Nightflight to Venus

Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in July 1978.
The album became a major success in continental Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada, topping most of the album charts during the second half of 1978 and also became their first UK number one album. 
In Canada, it received a nomination for a 1980 Juno Award in a category 'International Album of the Year'. 
Nightflight to Venus includes their worldwide hits "Rivers of Babylon" and "Brown Girl in the Ring", a double A-sided single that topped the UK singles chart and has sold over 2 million copies there. The follow-up was another Boney M. classic, "Rasputin", in most countries also a double A-side coupled with "Painter Man", a cover of a 1966 hit by the band The Creation. In the UK, "Rasputin" and "Painter Man" were released separately as A-sides by Atlantic Records, both reaching the Top 10. "Rivers of Babylon", which peaked at No. 30 on The Billboard Hot 100, became their biggest US hit. It had also sold over 2 million copies in the UK as of July 2018 at which time it was the seventh best selling single of all time in the UK.

Album information 

In Europe and most other parts of the world the album was followed in November 1978 by the Christmas single, "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" backed with "Dancing in the Streets", another chart topper – selling over 1.86 million copies in the UK alone. Upon its original 1978 release, these two tracks did not appear on Nightflight to Venus, but they were included on later CD releases of the album.

There were four different pressings of the original Hansa Records vinyl LP, all with slightly different versions of some tracks. The most significant difference was the length of the title track, "Nightflight to Venus". On the very first German pressing it was 7:09 minutes, making the segued medley with the also extended "Rasputin" 13:48 in total, the second pressing 5:55, the third 4:58 and the final 4:46 – this version being the one appearing on the UK and US editions. The timings given here are those of the 1994 and 2007 CD re-issues.

Track listing

Side A 
 "Nightflight to Venus" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Dietmar Kawohl) – 4:46
 "Rasputin" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, George Reyam (Hans-Jörg Mayer)) – 5:57
 "Painter Man" (Eddie Phillips, Kenny Pickett) – 3:10
 "He Was a Steppenwolf" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, Stefan Klinkhammer) – 6:51
 "King of the Road" (Roger Miller) – 2:35

Side B 
 "Rivers of Babylon" (Brent Dowe, Trevor McNaughton, Frank Farian, George Reyam) – 4:18
 "Voodoonight" (Giorgio Sgarbi) – 3:31
 "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Traditional; arranged by Frank Farian) – 4:02
 "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" (Mats Björklund, Keith Forsey, Fred Jay) – 5:32
 "Heart of Gold" (Neil Young) – 4:00

Personnel 
 Liz Mitchell – lead vocals (A3, B1, B3, B5), backing vocals
 Marcia Barrett – lead vocals (A1, A5, B4), backing vocals
 Frank Farian – lead vocals (A2, B2), backing vocals
 Bill Swisher – robot voice on A1, narrator on A2
 The Rhythm Machine – musicians
 Keith Forsey – drums
 Nick Woodland – guitar
 Mats Björklund – guitar
 Gary Unwin – bass guitar
 "Chico" de los Reyes – keyboards
 Bernd Kohn – marimba, perc
 R. Ehrhardt –

Production 
 Frank Farian – producer
 Christian Kolonovits – arranger
 Johan Daansen – arranger
 Mats Björklund – arranger
 Michael Cretu – arranger
 Stefan Klinkhammer – arranger
 Fred Schreier – sound engineer
 Hartmut Pfannmüller – sound engineer
 John Lund – sound engineer
 Tammy Grohé – sound engineer
 Manfred Vormstein – art direction
 Didi Zill – photography
 Dengler/Kohlmeier – design
 Recorded at Europasound Studios, Offenbach and Union Studios, Munich
 Mixed at Europasound Studios, Offenbach

Release history 
 UK: Atlantic Records SD 361945.
 US: Sire Records SRK 6062.
 Germany: Hansa Records 26 026 OT.

CD releases 
 Germany 1994: BMG 74321 21269 2.
 EU & US 2007: Sony-BMG 88697-08262-2. Bonus tracks: ""Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" (Jester Hairston, Lorin, Frank Farian, Fred Jay) – 5:43, "Dancing in the Streets" (Frank Farian) – 3:57.

Single releases 

UK
7"
 "Rivers of Babylon" – 4:16 / "Brown Girl in the Ring" – 4:02 (Atlantic Records K11120, 1978)
 "Rasputin" (7" Mix) – 4:44 / "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" – 5:32 (Atlantic K11192, 1978)
 "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" – 5:43 / "Dancing in the Streets" – 3:43 (Atlantic K11221, 1978)
 "Painter Man" – 3:10 / "He Was A Steppenwolf" – 6:51 (Atlantic K11255, 1979)
12"
 "Brown girl in the ring" – 4:02 / "Rivers of Babylon" – 4:18 (Atlantic K 11120T, 1978)
 "Rasputin" (12" Mix) – 7:33 / "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" – 5:32 (Atlantic K11192T, 1978)
 "Painter Man" – 3:10 / "He Was A Steppenwolf" – 6:51 (Atlantic K11255, green vinyl and red vinyl, 1979)

US
7"
 "Rivers of Babylon" – 4:16 / "Brown Girl in the Ring" – 4:02 (Sire Records SRE-1027 (RE-1), 1978)
 "Rasputin" (7" Mix) – 4:44 / "He Was A Steppenwolf"  (Sire SRE-1049, 1978)
 "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" – 5:29 / "Dancing in the Streets" – 3:43 (Sire SRE-1036, 1978)
 "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" – 5:29 / "He Was A Steppenwolf" – 6:51 (Sire/Hansa SRE 49144, 1978)
 "Dancing in the Streets" – 3:57 / "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" (Edit) – 5:01 (Sire SRD 1038, 1978)
12"
 "Rivers of Babylon" (12" Mix) – 7:22 / "Rivers of Babylon" – 4:06 (Sire/Hansa Records PRO-A-732, 1978)
 "Rasputin" (12" Mix) – 7:33 / "Rasputin" (Album version) 5:50 (Sire PRO-A-765, 1978)
 "Dancing in the Streets" (12" Mix) – 6:18 / "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" – 5:32 (Sire SRD 1040, 1978)

Germany
7"
 "Rivers of Babylon" – 4:16 / "Brown Girl in the Ring" – 4:02 (Hansa Records 11 999 AT, 1978)
 "Rasputin" (7" Mix) – 4:44 / "Painter Man" – 3:10 (Hansa 15 808 AT, 1978)
 "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" – 5:43 / "Dancing in the Streets" – 3:57 (Hansa 100 075-100, 1978)
12"
 "Rasputin" (12" Mix) – 7:33 / "Painter Man" – 3:10 (Hansa 26 400 XT, 1978)
 "Dancing in the Streets" (12" Mix) – 6:25 / "Mary's Boy Child" (12" Mix) – 6:18 (Hansa 600 009-212, 1979)

Charts 
Album

Singles

Certifications and sales

References

External links 
 Rate Your Music, detailed discography
 Discogs.com, detailed discography
 [ Allmusic, biography, discography etc.]

Category:1978 albums
Category:Boney M. albums
Category:Albums produced by Frank Farian
Category:Atlantic Records albums
Category:Hansa Records albums
Category:Sire Records albums