Boney M founder Frank Farian dead at 82: Hitmaker behind Rasputin and Daddy Cool died peacefully at his Miami apartment two years after having a pig heart valve inserted

Well-known German music producer Frank Farian has died at the age of 82, his representatives have announced.

Farian is best known for his success with Boney M in the 1970s, where he was responsible for hits such as Daddy Cool, Rasputin and Brown Girl in the Ring.

Farian, born in the city of Kirin in southwestern Germany, died at his home in Miami.

During his career, Farian was also involved in one of the biggest scandals in pop music history when his protégés, boy band Milli Vanilli, were discovered to have been lip-syncing during their Grammy-award winning run.

In 2022, Farian revealed in an interview with Image that he had a ‘large heart valve’ inserted in his chest because his own heart valve shrank with age. As a result of the surgery, Farian said he was prescribed a similar drug to Viagara.

‘This is a similar active substance to Viagra and has a nice side effect. But honestly, I’m not thinking about sex at all right now. Today I enjoy a good meal and I am happy to be alive,” he said.

During his career, Farian also collaborated with music legends such as Meat Loaf and Stevie Wonder.

“The success was a big surprise,” Farian once told the German news agency DPA.

‘I always thought I wouldn’t make it. At first it didn’t seem like it,” he once told the German news agency.

More to follow…