Fab Morvan, one half of the disgraced R&B duo Milli Vanilli, has shared his thoughts on the death of music executive Clive Davis, with whom he had a complicated and ultimately unrepaired relationship.
Davis, who died Monday at age 94, was a towering figure in the music industry for decades, credited with launching the careers of artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston. However, his legacy also includes the 1989 scandal surrounding Milli Vanilli, an act whose members were exposed for lip-syncing to pre-recorded vocals.
The revelation led to immediate and severe professional fallout for Morvan and his bandmate Rob Pilatus, transforming their rapid rise to fame into widespread notoriety. Pilatus died in 1998 at age 33, while Morvan, now 60, has spoken about the lasting impact of the scandal.
During his lifetime, Davis consistently denied allegations that he was aware Milli Vanilli's members were not singing their own songs. These claims were made by Morvan himself and former executives from Arista Records, the label that managed Milli Vanilli's U.S. career.
Morvan expressed a philosophical outlook on Davis' passing, stating, "Listen, you know, we come and go. It's just the way it is."
Born in Paris, Morvan and Pilatus, who was from Munich, met in the late 1980s and were brought together by German music producer Frank Farian. It was only after signing with Farian that the duo discovered they would not be performing their own vocals. Instead, they were presented as the public faces of Milli Vanilli, with the actual singing provided by other artists.
The duo not only lip-synced during live performances but also did not sing on their hit 1989 album, "Girl You Know It's True." The album, released by Davis' label, achieved seven-time platinum status and earned Milli Vanilli a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
A critical moment that exposed the deception occurred during a 1989 performance on MTV, where the duo's lip-syncing was noticeably out of sync with the music. The scandal escalated when Farian, reportedly pressured by Morvan and Pilatus to allow them to sing on future recordings, revealed the truth about the act.
Milli Vanilli's Grammy Award was revoked, an unprecedented move by the Recording Academy. In response, Davis' label removed the masters for "Girl You Know It's True" from its catalog.
Shortly after their Grammy was rescinded, Pilatus reportedly stated that he and Morvan were "happy" the charade had ended, claiming they had participated due to fear and unspecified death threats. He reflected, "You get something, for that you make a pact with the devil."