Boney M were one of the most popular bands of the 1970s alongside world favourites ABBA, enjoying chart-topping success and endless glamorous parties – all while releasing some of the most memorable disco songs in history.
But while prioritising their work during the wild ’70s brought them huge success, original singer Maizie Williams, 67, has admitted it meant other life dreams fell into the background.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60, Maizie has admitted one of her biggest regrets is never having children or enjoying a long marriage – having prioritised her celebrity lifestyle and work success at the time above starting a family.
“My priority was work at the time, I won’t even polish it up,” she said. “At the time I was so busy having fun and enjoying that life, time just slipped away from me. By the time it was over, the biological clock had stopped singing. What can I say.”
She added: “I enjoyed it but I do regret not having kids, I would have loved to have had a couple of kids I do regret that, I won’t bother to lie about that.
“But at the end of the day that’s okay because having regrets and going through that won’t change anything. It is what it is. I just get on with it, I have lots of nieces and nephews and godchildren which is great.”
Despite her regrets about family life, the ‘Daddy Cool’ and ‘Rivers of Babylon’ star has some incredible memories of partying in the ’70s, insisting she wouldn’t change that time for the world.
“That was one of the best times of my life!” She added. “It was just a wonderful time, the ‘70s were amazing in so many ways. It was a lovely time to be around.
“There was a spirit that was floating around in the air, along with us coming to the end of the Vietnam War and then you had all these protest campaigners like Bob Dylan who came up with beautiful songs.
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“Then you had the hippie times, it was a lovely time, before the very glamorous period. The fashion was amazing, that’s what it was about, fashion and music. The music was great, everywhere you turned there was good music.”
Reflecting on the disco era in particular, Maizie said: “There were so many good ones [discos] around, when you walked into a nightclub you were on the dance floor all night until you leave. It was all fun, good fun – not stressful – but at the same time we worked hard at what we were doing. Everyone was paying their dues.”
Indeed, she has continued her success in the limelight and is now preparing to return to Australia in October with her new group BONEY M (Feat. Maizie Williams), performing some of the original line-up’s biggest hits as well as new tunes.
The Euro-Caribbean vocal group was first created by German record producer Frank Farian and originally based in Germany, with members from Jamaica (Liz and Marcia), Montserrat (Maizie) and Aruba (Bobby).
They sold more than 80 million records with well known hits including ‘Daddy Cool’, ‘Ma Baker’, ‘Rasputin’, ‘Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord’ and ‘Rivers of Babylon’.
To buy tickets for Maizie Williams’ upcoming tour, visit the official website here.