Interview with Liz Mitchell the lead singer of Boney M.
— Liz, tell me, would you say you are a happy person? And what is happiness in your understanding?
— I am a happy person most of the time. I think we all suffer sadness and other emotions according to the happenings in our lives but I choose happiness for my minds home. Happiness is a state of mind. I choose to be happy. I am glad that I am alive to see each day. I am glad that I have family. I am glad that I can forgive the people that hurt me and hope to be forgiven for my mistakes. I am glad for so many blessings and choose to be grateful. I am happy that I have the choice to choose and I choose happiness.
— Tell us a little bit about your childhood. As I understand it, your family was not rich, there were many children in the family, and it was difficullt? Why did your parents leave for England, leaving children at home, was it because of the need to earn money?
— I smile at your question about not being rich. It really depends on what we believe is rich. I think of my family as rich in many things and poor in others. As a child I never lacked food or clothes. My grandfather and grandmother were hard working people and provided for our family. After my mother left, the 3 of us stayed with our grandparents. We lived in a family home. It was normal for me as a child. My father travelled to UK on the invitation from the British Government, known today as WindRush. The reason was to help the motherland after the Second World War. They came to help to rebuild the UK. I believe there was no plan to stay for more than 5 years. But there was so much to do involving cleaning up all the rubble from the bombings, that they ended up staying longer.
— How did you get into music? Who instilled your love for it? Your father was a priest, and your mother was..? Was anyone in the family musical before you?
— I came to music because music is in my family. Music is something we all do. My grandmother sang, my aunts sang, and my mother sang. As a child I was always being reminded that my mother was an awesome singer. So singing was normal activity. Church was also a normal activity. My family were strong worshipers of God. My father pastored as an overseer for several churches before traveling to UK.
— What hobbies did you have when you were a child, and now, besides music?
— In my childhood I was more interested in getting good grades so I studied a lot. On arrival in UK my dreams changed and I started singing in my free time. So that was my hobby. I didn’t think it would be my job in the future. Now I’m just spending time catching up with old friends. He just turned 100 years old in January; my dad I mean. Well, let’s imagine that your fate was a little less successful and you would have remained in your country and wouldn’t have become a famous singer.
— What do you think you profession would be, and in what other sphere would you like to be realised?
— I think if I had stayed in Jamaica and not travelled to UK, I might have become a teacher. I love children and still love young people today. I love sharing with them talking with them supporting them.
— Who created the fantastic stage aesthetics for Boney M? Who was the generator of ideas?
— Our clothes were interesting to our audience. We always tried to impress our audience and portray the story of the song we were singing, through dresses. So, as we dressed for Rasputin we dressed for Rivers of Babylon etc. Story telling through clothing. The first things we wore were our personal things and we worked together to get the best results for our image. So we were not a copy of any other band or group, we were ourselves. We had dress makers for the concert tours and those concerts were very extravagant and outrageous… and glamorous!
— Please tell us about your charitable activities and the foundation, what are you currently focused on and what are your future plans?
— The ultimate expression of love. We started our charity to help the young people. So many young people don’t love themselves and so don’t love life. To give is to receive. So we give to them hope that they will learn to give and see the results that comes from giving. The will feel good about themselves and love themselves. It’s the beginning
— Give advice to all your fans and aspiring artists in general!
— A tip for artists, focus on the journey ahead of you. I believe in pure and true thinking when giving to your audiences. They will feel it and know you want to give them something special