Maizie Williams is one of the original members of the ’70s disco group Boney M. Turns out that she wasn’t always a singer! She was born in 1951 and grew up in Birmingham, England. She started working as a model and gained the title of Miss Black Beautiful in a contest, and eventually started her own band called Black Beautiful People.
As one of the original members of Boney M, the real kicker with Maizie was, that she apparently was told she couldn’t sing and had a terrible voice by none other than her own brother. In ‘75, she and one of her friends were approached by an agent and asked if they were interested in joining a group called Boney M, but that it was NOT incredibly important that they could sing. I guess that was the perfect gig. The real job was just making sure they could properly lip sync to “Baby Do You Wanna Bump.” Well, needless to say, they did end up joining the group with two other members that only went by the names “Nathalie” and “Mike.” Over the next few months, they did live TV performances and a discothèque tour. Nathalie left the group to then be replaced by Claudja Barry, and Mike left as well, being replaced by Marcia Barrett and Bobby Farrell.
Where is Maizie Williams now?
Thus, the original Boney M was born. Liz Mitchell would join the group somewhat later. Maizie Williams did get some time to shine in the group’s renditions of the hits “Brown Girl in the Ring,” “Hooray! Hooray! It’s a Holi-Holiday,” “Sunny,” and “Daddy Cool.”
The group continued to tour over the years, even into the 2000s. Maizie also released her first solo record in 2006. In addition to music, she also released a fitness DVD several years ago.
RELATED: Boney M Music Group Then And Now 2022
Speaking of Williams’ vocals, there was a bit of controversy surrounding that. It’s actually stated on Williams’ official website that “it’s no secret that although she sang in the studio Williams’ less dominant voice appears to have been mostly excluded from many of the recordings, with the exception of some backing vocals, for reasons only the producer knew at the time.”
She subsequently went on to initiate a court case against Frank Farian and Sony/BMG concerning her rights to perform under the name “Boney M.” At the time, Farian was promoting Liz Mitchell’s group as the authentic continuation of Boney M. By 2009, Williams had judgment in the case, that Farian has to account to her for pay on all record sales and future sales.
Maizie reportedly lives in Buckinghamshire these days. She is 70 years old. She has never married or had children and once shared that it was her biggest regret. Maizie said she always put her career first and although it has been a success, she would have liked to have a family, too.
What’s your favorite Boney M song? Find out what happened to the rest of the Boney M members below: