Roberto "Bobby" Alfonso Farrell, October 6th, 1949 - December 30th, 2010. R.I.P.

Bobby Farrell the front man for Boney M died early this morning in a hotel in St. Petersburgh, Russia.

I think Boney M's Night Flight to Venus was the first record I ever listened to.

My parents had it and I used to put it on their big turntable and run around and around the dinning table in time to the title track. Here it is:

That's Bobby roboting in the ruby lame cape.

I still have that record and like to throw it on from time to time. I also have Oceans of Fantasy.

I can't say I've listened to that one too much but I do know there's a song on there called Bahama Mama and just look at that cover. They're all on one surf board! And if you think that cover is amazing, look at this one:

I never had that record but I kind of wish I did. Look at that thing! Do you think that's where GWAR got the idea for the back cover of their album Scumdogs of the Universe?

Maybe not.

One other Boney M record that I do have is their Christmas album.

Yeah, they kind of dropped the ball on the cover of this one but I still pulled it out a couple times this year. Christmas just isn't Christmas without calypso-disco songs about Jesus. At least Bobby got to celebrate one last Christmas and he got to do one last show. (He performed in Russia last night before he died.) Although he's gone too soon, it's kind of fitting that his last show was in Russia. Boney M were one of the first and only western bands to play in the former Soviet Union and Rasputin is still a bad ass track. Funnily enough Rasputin was murdered on the night of December 29th, 1916 in Russia. Spooooooky.

Here's to you Bobby Farrell. The world has lost a real showman.

Bonus: Bobby's awesome fake Rasputin beard.

Double Bonus: That guy in the front row with the big sideburns completely unfazed, eating something.