Seventies band Boney M is understood to be in talks to appear at Reform UK conference in several weeks (Alamy)
3 min read22 August
Exclusive: Disco band Boney M is in talks with Reform UK to perform at the party’s conference next month, PoliticsHome understands.
The band, which rose to fame in the 1970s with songs like Rasputin and Daddy Cool, is being lined up to appear at the afterparty in Birmingham, set to be held on the Friday evening of the conference.
A Reform spokesman told PoliticsHome: “Several exciting acts are under consideration for our conference after-party. This will be confirmed and announced in due course.”
Reform’s annual conference will take place in just under a fortnight from 3 September to 5 September.
Last year, Marlon and Jackie from The Jacksons made a surprise appearance at the Reform conference, performing songs including Blame it on the Boogie and Can You Feel it for around an hour.
At the same event, Reform supporter Andrea Jenkyns, formerly a Conservative MP, performed self-written song Insomniac.
Attendees of this year’s Reform conference can purchase a ticket to the afterparty for £25. The party is marketed on the Reform UK website as an opportunity to “join Nigel Farage and special guests for an unforgettable evening”.
Boney M, formed in what was then West Germany, still performs today with changing lineups and is set to tour the country later this year, in cities including Liverpool and London.
Original lead singer Liz Mitchell and dancer Maizie Williams have both taken part in recent performances. However, it is not clear what Boney M lineup is in talks to perform at Reform conference next month.
In a statement shared with PoliticsHome following publication, a spokesperson for Boney M’s original singer, Mitchell, said she would not be involved in the Reform conference performance and stressed that it has “nothing to do with her”.
They added: “While Liz continues to perform the hits of Boney M to fans literally around the world, there are unfortunately acts that still claim to be the original group, when they are clearly not. Some even mime to Liz’s voice.
“Without Mitchell it simply isn’t Boney M – and no-one else should be going out and performing under that name.”
Reform figures will hope that the conference helps the party regain momentum after a tricky few months which have seen the polling of both the party and leader Farage dip.
Last month, Farage comfortably won a by-election in his Clacton constituency, a contest he triggered after standing down as an MP amid growing pressure over a £5m donation he received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
No other major party contested the by-election, arguing that it was a waste of time and resources.
