Love for Sale
Standard edition album cover
Studio album by
Boney M.
ReleasedMay 2, 1977
RecordedAugust 1976 – March 1977
Genre
Length41:17
Label
ProducerFrank Farian
Boney M. chronology
Take the Heat off Me
(1976) 		Love for Sale
(1977) 		Nightflight to Venus
(1978)
Alternative cover
U.S. and Canadian edition album cover (back cover of standard edition)
Singles from Love for Sale
  1. "Ma Baker"
    Released: May 2, 1977
  2. "Still I'm Sad"
    Released: May 1977
  3. "Belfast"
    Released: September 19, 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Love for Sale is the second studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album includes the hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". It also includes covers: "Love for Sale" (by Cole Porter), "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (by Creedence Clearwater Revival), and "Still I'm Sad" (by The Yardbirds).

Also, the album is the last Boney M. album without different edits on LP and cassette like Nightflight to Venus and Oceans of Fantasy.

Artwork

The standard cover art features the male member Bobby Farrell "naked [with] a futuristic golden thong"[2] chaining female members, resembling African sexual slaves.[3][4] American label Atlantic Records found the cover "raunchy",[5] so they used the standard back cover of a vinyl sleeve featuring the band wearing clothes[6][7] as the alternative front cover of American and Canadian edition.[5][8][9] One of the female group members, Liz Mitchell, told The Sydney Morning Herald:[10]

They wanted to photograph us all totally naked in chains with [band member Bobby Farrell] standing over us like it was bondage[...] I wept—trust me. When they showed us the costumes, it was just heavy gold chains.

The front cover of the South Korean vinyl edition features the band in one live performance, and the back cover of the edition features the band in a studio photo session.[11]

Track listing

Side A
  1. "Ma Baker" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay, George Reyam (Hans-Jörg Mayer)) – 4:36
  2. "Love for Sale" (Cole Porter) – 4:47
  3. "Belfast" (Jimmy Bilsbury, Drafi Deutscher, Joe Menke) – 3:31
    "Daddy Cool" (U.S. edition only) from the previous album Take the Heat off Me – 3:27
  4. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (John Fogerty) – 2:40
  5. "Gloria, Can You Waddle" (Frank Farian, George Reyam) – 3:57
Side B
  1. "Plantation Boy" (Fred Jay, King) – 4:27
  2. "Motherless Child" (Frank Farian, Liz Mitchell) – 4:58
  3. "Silent Lover" (Frank Farian, Keith Forsey, Fred Jay) – 4:14
  4. "A Woman Can Change a Man" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay) – 3:33
  5. "Still I'm Sad" (Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith) – 4:34

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada
combined sales with first album 		— 48,000[28]
Denmark & Sweden — 250,000[29]
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[30] Gold 26,218[30]
France — 250,000[31]
Germany (BVMI)[32] Platinum 500,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[33] Gold 50,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[34] Platinum 20,000*
Israel[35] 2× Gold 40,000[36]
Netherlands — 100,000[37]
Spain
combined sales with first album 		— 300,000[29]
Sweden (GLF)[38] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Gold 100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Reissued

References

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Petridis, Alexis (January 16, 2006). "Comedy doesn't go with our music". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  3. ^ "Boney M". Bad Record Covers and Others. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  4. ^ "5 Funny, Outrageous and Just Plain Awful Disco Album Covers". July 26, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Perrone, Pierre (January 1, 2011). "Bobby Farrell: Dancer and frontman of the Euro-disco group Boney M". The Independent. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  6. ^ German release (back cover) at Discogs
  7. ^ UK release (back cover) at Discogs
  8. ^ "Images for Boney M. - Love For Sale". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  9. ^ American release at RateYourMusic
  10. ^ "Disco infernal". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 30, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. ^ http://farianmania.blogspot.com/2011/05/rare-editions-of-boney-m.html (South Korean release: front, back)
  12. ^ "International Best Sellers" (PDF). Cash Box. April 1, 1978. p. 69. ISSN 0008-7289.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 41. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Boney M. – Love for Sale" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. July 2, 1977. p. 74. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Boney M. – Love for Sale" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  17. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Boney M. – Love for Sale" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  19. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us. ISBN 978-1094705002.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Boney M. – Love for Sale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Boney M. – Love for Sale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Boney M. – Love for Sale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Boney M. | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1977" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  28. ^ David Farrell (July 14, 1979). "Sales Of European Acts Aided By Demographics". Billboard. No. 48. p. 84. Retrieved November 17, 2023 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ a b "Sounding Board Q". Billboard. July 16, 1979. p. 76. Retrieved May 29, 2021 – via Google Books. ((cite magazine)): Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  30. ^ a b "Boney M" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  31. ^ Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Fabrice Ferment (ed.). "TOP – 1977". 40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles (in French). OCLC 469523661. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2023 – via Top-France.fr.
  32. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Boney M.; 'Love for Sale')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  33. ^ "From The Music Capitols Of The World - Athens" (PDF). Billboard. August 12, 1978. p. 74. Retrieved November 29, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  34. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1979". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  35. ^ "Boney Gold" (PDF). Billboard. May 29, 1982. p. 96.
  36. ^ "Israeli Awards". Billboard. August 18, 1982. p. 58. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  37. ^ "Boney M's Platinum Discs" (PDF). Music Week. December 24, 1977. p. 32. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  38. ^ "No Bones To Make" (PDF). Cash Box. October 15, 1977. p. 55. Retrieved November 29, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  39. ^ "British album certifications – Boney M. – Love for Sale". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 25, 2018.

External links

Boney M.
Authority control databases
Categories