Fab Morvan

Fab Morvan
Fab Morvan at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, Children Uniting Nations/ Billboard afterparty, 2007.
Background information
Born	14 May 1966 (1966-05-14) Guadeloupe, France
Genres	Dance, Pop, Rap, Funk and Rhythm and Blues
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Arista Records, BMG, Elixir Records, Hansa Records and Joss Entertainment Group
Associated acts	Empire Bizarre, Milli Vanilli, The Real Milli Vanilli and Rob & Fab
Website	[1]

Fabrice "Fab" Morvan (born 14 May 1966) is a French singer-songwriter, dancer and model. He was half of the pop duo Milli Vanilli, with Rob Pilatus, selling multi-platinum albums around the world. However, he was later involved in one of the largest scandals in pop music history when it was revealed that neither he nor Pilatus had sung on any of Milli Vanilli's recordings. After the scandal, the group reformed as Rob & Fab in the 1990s with limited success. Morvan had a solo comeback in the 2000s releasing his first solo album, Love Revolution.

Biography

Early years

Morvan was born in 1966 in Guadeloupe. He lived in Miami as a child, but moved with his mother to Paris. At 18, he moved again to Germany, where he was a break dancer and model, and was influenced by funk, soul, rap and pop music sounds. He met Rob Pilatus in a nightclub in Munich. They decided to form a rock/soul group.

Milli Vanilli

Morvan and Pilatus were noticed by music producer Frank Farian, who signed them as part of a musical act. Shortly after a trip to Turkey, where they reputedly got the band's name from a local advertising slogan, Milli Vanilli was born. Morvan and Pilatus served as the public faces for singers Charles Shaw, John Davis, and Brad Howell, who Farian thought were talented musicians but lacked a marketable image.

The first Milli Vanilli album was Girl You Know It's True. Despite critical pans, Milli Vanilli's fame continued to grow worldwide. The album had four hit singles: the title track, and the group's three #1 hits, "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You", "Baby Don't Forget My Number", and "Blame It on the Rain". Milli Vanilli won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist on 22 February 1990 for Girl You Know It's True.

Morvan and Pilatus were a frequent target of rumours and allegations of on-stage lip-synching and not having sung on the album. Shaw told a reporter the truth about Milli Vanilli, but later retracted his statement after Farian paid him to do so.

When Morvan and Pilatus pressured Farian to let them sing on the next album, Farian revealed to reporters on 15 November 1990 that Morvan and Pilatus had not actually sung on any of the records. Milli Vanilli's Grammy was withdrawn four days later. Arista Records dropped the act from its roster and deleted their album and its masters from their catalog, making Girl You Know It's True the largest-selling album to ever be taken out of print. A court ruling in the United States allowed anyone who had bought the album to get a refund.

Farian would later attempt a failed comeback for the group without Morvan and Pilatus.

Aftermath

Months later, Morvan and Pilatus parodied the scandal in a commercial for Carefree sugarless gum. They began to lip sync to an opera recording. An announcer asked as they were lip synching, "How long does the taste of Carefree sugarless gum last?" The record then began to skip and the announcer answers, "Until these guys sing for themselves."

They then moved to Los Angeles, where they released an eponymous album under the name Rob & Fab. Despite positive reviews, the album failed due to financial constraints, poor promotion, and the scandal surrounding Milli Vanilli's lip-synching allegations.

Pilatus later served three months jail for assault, vandalism, and attempted robbery. He spent six months on drug rehabilitation before returning to Germany. He died of an overdose of prescription drugs at a hotel in Frankfurt on 2 April 1998. It took a toll on Morvan because Morvan and Pilatus had become good friends.

Solo comeback

Morvan spent the several years as a session musician and public speaker. In 1998, he was hired as a radio DJ at famed L.A. radio station KIIS-FM. During this time, he also performed at the station's sold-out 1999 Wango Tango festival concert before 50,000 people at Dodger Stadium.

In 2000, he was featured in a BBC documentary on Milli Vanilli, as well as a VH-1 Behind the Music episode. Morvan then spent 2001 on tour, before performing in 2002 as the inaugural performer at the brand-new Velvet Lounge at the Hard Rock Café Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

In 2003, Morvan released his first solo album, Love Revolution, to critical acclaim and a favorable response, with Morvan producing, recording, writing and singing all the tracks. On 14 April 2011, Morvan released a new single, "Anytime", to digital outlets.^{[citation needed]}

Film and Milli Vanilli Greatest Hits album

On 14 February 2007, it was announced that Universal Pictures was developing a film based on the true story of Milli Vanilli's rise and fall in the music industry. Jeff Nathanson, screenwriter from Catch Me If You Can, will write and direct the film. Morvan will serve as a consultant, providing his and Pilatus' point of view.

On 26 March 2007, the Milli Vanilli Greatest Hits album was released.

Discography

Milli Vanilli

Main article: Milli Vanilli discography

• All or Nothing (1988)
• All or Nothing (remix album) (1989)
• Girl You Know It's True (1989)
• The Remix Album (1990)
• The Hits That Shook The World (1990) (Album Promo)
• Back and in Attack (1998) (Album studio)
• Greatest Hits (2007)

Rob & Fab

• Rob & Fab (1993)

Solo

• Love Revolution (2003)
• Anytime (Single, 14 April 2011)

External links

• Fab Morvan at the Internet Movie Database