Maizie Williams - Early Years

Early Years

Brought up in Birmingham, UK, Williams began working as a model, eventually gaining the title Miss Black Beautiful in a contest in 1973. After this initial success she went on to front her own band, Black Beautiful People. She later moved to West Germany with her friend Sheyla Bonnick. One day in 1975, while at a restaurant, the two were approached by an agent who asked if they were interested in joining a new pop group Boney M. "She asked if we could sing. Well, you don't say no, do you," Williams later recalled in an interview. She had previously been singing with a local band back in England but had been told off by her brother Billy: "You have a terrible voice. Better keep working as a walking clothes-hanger."

It turned out that it was not important either if Williams could sing or not since the job was to dance and mime to a disco song called "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" that producer Frank Farian had recorded all the vocals for himself but was unable to promote himself since he had a career as a schlager singer in his own name. So Williams and Bonnick teamed up with a girl called Nathalie and a boy called Mike and did a discothek tour and a few TV performances over the next months. Nathalie left and was replaced by Claudja Barry. Sheila then decided that lip-syncing was not for her and left, hoping to achieve a solo career. Mike left as well, and the two were replaced by new members Marcia Barrett and Bobby Farrell. When Claudja went the same way as Sheila, Liz Mitchell took her place, and finally the pieces fell together: Boney M. were assembled as a real group and ready to do a follow-up to "Baby Do You Wanna Bump".