DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708220109

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: LARRY BONKO

                                            LENGTH:   99 lines

NEW VH-1 SHOW TRACKS DOWN DISGRACED POP STARS

THEY WERE a couple of guys from Europe with buff bods and shoulder-length dreadlocks who sold millions of albums without singing a note. They performed as Milli Vanilli until November 1990, when their deep, dark secret was revealed.

They were frauds.

It was not Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus who sang ``Girl, You Know It's True,'' and other songs on albums with their faces on the cover. The voices belonged to anonymous studio singers hired by record producer Frank Farian.

In music videos, Rob and Fab danced in that puppet-on-a-string style of theirs while pretending to sing. They took part in a grand deception.

``We were stupid, naive kids,'' said Morvan the other day from Los Angeles where he is working to revive his singing career. The rise and fall of Milli Vanilli is for all to see tonight at 9 on VH-1 in the launch of a new series, ``Behind the Music.''

VH-1 has two extraordinary tales here. There is the sad story of Milli Vanilli - Morvan and Pilatus - who sold their souls to the devil. Then there is the no less depressing focus on rapper M.C. Hammer and how he let $50 million get away from him.

That happens when you buy 17 automobiles, 21 racehorses, build a $10 million mansion, spend $60,000 a month on baubles, and hire people for $500 a week to do nothing but stand around.

Of the two stories, the Milli Vanilli expose is more compelling. VH-1 shows how Morvan and Pilatus were easily swayed by Farian to take part in a deceit that brought in millions.

``They wanted fame, money and women, and would do anything to have it all,'' say Jeff Gaspin and George Moll, who produce ``Behind the Music.''

Farian found willing partners in Morvan and Pilatus. Morvan had been a homeless person living in a train station in Munich when he met Pilatus, a male model who couldn't find work.

``We had no money. We had nothing. We wanted to be stars, wanted to be on stage. We were driven to be stars,'' said Pilatus in the VH-1 interview.

When Farian saw the men singing and dancing together in Munich nightclubs, he invited them to his recording studio for an audition. They flunked it.

``They were . . . very bad,'' he says on VH-1.

But the no-name singers who recorded ``Girl'' were great. Trouble is, they didn't have any sex appeal. They were in their 40s and hardly MTV material.

But what if Farian made a music video in which Fab and Rob lip-synched to their voices? The collaboration was born in Munich nine years ago.

``Basically, we made it all up,'' said Pilatus of the act known as Milli Vanilli. ``We were actors posing as singers.''

To borrow a line from VH-1, Morvan and Pilatus lived a ``fabulous lie'' for about two years - and might still be living that lie if not for one totally unexpected development. Milli Vanilli won two American Music awards and the Grammy for best new artists in 1989.

``It was the last thing we wanted,'' said Pilatus. ``The Grammy for us became a nightmare. The clock began ticking on our careers the night we won.'' While it wasn't general knowledge that Farian's studio singers were doing the vocals for Milli Vanilli, there was some buzz.

It started when a tape got stuck as Morvan and Pilatus were appearing in concert. In the VH-1 special, there is a marvelous shot of Pilatus rushing offstage to locate the tape player and make it right again. When the Grammys were announced, Farian knew the masquerade would soon end.

On Nov. 20, 1990, he called a press conference to say Milli Vanilli was finished. He said it was time to stop the music, end what he called ``this crazy idea.''

Morvan and Pilatus naively expected other producers to call. The phone didn't ring. ``From that point, they were outcasts in the music business,'' says VH-1.

At the age of 31, Morvan appears to be doing better than Pilatus, who has been in and out of 10 drug rehabilitation programs since 1990. He's considered suicide at least once. The men last met in 1995.

``We've grown apart. We've gone our different ways,'' said Morvan, who was more than happy to cooperate with the VH-1 producers. ``I'm grateful for the chance to tell my side of the story. We were stupid and naive, but at the same time we were used by an industry that never shared in the blame.''

Why did the world come down so hard on these two selfish innocents, Morvan and Pilatus? Was Jennifer Beals ostracized when it was revealed she did not do all her steps in ``Flashdance''? Did the fact that Audrey Hepburn lip-synched her way through ``My Fair Lady'' damage her film career?

Fans turned on Milli Vanilli, says VH-1. Some burned and steamrolled their albums. Morvan and Pilatus wanted to sing, make records with no phantom voices. No major record label was interested.

``We were thrown to the wolves,'' said Morvan from Los Angeles where today he sings solo in small clubs, accompanied by an acoustic guitar. ``We were made the scapegoats.''

Milli Vanilli and M.C. Hammer. They come to life again if only for two hours on VH-1 tonight. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

...Fabrice Morvan...Rob Pilatus.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Pilatus and Morvan...

Photo

MIKE MILLER

Rapper M.C. Hammer's financial fall is featured on VH-1 tonight at

9.

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