Pop singer Bobby Farrell dies on tour in Russia

Performer Bobby Farrell, of the 1970s European chart-topping group Boney M, was found dead in his hotel bed Thursday while on tour in Russia, his agent said. He was 61.

Farrell appeared as scheduled in St. Petersburg Wednesday night, but complained of breathing problems before and after his show, said the agent, John Seine. He had been due to fly to Rome Thursday for a television show.

The frontman died in St Petersburg yesterday on same date and in the exact same town as mad Russian monk Rasputin - who was the subject of the band's 1978 top three single.

Farrell, who lived in Amsterdam, was more a dancer and showman than singer when he fronted Boney M in the 1970s and '80s. The group, based in Germany, broke into the charts with "Daddy Cool" and "Sunny" in 1976. Two years later their version of "By the Rivers of Babylon" sold nearly 2 million records in Britain alone, keeping it No. 1 for five weeks.

He was chosen in 1974 to front the Caribbean group Boney M, put together by German singer and songwriter Frank Farian, who did much of the recorded singing. Boney M had 38 top-10 hits, including 15 number ones in Germany. They included "Brown Girl in the Ring" and "Mary's Boychild."