Fab Morvan
Fab Morvan |
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Fabrice "Fab" Morvan (b. May 14, 1966) is a French singer and songwriter. He was formerly one half of the Grammy-winning pop duo Milli Vanilli, which he fronted with Rob Pilatus and went on to sell multi-platinum albums around the world. However, he was later embroiled in one of the largest scandals in pop music history when it was revealed that Milli Vanilli had not sung any of their songs.
History
Early years
Morvan was born in Paris, the son of an architect and a pharmacist. During his youth, he gravitated to British and American music, primarily listening to the Beatles, Queen, and the Jackson 5. As a teen, he often accompanied his grandfather, a commercial fisherman, to such locales as the Caribbean and Jamaica, where he would be exposed to Bob Marley and other reggae acts.
At the age of 18, he moved to Germany, where he would be exposed to Run DMC, Prince, and soul and funk sounds. It was at this time he met Pilatus in a club in Munich. The pair found a common interest in music and decided to form a rock/soul group together.
Milli Vanilli
The pair soon were noticed by music producer Frank Farian, who signed them up to be part of a musical act. Shortly after a trip to Turkey, where the duo was reputed to get the band name from a local advertising slogan, Milli Vanilli was born, with Morvan and Pilatus serving as the public faces for the vocal talents of Charles Shaw, Johnny Davis, and Brad Howell, who Farian felt were talented but unmarketable musicians.
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 garnered 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 February 22, 1990 for Girl You Know It's True.
The duo 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 off.
When Morvan and Pilatus pressured Farian to let them sing on the next album, Farian revealed the truth to reporters on November 15, 1990 that Morvan and Pilatus did not actually sing on the records and their voices were dubbed. Milli Vanilli's Grammy was withdrawn four days later, and Arista Records dropped the act from its roster and deleted their album and its masters from their catalog, making Girl You Know It's True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 U.S. 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.
Afterward
Months after the scandal, Morvan and Pilatus appeared in a commercial for CareFree Sugarless Gum. The duo begin to lip sync to an opera record. An announcer asks while they are lip synching, "How long does the taste of CareFree Sugarless Gum last?". The record then begins to skip and then the announcer answers, "Until these guys sing themselves."
During this time the duo moved to Los Angeles, where they released an eponymous album under the name 'Rob & Fab, but despite decent reviews, the lack of the record's availability and promotion led to it quickly disappearing from retail shelves.
Pilatus served some jail time for an attempted robbery and in a drug rehabilitation center before returning to Germany. A depressed Pilatus eventually died of an overdose of prescription drugs in Frankfurt on April 2, 1998.
Comeback
Morvan spent the following years as a session musician and public speaker, while working on his musical talents. 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. Producing, recording, writing and singing all the tracks, the album was described by HITS magazine as a"solo debut of impressively performed pop-rock and irresistible island rhythms... A remarkable rebirth that deserves to be heard and embraced."[1]
Film
On February 15, 2007, it was announced Universal Pictures was developing a film based on the story of Milli Vanilli's rise-and-fall, including their loss of the Best New Artist Grammy. Catch Me If You Can screenwriter Jeff Nathanson will write and direct. [2]] Kim Marlowe, Morvan's longtime manager, will executive produce.
Discography
Milli Vanilli
- All or Nothing (1988)
- Girl You Know It's True (1989)
- Quick Moves: The Remix Album (1990)
- Keep on Running (1990)
- The moment of truth (1991)
- Back and in Attack (1998) (Album studio not for sale)
Rob & Fab
- Rob & Fab (1993)
Solo
- Love Revolution (2003)
- Roll (TBA 2007/2008)