Goombay Dance Band

Goombay Dance Band is a German band created in 1979 by Oliver Bendt, named after a small bay on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Their music has a distinctive sound (somewhat similar to Boney M.),^[1] which is a mixture of soca, calypso and western pop. The group enjoyed their greatest commercial success at the beginning of the 1980s, spawning such number 1 hits as "Sun of Jamaica", "Seven Tears" and "Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again". Goombay Dance Band built up a fan base across Europe and proved very popular in South Africa too, where "Sun of Jamaica" and "Aloha-Oe" entered the charts.^[2]

Goombay Dance Band
Origin	Hamburg, Germany
Genres	Euro disco, Europop
Years active	1979–present
Labels	CBS
Members	Oliver Bendt Alicia Bendt Dorothy Hellings Wendy Doorsen "Dizzy" Daniel Moorehead Mario Slijngaard
Past members	Beverlee Wallace Wendy Walker
Website	www.goombay-dance-band.com

History

The band released the song "Sun of Jamaica" at the end of 1979. It topped the German single charts for nine weeks in 1980. Their next single was "Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again", based on a Liliuokalani composition "Aloha ʻOe". The song reached the top 5 in the European charts, including the number 1 spot in Austria. The group's debut album Zauber der Karibik, internationally known as Sun of Jamaica, was met with commercial success, reaching the top 5 in several countries. The second album, Land of Gold, performed poorly, not reaching the German top 40, but spawned hits "Eldorado" and "Rain".

In 1981, the band released the album Holiday in Paradise, which featured the song "Seven Tears". When released in the UK next year, "Seven Tears" became the band's breakthrough hit on the British market, where it topped the singles chart for three weeks and was also a million-seller. This success was followed by the release of the compilation Seven Tears, which was well received in the UK, while in mainland Europe, the band released the retrospective Tropical Dreams to a modest success.

However, the group's subsequent releases did not draw as much attention. The next studio album, Born to Win, failed to chart and did not produce any impactful hits. In 1984 and 1985, Goombay Dance Band released several non-album singles, which were commercial failures. In the 1990s, the band released several albums, including the Christmas Album and the compilation Island of Dreams, which was met with moderate chart success and featured a new version of "Sun of Jamaica". The band celebrated their 30th anniversary with a collection of new songs and re-recorded hits in 2009. The following year, they recorded "Is This the Way to the World Cup" to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^{[citation needed]} Oliver Bendt toured with the Goombay Dance Band until the end of 2016, when he retired shortly after his 70th birthday.

Band members

• Oliver Bendt
• Alicia Bendt
• Dorothy Hellings
• Wendy Doorsen
• Dizzy Daniel Moorehead
• Mario Slijngaard
• Kátia Waléria Ferreira
• Ernest Clinton
• Diana Hoogdorp

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Peak chart positions
		GER [3]	AUT [4]	NLD [5]	NOR [6]	SWE [7]
1980	Sun of Jamaica[A]	3	1	4	17	15
1980	Land of Gold	41	—	—	—	—
1981	Holiday in Paradise	17	—	—	—	—
1982	Born to Win	—	—	—	—	—
1990	Von Hawaii bis Tomé[B]	—	—	—	—	—
1994	Christmas Album[C]	—	—	—	—	—
1995	Caribbean Beach Party	—	—	—	—	—

• A^ In German speaking countries, the album Sun of Jamaica was released as Zauber der Karibik, and in Spain, as Sol de Jamaica.
• B^ Von Hawaii bis Tomé was re-released as Sommer, Sonne, Strand and Montego Bay in 1993.
• C^ Christmas Album was re-released as Christmas by the Sea in 1997.

Compilations

Year	Title	Peak chart positions
		GER [3]	NLD [5]	UK [8]
1982	Tropical Dreams	9	28	—
1982	Seven Tears	—	—	16
1983	The Best of Goombay Dance Band	—	—	—
1986	Karibische Träume	—	—	—
1988	Sun of Jamaica	—	—	—
1995	Island of Dreams	57	—	—
1995	Sun of Jamaica	—	—	—
2009	30th Anniversary Collection	—	—	—
2011	Golden Hits – Reloaded	—	—	—

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		GER [9]	AUT [4]	BEL [10]	FRA [11]	IRE [12]	NLD [5]	NZL [13]	SWE [7]	SWI [14]	UK [8]
1979	"Ring Ting Ting"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—
	"Sun of Jamaica"	1	1	1	38	14	1	19	5	3	50	GER: Platinum[15]	Sun of Jamaica
1980	"Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again"	5	1	3	—	—	4	—	—	—	—
	"Bang Bang Lulu"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Eldorado"	4	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Land of Gold
	"Rain"	9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1981	"Seven Tears"	13	15	6	—	1	7	28	—	—	1	UK: Gold[16]	Holiday in Paradise
	"Christmas at Sea"	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—
1982	"My Bonnie"	50	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Tropical Dreams
	"Robinson Crusoe"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Santorini Goodbye"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Born to Win
	"Born to Win"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1983	"If You Ever Fall in Love"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1984	"Don't You Cry, Caroline"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—
1985	"Marlena"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"A Typical Jamaican Mess"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	"I Love the Melody"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Caribbean Beach Party
	"Sun of Jamaica '95 Version" (Goombay Dance Band & Cool Summer Cuts)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Island of Dreams
2005	"Sun of Jamaica" (Antibazz & Sunstarz feat. Goombay Dance Band)	—	—	—	—	—	62	—	—	—	—		—
2009	"Over the Oceans"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		30th Anniversary Collection
	"In My Dreams"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	"Is This the Way to the World Cup"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Golden Hits – Reloaded
2012	"Traum von Jamaica"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—
2013	"Come Back 2 Jamaica"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Aloha-Oe (Bis wir uns wiedersehen)"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	"Life"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

She's a Dynamite Single 2017 1 Song, 3 Min. 42 Sec. One Love 2020 1 Song, 2:55

See also

• Goombay – a form of Bahamian music and a drum used to create it