Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan pays tribute after real singer John Davis dies from coronavirus aged 66

John Davis, one of the real singers behind lip-sync duo Milli Vanilli, has died at the age of 66 from coronavirus, and band member Fab Morvan has paid tribute.

The news of his death was confirmed by his family, with his daughter Jasmin Davis saying on Facebook: ‘We are so incredibly sad and heartbroken.’

She added: ‘He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music. He gave so much to the world!’

Davis died on Monday in Nuremberg, Germany, where he had lived and performed for a long time. 

The singer was credited with backing vocals on albums by Milli Vanilli, but was actually one of the lead singers on the tracks. 

The band, consisting of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, rose to fame at the end of the 80s, but faced backlash after they were exposed to be lip-syncing to other singers’ voices. 

Morvan tweeted of Davis’s death: ‘We’re going to miss your energy, the big smile you graced me and so many with through the years, we’ll keep you forever in our hearts.

‘Your golden voice will continue to be heard, you best believe that those classic records will live just like you eternally.’

After Milli Vanilli’s debut single Girl You Know It’s True and number one hits including Blame It On The Rain and Girl I’m Gonna Miss You, Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus won the best new artist Grammy Award in 1989 but were stripped of it months later when it was revealed that they hadn’t sung on their tracks. 

Davis, who was born in Anderson, South Carolina, lived much of his life in Germany after first being stationed there with the US Army in the 1970s.

He had been living in the country working as musician in the 1980s when he was approached German music producer Frank Farian, who founded Milli Vanilli to sing on a project for a fee far higher than an average singing gig, but was not told others would be lip-syncing to his voice. 

Davis revealed to The Hustle podcast in April that it was only later that he found out his voice was being passed off as Morvan, explaining: ‘One evening I was sitting at home watching my TV, and I saw Fab singing Girl I’m Gonna Miss You.’

He added that he ‘made a lot of money’ from the recordings and was able to live a comfortable life despite not being one of the faces of the band.

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