roberto “bobby” alfonso farrell (october 6, 1949 – december 30, 2010) was a dancer and performer, best known as the male member of the successful 1970s pop and disco group boney m.. farrell lived in amsterdam zuidoost, in the neighbourhood of gaasperdam. [wikipedia]

ironically, farrell died in russia one day after or the same day as (according to the telegraph) the russian mystic, grigori rasputin, subject of his biggest hit, ‘rasputin’. [telegraph]

it was the last christmas with daddy cool.

“daddy cool” is a song recorded by disco band boney m. and included on their debut album take the heat off me. it was a 1976 hit and a staple in disco music and boney m.’s first uk hit. it reached #6 in the uk charts and #65 in the united states billboard hot 100. the single also topped the german charts. [wikipedia]

“belfast” is the second single of the disco band boney m.‘s 1977 album love for sale. “belfast” was the first boney m. single to feature lead vocals by marcia barrett and became their 4th consecutive german chart-topper although it was less successful in the uk as previous singles (it peaked at #8). it remained a popular track in the group’s live shows over the years and was re-recorded by marcia barrett as a solo track on her album come into my life (2005). [wikipedia]

boney m. is a disco group created by german record producer frank farian. originally based in west germany, the four original members of the group’s official line-up were jamaicans liz mitchell and marcia barrett, maizie williams from montserrat and bobby farrell from aruba. the group was formed in 1975 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. [wikipedia]

“ma baker” is a 1976 disco hit single by german disco band boney m.. it was the first single of their second album love for sale and their third consecutive chart-topper in germany and their best yet placing in the uk, peaking at #2 (only surpassed by donna summer’s “i feel love”) although only a minor single in the us (#96).
the lyrics by fred jay were inspired by the story of legendary 1930s outlaw ma barker although the name was changed into “ma baker” because “it sounded better”. [wikipedia]

“rasputin” is a 1978 disco hit single by the germany-based pop and disco group boney m., the second single off their hugely successful album nightflight to venus. the song is a semi-biographical song whose subject and namesake is grigori rasputin, a friend and advisor of tsar nicholas ii of russia and his family during the early 20th century. the song variously sensationalizes rasputin as a playboy, mystical healer, and political demiurge.
“rasputin” is also distinctive for its incorporation of melody lines from a serbian (“ruse kose curo imaš”) and turkish (“üsküdar’a gider iken / kâtibim”) folk song, while the spoken line “oh, those russians” at the end of the song mimics a line in eartha kitt’s recording of “kâtibim”. [wikipedia]

the song references grigori rasputin’s alleged healing of hemophiliac tsarevich alexei of russia, and how this endeared him to the boy’s mother, the tsarina alexandra fyodorovna (former princess alix of hesse). it also claims that rasputin was alexandra’s paramour (“ra ra rasputin: lover of the russian queen”) and that rasputin’s political power overshadowed that of the tsar himself. while “rasputin” accurately indicates that unfavorable rumors damaged grigori’s reputation, there is no verifiable evidence to suggest that he had an affair with alexandra. [wikipedia]