A touch of Père-Lachaise in Elversberg

West Germany in the mid-1970s: In the Palatinate – as everywhere else in the country of the economic miracle, the FRG – the party cellar was the “place to be”. People were cuddling standing up to “Angie” by the Rolling Stones and sometimes even fondling with Angie lying down to “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young. But the party really got going to the hits of Boney M. The inventor, creator and producer of the disco formation passed away in January 2024. The gravestone of Franz Reuther, alias Frank Fabian, is just as unusual as his career.

It is hard to miss this monument in the small, picturesque Gänsberg cemetery in Spiesen-Elversberg, all the more so as the cemetery in the town of the almost Bundesliga team “Sportvereinigung 07 Elversberg” is otherwise rather inconspicuous. Elaborate grave memorials are hardly to be seen here; industrially manufactured standardised products dominate the scene. But one grave certainly catches the eye: In a four-by-four-metre gravesite rests Boney M. inventor and Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian, whose real name was Franz Reuther. He passed away in January 2024 at the age of 82 in his apartment in Miami and requested to be buried in his hometown of Spiesen-Elversberg at the side of his mother.

Granite, gold lettering and a mixing desk

In the centre of the grave there is a large retro-style stand-up microphone, flanked by two black plaques made of black Swedish granite with the laser-engraved portraits of Frank Farian and his mother. Underneath, heightened with gold, sans serif, sandblasted and rather amateurishly designed, are the names and biographical dates of the deceased. Also noted for Franz Reuther in capital letters is “AKA (also known as) Frank Farian”. On two equally black reclining plates in front of it, the lines “By the rivers of Babylon – There we sat down – Yeah, yeah, we wept – When we remembered Zion” (this song featuring Boney M. made Farian world-famous in 1978) were inscribed next to Frank Farian, and “The moon has risen” (a children's song over 200 years old) was noted next to his mother. The full-surface tomb cover in front of it shows the musician's mixing console on a printed foil. The sliders are set on “Daddy Cool”, the legendary producer's first big hit. The printed reconstruction has been carefully adjusted down to the smallest details. Handwritten notes such as “Vocals” and “Guitar” appear on post-its. Two lamps provide light in the dark.

From hit dude to millionaire

In Germany, Fabian had been known as a hit dude since the 1970s, as he once said of himself. He was a permanent guest on the ZDF TV programme “Hitparade” and Ilja Richter's “Disco”. At the end of the 1970s, in his role as producer, he turned Boney M. into one of the most successful music acts of its time thanks to its unmistakably catchy tunes, extravagant costumes and ingeniously orchestrated stage shows. With 150 million records sold, number one hits all over the world and an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, the group became internationally famous and Farian rich. There is hardly another band that has conquered the world of pop so successfully coming out of Germany. There was only one catch: Frank Farian had actually sung all the vocal parts himself. Nobody realised anything – at first. Then, in the 1990s, he reached number one in the USA with the pop group Milli Vanilli, which he had produced in the same way. His name was renowned in the music industry, while his face remained unknown. In 1990, the scam blew up. During a live performance, a playback error occurred. Milli Vanilli was finished. The duo had to return their Grammy awards. The case made headlines all over the world. Farian remained unharmed.

A grave sign as a tourist attraction

Back to the cemetery: this grave sign combines many personal aspects of the producer Frank Farian, on the one hand. On the other hand, it represents the origins and musical legacy of the human being Franz Reuther. For all possible criticism of the quality of its design and craftsmanship, it still stands in the tradition of monuments to a unique life's work: an approach to the design of funerary monuments that has been popular since the Italian Renaissance. The town hall of the small municipality already harbours further plans. “Perhaps there will soon be a ‘Frank Farian Path’ that could be used to illuminate his musical oeuvre,” says the mayor. He is certain that something or other will happen in Spiesen. Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin and Maria Callas are buried in the cemetery du Père-Lachaise in Paris, today a “must” for many of the visitors to the French metropolis. Will the cemetery in Spiesen-Eversberg turn into a tourist attraction thanks to Frank Farian? Then why not. In any case, the mayor of the municipality not far from Saarbrücken is delighted that “his” cemetery is being talked about again. It was even worth a (positive!) report in the German tabloid Bild. It may well be that unusual grave signs are another way of making cemeteries more attractive again.

The author Willy Hafner vividly remembers the parties of the 1970s – a time when many wanted more democracy instead of less. Tempi passati! He wrote this text in German.