Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in June 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 the 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.

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 the 2007 CD release of the album.

For the first time, there were four different pressings of the original Hansa Records LPs, 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.

On the first pressing, "Rasputin" has a unique instrumental part within the last verse; also, the instrumental parts between verses are slightly longer than the other ones, which can also be heard on the 1988 remix. After the first (6:26) and second (6:04) pressing of the LP, the song's album version was shortened to 5:51.

A different mix for "He Was a Steppenwolf" and a slightly different version of "Voodoonight" was used on the first pressing compared to later ones.

The CD version from 1994 is the same as the fourth pressing of the album. On the 2007 reissue, two bonus tracks were added to the album.

On 10 November 2023, the group's YouTube channel released a video celebrating the 45th anniversary of the album. This was followed by a "visual album" series of music videos for every track from Nightlight to Venus; however, some songs are different versions (for example, "Rasputin" is the edited version from The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits).

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)) – 5:51 "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) – 4:21 "Voodoonight" (Giorgio Sgarbi) – 3:31 "Brown Girl in the Ring" (Traditional, Exuma; 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, percussion

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" (7" Mix) – 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" (Alternate 7" Mix) – 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" (7" Mix) – 4:16 (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" - 6:51 (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" (Album version) – 4:19 (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" (7" Mix) – 4:19 / "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/Oh My Lord" (12" Mix) – 6:18 (Hansa 600 009-212, 1979) Charts

Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Nightflight to Venus Chart (1978–79) PeakpositionArgentinian Albums 5 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 7 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)2 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) 8

Year-end charts + 1978 year-end chart performance for Nightflight to Venus Chart (1978) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 17 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 11 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)8 + 1979 year-end chart performance for Nightflight to Venus Chart (1979) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)40 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 18 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)43

Certifications and sales

Reissued 1994: CD, BMG 74321 21269 2 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment 88697082622 2011: Boney M. Original Album Classics, 5 CD, Sony Music 88697928702 2017: Boney M. Complete, 9 LP, Sony Music 88985406971

References

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