'Shattered': Milli Vanilli star on fake vocals scandal

Staff WritersAAP
Camera IconRob Pilatus, left, and Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli were involved in a massive scandal in 1989. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli felt like he had "lost everything" after vocals scandal.

The 58-year-old singer - who made up one half of R'n'B duo Milli Vanilli with Rob Pilatus - was involved in a music industry controversy in 1989 when it was revealed the duo did not sing on their own songs, either live or on their albums.

The duo's producer Frank Farian - who created the duo, and also launched the group Boney M - then admitted in 1990 that session musicians sang on Milli Vanilli's songs, and the pair were hired to be the public face of the music.

In light of this, the band's Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990 was revoked and fans turned against them.

Now, to mark the band's 35th anniversary, Morvan is releasing the album The Best of Milli Vanilli alongside new versions of songs with his vocals as the duo's only surviving member.

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Morvan said that during the scandal in the late 80s, he felt like he had "lost everything".

The Girl You Know It's True hitmaker told the Daily Star newspaper's Wired column: "I lost everything, my early dreams were shattered but I have new dreams. Now we have a resurgence, I sing, I DJ and now the light is on me. Yeah I've re-recorded Girl You Know It's True and flipped it, and Blame It On The Rain acoustic, so now you can hear me.

"The stigma of 'they're not talented and couldn't sing' is too funny, the narrative was too powerful then but now I can tell the truth."

Morvan thinks Milli Vanilli's fall from grave had a direct correlation with his bandmate Rob's death. He passed away from an overdose in 1998 aged 33.

He said: "Rob lost his life as a result of the shame and bullying, that is cause and effect. But we were not the guys responsible, we were just part of the equation."

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