Boney M Songs that were re-worked into Boney M. titles
In 1978, Rivers of Babylon, a cover of a track by The Melodians with lyrics partly based on Psalm 137, became (at the time) the second highest-selling single of all time in the UK. After Rivers Of Babylon slipped back down the chart, the B-side Brown Girl in the Ring was given extensive airplay on the radio, and the single climbed back up the chart to #2. It eventually sold 500 copies short of two million. As recounted in his book Touching the Void, the British climber Joe Simpson was subsequently to find the catchy tune of Brown Girl in the Ring haunting him in the final hours of his epic struggle to survive the descent of Siula Grande in the Andes, and the song was later used in the film of Touching the Void made by Kevin Macdonald.
The group also achieved a second UK million-seller with their version of the calypso classic Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord, which was previously a million-seller for Harry Belafonte. On the list of the all-time best selling singles in the United Kingdom, Boney M. appear in fifth place (with Rivers Of Babylon) and tenth place (with Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord). Paul McCartney is the only other artist to appear twice (once with The Beatles, once with Wings) in the Top 10 of that list.
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