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I heard the news today, oh boy
Where were you when you heard the news?
You know - the blockbuster allegation that claimed that one of the late 80s superstar performers - Milli Vanilli, a duo consisting of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan - were fraudsters. Yea, it’s not as life-changing as perhaps, remembering where you were when you heard about the death of your favourite celebrity, or the assassination of a world leader, but it ranks up there in terms of “shock factor” if you had any stake in 1980s popular culture.
Milli Vanilli - the act that consisted of two handsome, well-built and ridiculously flamboyant front men - was one that wasn’t easily forgotten by those of us who were there. Never before had there been a stage act that looked like them. Two Black men, sporting long, flowing dreadlocks and the requisite jumbo-sized shoulder pads of the era, were unique, to say the least. They burst onto the pop scene fuelled by not only their physical appearance but their energetic stage performances where they feverishly danced, strutted their stuff and sang their famous songs.
Oh yea - the songs.
“Girl You Know It’s True” was their first smash hit, quickly rising in the music charts at the perfect time. Catchy, singable and of course, danceable, it was catapulted into the pop stratosphere quickly, buoyed by the riveting showmen and (apparently believed at the time), singers of the tune.
Who would have thought it was possible: the fact that two men could have both looks and talent? It didn’t seem fair.
But life’s not fair. We know that, right?
And depending on who you ask, life did a dirty to the two members of Milli Vanilli.
Who would have thought it was possible: the fact that two men could have both looks and talent? It didn’t seem fair.
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