Love for Sale (Boney M. album)

Love for Sale is the second studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album includes the hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". It also includes covers: "Love for Sale" (by Cole Porter), "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (by Creedence Clearwater Revival), and "Still I'm Sad" (by The Yardbirds). It has been released on vinyl, cassette and later on CD.

Love for Sale
Cover art of standard edition
Studio album by
Boney M.
ReleasedMay 2, 1977
RecordedAugust 1976 – March 1977
Genre
Length41:17
Label
ProducerFrank Farian
Boney M. chronology
Take the Heat off Me
(1976)		 Love for Sale
(1977)		 Nightflight to Venus
(1978)
Alternative cover
Cover art of U.S. and Canadian editions, also served as back cover art of standard edition
Singles from Love for Sale
  1. "Ma Baker"
    Released: May 2, 1977
  2. "Belfast"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Artwork

The standard cover art features the male member Bobby Farrell "naked [with] a futuristic golden thong"[2] chaining female members, resembling African sexual slaves.[3][4] American label Atlantic Records found the cover "raunchy",[5] so they used the standard back cover of a vinyl sleeve featuring the band wearing clothes[6][7] as the alternative front cover of American and Canadian edition.[5][8][9] One of the female group members, Liz Mitchell, told The Sydney Morning Herald:[10]

They wanted to photograph us all totally naked in chains with [band member Bobby Farrell] standing over us like it was bondage[...] I wept—trust me. When they showed us the costumes, it was just heavy gold chains.

The front cover of the South Korean vinyl edition features the band in one live performance, and the back cover of the edition features the band in a studio photo session.[11]

Track listing
Side A
  1. "Ma Baker" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, George Reyam (Hans-Jörg Mayer)) – 4:36
  2. "Love for Sale" (Cole Porter) – 4:47
  3. "Belfast" (Jimmy Bilsbury, Drafi Deutscher, Joe Menke) – 3:31
    "Daddy Cool" (U.S. edition only) from the previous album Take the Heat off Me – 3:27
  4. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (John Fogerty) – 2:40
  5. "Gloria, Can You Waddle" (Frank Farian, George Reyam) – 3:57
Side B
  1. "Plantation Boy" (Fred Jay, King) – 4:27
  2. "Motherless Child" (Frank Farian, Liz Mitchell) – 4:58
  3. "Silent Lover" (Frank Farian, Keith Forsey, Fred Jay) – 4:14
  4. "A Woman Can Change a Man" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay) – 3:33
  5. "Still I'm Sad" (Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith) – 4:34

Personnel
  • Liz Mitchell – lead vocals (tracks A2, A4, B1, B2, B4, B5), backing vocals
  • Marcia Barrett – lead vocals (tracks A3, B3), backing vocals
  • Frank Farian – lead vocals (A5), backing vocals
  • Linda Blake – voice of "Ma Baker" on A1
  • Bill Swisher – speaker voice on A1
  • The Rhythm Machine – musicians
  • Gary Unwinn – bass guitar
  • Keith Forsey – drums
  • Todd Canedy – drums
  • Nick Woodland – guitar
  • Johan Daansen – guitar
  • Thor Baldursson – keyboards
  • The Black Beautiful Circus – performers on tracks A5 and B5

Production
  • Frank Farian – producer
  • Stefan/Stephen Klinkhammer – arranger, conductor
  • Christian Kolonovits – arranger
  • Johann Daansen – arranger
  • Thor Baldursson – arranger
  • Fred Schreier – sound engineer
  • Hartmut Pfannmüller – sound engineer
  • John Lund – sound engineer
  • Michael Lammert – sound engineer
  • Recorded and mixed at Union Studios, Munich, and Europe Sound Studios, Offenbach.

Single releases
UK

7"

  • "Ma Baker" – 4:32 / "Still I'm Sad" – 4:36 (Atlantic Records K10965, 1977)
  • "Belfast" – 3:30 / "Plantation Boy" – 4:03 (Atlantic K11020, 1977)
U.S.

7"

  • "Ma Baker" 4:32 / "Gloria Can You Waddle" (Atlantic SD 19145, 1977)
German

7"

  • "Ma Baker" (Early version) – 4:47 /"Still I'm Sad" – 4:36 (Hansa Records 17 888 AT (17 888 A-4/77 B-1/77), 1977)
  • "Ma Baker" – 4:32 / "Still I'm Sad" – 4:36 (Hansa 17 888 AT, 1977)
  • "Belfast" – 3:30 / "Plantation Boy" – 4:03 (Hansa 11 537 AT, 1977)
  • "Love for Sale" (Edit) – 4:15 / "Gloria, Can You Waddle" – 4:00 (Cancelled single release 11 809 AT)[12]

Charts
Album
Year Chart Position Weeks on chart
1977 UK albums chart 13 10
Norway's album chart 2 28
Dutch Album Chart[13] 2 24
Single
Year Single Chart Position Weeks on chart
1977 "Ma Baker" UK single chart 2 13
Norway's single chart 1 23
Dutch Top 40[14] 1 15
"Belfast" UK single chart 8 13
Dutch Top 40 3 11

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[15] Gold 26,218[15]
France — 420,000[16]
Germany (BVMI)[17] Platinum 500,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[18] Gold 50,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[19] Platinum 20,000*
Israel[20] 2× Gold 40,000[21]
Sweden (GLF)[22] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Petridis, Alexis (January 16, 2006). "Comedy doesn't go with our music". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  3. "Boney M". Bad Record Covers and Others. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  4. http://lite987.com/awful-disco-album-covers/
  5. Perrone, Pierre (January 1, 2011). "Bobby Farrell: Dancer and frontman of the Euro-disco group Boney M". The Independent. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  6. German release (back cover) at Discogs
  7. UK release (back cover) at Discogs
  8. Canadian release
  9. American release at RateYourMusic
  10. "Disco infernal". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 30, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. http://farianmania.blogspot.com/2011/05/rare-editions-of-boney-m.html (South Korean release: front, back)
  12. Gerd Röckl: Boney M. (1978)
  13. Albumdossier, Johan van Slooten, Publ. Gottmer, 2002
  14. Top 40 Hitdossier, Johan van Slooten, Publ. Gottmer, 2005
  15. "Boney M" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  16. https://www.infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=750
  17. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boney M.; 'Love for Sale')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  18. "From The Music Capitols Of The World - Athens" (PDF). Billboard. August 12, 1978. p. 74. Retrieved November 29, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  19. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1979". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  20. "Boney Gold" (PDF). Billboard. May 29, 1982. p. 96.
  21. "Israeli Awards". Billboard. August 18, 1982. p. 58. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  22. "No Bones To Make" (PDF). Cash Box. October 15, 1977. p. 55. Retrieved November 29, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  23. "British album certifications – Boney M. – Love for Sale". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 25, 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Love for Sale in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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