Admin 23/7/2010, 20:38

Disco legends Boney M asked not to play their hit Rivers Of Babylon... at a Palestinian pop concert

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Maizie14

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine) Maizie14

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:24 PM on 23rd July 2010

When iconic Seventies disco group Boney M rocked Ramallah this week, the local music festival prevented the band from performing one of its biggest hits.
Lead singer Maizie Williams said Palestinian concert organisers told her it was probably not the wisest of ideas to sing Rivers Of Babylon.
The song's chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people's yearning to return to the biblical land of Israel.
Palestinians question the Jewish historical connection to the Holy Land, and organisers felt that it might have been 'inappropriate' for the band to play the song - and asked for it to be skipped in the set list.
Williams said: 'I don't know if it is a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it.
'We were a bit disappointed that we could not do it because we know that everybody loves this song no matter what.'
The band performed its other big hits, like Ma Baker, Daddy Cool, and Rasputin in front of hundreds of fans.
The Palestinian International Festival started on Monday and finishes tomorrow, bringing international performances to the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron and Bethlehem.
The concert comes amid a Palestinian campaign to get international artists to boycott Israel. The Pixies and Elvis Costello, among others, have canceled concerts in Israel following pressure from pro-Palestinian groups.
But williams said: 'I believe you should entertain wherever you are asked to entertain, whether it is Israel, whether it is Palestine, whether it is Lebanon, where ever it is, we go.
'At the end of the day, politics is one thing and entertainment is another thing and when I got into the entertainment business I didn't get into it for politics. I got into it to make people happy.'
Boney M was put together by West German record producer Frank Farian, and a string of hits made the band an international sensation.
It was later revealed that male singer Bobby Farrell only mimed to Farian's vocals, and in 1978 it became public knowledge that Williams did not sing on the studio recordings either.
Farrell and Williams sing at live perfomances, augmented by backing singers, but no-one seemed to care that they did not sing on recordings - unlike when Farian tried the same thing Milli Vanilli in the late Eighties.

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20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine)

20/07/2010 Boney M./Maizie Williams in Rammalah (Palestine)

Disco group Boney M. to headline Ramallah music festival

Maizie Williams in Palestine

Boney M. vereint in Ramallah

Ra Ra Ramallah booms to Boney M.

Disco legends Boney M asked not to play their hit...