The big picture
- The music biopic
Girl, you know it’s true
focuses on Milli Vanilli’s scandal and her tragic loss of fame. - Milli Vanilli, an initially unknown German act of the 80s, had great success with the help of producer Frank Farian.
- The tragic death of Rob Pilatus prompted Fabrice Morvan to pursue a solo career and shed light on abuse in the industry.
It’s rare that a music biopic doesn’t focus on a music industry legend with an established career and an expensive soundtrack, but instead on a scandal or wild story from decades past. Perhaps it’s because these stories don’t fit the tried-and-tested formula that’s become overused by the genre, but it’s interesting to see the mold broken by one of the biggest scandals in music history. Girl, you know it’s true tells us the story of the rise and tragic fall of R&B duo Milli Vanilli.
Given the conversations that have been going on in recent years about factories in the music industry, it is understandable that this scandal is once again coming into public consciousness. With the production of the film and the release of the documentary in 2023, simply titled Milli Vanilla, the remaining member, Fabienne Morvanhas spoken very openly about this story. This, similar to a re-examination of the Beatles myth afterBackmade people look back at the Milli Vanilli story. It used to be a punchline, but then it became a laughing stock for the music industry and musicians who didn’t make their own music. But as with any scandal in the music industry, the truth is far more complicated.
Girl, you know it’s true
Set to be released on August 9, 2024, Girl You Know It’s True tells the true story of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, the frontmen of the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli. Directed by Simon Verhoeven, the film explores their meteoric rise to fame in the late 1980s, followed by their dramatic fall from grace when it was revealed that they did not sing on their records.
- Release date
- 9 August 2024
- director
- Simon Verhoeven
- Pour
- Elan Ben Ali, Tijan Njie, Matthias Schweighöfer, Graham Rogers, Bella Dayne, Nico Ehrenteit, Sebastian Kempf, David Baalcke
- Duration
- 124 minutes
The beginnings of Milli Vanilli
The band’s story begins like many others. Rob Pilate And Fabienne Morvan were two young men who were broke and wanted to succeed in the Munich pop scene. They felt isolated because of the color of their skin and both worked as background singers, dancers and models. The two became closer and formed a musical duo under the name Rob and Fab. They recorded an album and sold several thousand copies under a small German label. If the story ended there, they would be just another obscure German act of the 80s, but that is not what fate wanted, and the famous music producer Frank Farian, had in store for them.
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Frank Farian had already had great success as a producer in the 1970s with the formation of Boney M, and when he approached Rob and Fab, they were rightly overjoyed. He presented them with a demo of a song called “Girl You Know It’s True” by the RnB group Numarx. Bill Pettaway Jr., Sean Spencer, Kevin Liles, Rodney HollomanAnd Ky Adeyemo. Rob and Fab signed a three-year contract on January 1, 1988, and this is where things got a little shaky, as Fab himself said in a recent interview with Leonine Studios. The contract was in German, a language neither man could read fluently. They were not encouraged to seek legal advice or even take the time to look it over, they were encouraged to sign, and They viewed Farian’s experience and reputation as a sign of trustworthiness and acted on it.
Depending on who you ask, Rob and Fab’s singing either didn’t impress Farian, or they weren’t asked to sing at all. “Girl You Know It’s True” was re-recorded by Farian, along with Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell, And Jodie And Linda Roccowho later formed the band The Real Milli Vanilli with Shaw. Farian stalled them, assuming they would get artistic input at some point. The song became a hit, and so did the band that later became known as Milli Vanilli.
From dizzying heights comes the tragic downfall
That’s where the part of every music biopic comes from: sold-out concerts, screaming fans, money and parties. Once the song took off in Germany and then Europe, there was no turning back. Rob and Fab knew from the start that it was wrong to claim credit for work that wasn’t theirs and wanted to do their part, but with Farian’s encouragement and a taste of the fame and admiration they so craved, they just went with it. They went to the United States in 1989, where their debut album was a smash hit. They took part in the Grammy Awards, where they won the award for Best New Artist.
There were already flaws in the operation that Farian hoped to ignore, to make disappear beyond recognition. First, there was the American accent heard in the music, and the very un-American accents of Rob and Fab, who are from Germany and France respectively. Despite all the critics, it was not until a notorious incident in July 1989 that the first suspicions arose. It was a concert at a theme park in Connecticut, filmed live on MTV. They were singing their hit when the recording suddenly stopped and the words were repeated over and over again: “Girl you know it’s, girl you know it’s, girl you know it’s.” It’s painful to watch, you can’t imagine how Rob and Fab felt on that stage. If the internet and social media existed, that would be the end for the band. It would be over, but word didn’t get around, the audience didn’t seem to mind. But the suspicion, the ridicule and the arguments between the band and Farian, who insisted that they sing on the next album, caused everything to fall apart. In December 1989, Charles Shaw exposed the duo themselves, Farian then fired the duo and confessed to the fraud on November 14, 1990.
Rob and Fab tried to pick up the pieces and go back on their own, but the damage to their reputation was just too great at this point. They even became the first band to be stripped of their Grammy Award. They held a press conference, tried to explain in their own words what had happened, and tried to prove that they could sing, but no one could overlook the dishonesty. While all this was happening, Pilatus was battling his demons and drug problems. Shortly after Farian suggested reviving the group, Rob Pilatus was found dead on April 3, 1998, presumably from an overdose. He was 32.
Fabrice Morvan then continued on his own, getting regular gigs as a session musician and speaker, building relationships with the people he inadvertently took credit for, and releasing a few albums and singles of his own. Most importantly, he is now here to see history re-examined at a time when the public is beginning to wake up to the reality of the situation. Stories of producers abusing their talent make them feel helpless and trapped. Milli Vanilli has a chance to become more than just a punchline with the 2023 documentary and this upcoming film, and the music biopic will hopefully have a force for good.
Girl, you know it’s true is now playing in select theaters. Click below to see showtimes.
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