Jan. 1, 1988
Frank Farian invited Pilatus and Morvan to his Frankfurt studio to listen to a demo of a new song he produced called “Girl You Know It’s True.
The contract Pilatus and Morvan signed with Farian states that they were to perform on recordings and that Farian was obligated to record at least 10 songs per year with them.
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March and April. 1988
The final mix of “Girl” was finished by studio singers
Pilatus and Morvan were in the middle of a non-stop promotion blitz through Spain, France and Italy, which lasted until September.
Immediately after thesingle became successful in Germany, singer Charles Shaw--a Dallas native studio singer who recorded the soft rap on the song--began telling the European media he was the real rapper.
Trying to avoid rumors in the German press over the lip-sync ruse, Rob and Fab left Munich and moved to London
Farian released the second single “Baby Don’t Forget My Number”
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September, 1988,
“Girl” album was released in Europe
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December, 1988,
realized that Farian probably had no intention of ever allowing them to sing in the studio or on stage. In London, they began hearing rumors about what happened to former members of past Farian bands.
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January, 1989
“Girl You Know It’s True” single was released in the U.S. at the end of January, 1989
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April, 1989
Hall requires artists to perform live. Pilatus, Morvan and their camp were concerned about them appearing. They never did appear on the show.
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April 29, 1989
Milli Vanilli signed a contract with Gallin Morey Associates to represent them and the duo moved into their Beverly Hills home on June 11.
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July,1989
duo requested to stop doing interviews after suspicions about their thick European accents arose in the American press
Throughout the summer, Milli Vanilli toured the United States as part of the Club MTV Tour. According to Pilatus, all requests for the duo to take singing lessons were denied, as were requests to sing on tour.
Pilatus and memos obtained by The Times, Farian tried to block the
duo’s efforts to tour.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jan. 16, 1990.
A battle broke out between the performer and
their producer on Jan. 16, 1990.
Between
January and September,
Pilatus and Morvan’s attorneys sent more than
two dozen letters to Farian, demanding that the duo be allowed to sing
on their upcoming album. Arista’s Davis was notified of the battle for
vocal control on Jan. 18. Alan Mintz, the duo’s attorney, alleges that
Davis became aware that Pilatus and Morvan were demanding to sing in
January.
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February,1990
Pilatus
and Morvan enraged rock critics last February when they were quoted
boasting to Time magazine that their contribution to pop music exceeded
that of Bob Dylan’s, Paul McCartney’s and Mick Jagger’s.
Pilatus insisted that the reporter must have misunderstood him due to Pilatus’ poor grasp of the language.
“I was in shock when I read it,” Pilatus said. “I am a fan of Mick Jagger and the Stones. I mean I knew I wasn’t singing, so why would I ever criticize the Beatles. All I said was that Elvis was a big idol in his time and we were big in ours.”
Headlee
maintains he argued with officials at Arista and Gallin Morey to allow
the duo to appear on “Good Morning America” to explain that their quotes
were taken out of context. Arista’s Davis requested to accompany the
Millis during their interview, but was shut out by the television show’s staff, Headlee said.
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May, 1990
negotiations between Mintz and Farian in Frankfurt produced an
oral agreement which would have allowed the duo to sing on their next
album.
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June,1990
contract talks had broken off and Farian refused to
talk with anyone but Pilatus and Morvan.
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July,1990
the duo met with Farian in New York to cut a new deal. They were
to receive advances for services rendered including video promotions and
television shows. Under the deal, the duo were told that they would
record lead vocals on the upcoming album in August in Frankfurt.
When they went to Frankfurt, Farian reneged on his promise
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Aug. 13,1990
Milli Vanilli fired Gallin Morey Associates.
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Sept. 24,1990
Farian debuted the new Milli Vanilli album at a listening
party for various European record company officials in his Franfurt
studio. The new album featured a female vocalist and an American street
rapper in the lead vocals. Pilatus and Morvan protested the introduction
of new voices into the Milli Vanilli fiasco.
Mintz
alleges that Arista’s Davis demanded Farian recut the tracks with the
former studio singers. Mintz also says that Farian wrote a letter to
Davis confirming that he redid the session.
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Oct. 17 1990
Heyne quit BMG on Oct. 17 to
become the duo’s manager.
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