Sheyla Bonnick

Sheyla Bonnick was born in Jamaica in the 1950s and moved to England with her family at the age of three. After leaving school she worked briefly as a model and as a secretary at a prestigious London law firm before pursuing a career in music.

In 1977, Bonnick became the powerhouse lead vocalist heard on recordings by Boney M., the German-based Euro-disco group whose hits — including 'Rivers of Babylon,' 'Rasputin,' and 'Daddy Cool' — became global sensations. Though the group's on-stage performers mimed to studio vocal tracks, a common practice in the era's pop production, Bonnick's voice was the powerful instrumental force behind many of the band's biggest recordings, and she continues to tour with the Sounds of Boney M Show today.

Beyond music, Bonnick built a parallel career as a fashion designer, launching her own label, Bonnie Fashions, specialising in stage and evening wear, and later moved into board game design. She co-created Kivi, a dice-and-board strategy game combining elements of Yahtzee with a 49-square board, which won the 2016 Vuoden Peli Party Game of the Year award in Finland. She went on to co-design the games Eye Catch, nominated for the 2019 MinD-Spielepreis Short Game award from the German Mensa organisation, and Sneak Peek.

Bonnick has also written under the pseudonym Kat Brown, and remains active as a performer, designer, and Reiki healer, based in London.