# 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.), 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.

## 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 charted within the top 5 in 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 much worse, only charting outside 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. 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 | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | GER | AUT | NLD | NOR | SWE |
| 1980 | Sun of Jamaica | 3 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 15 |
| 1980 | Land of Gold | 41 | — | — | — | — |
| 1981 | Holiday in Paradise | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 1982 | Born to Win | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | Von Hawaii bis Tomé | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | Christmas Album | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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 | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | GER | NLD | UK |
| 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 | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Title | GER | AUT | BEL | FRA | IRE | NLD | NZL | SWE | SWI | UK | Certifications | Album |
| 1979 | "Ring Ting Ting" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 1979 | "Sun of Jamaica" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 50 | GER: Platinum | Sun of Jamaica |
| 1980 | "Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again" | 5 | 1 | 3 | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | | Sun of Jamaica |
| 1980 | "Bang Bang Lulu" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sun of Jamaica |
| 1980 | "Eldorado" | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Land of Gold |
| 1980 | "Rain" | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Land of Gold |
| 1981 | "Seven Tears" | 13 | 15 | 6 | — | 1 | 7 | 28 | — | — | 1 | UK: Gold | Holiday in Paradise |
| 1981 | "Christmas at Sea" | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 1982 | "My Bonnie" | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tropical Dreams |
| 1982 | "Robinson Crusoe" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tropical Dreams |
| 1982 | "Santorini Goodbye" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Born to Win |
| 1982 | "Born to Win" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Born to Win |
| 1983 | "If You Ever Fall in Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Born to Win |
| 1984 | "Don't You Cry, Caroline" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 1985 | "Marlena" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 1985 | "A Typical Jamaican Mess" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 1995 | "I Love the Melody" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Caribbean Beach Party |
| 1995 | "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 |
| 2009 | "In My Dreams" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 30th Anniversary Collection |
| 2010 | "Is This the Way to the World Cup" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Golden Hits – Reloaded |
| 2012 | "Traum von Jamaica" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 2013 | "Come Back 2 Jamaica" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | — |
| 2013 | "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