In Billboard of September 26, 1981, it is mentioned that the album "generated strong advance orders, spurring Hansa to press up 100,000 copies.

[8] The production costs further increased by employing the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording of Mike Batt's symphonic rock piece "Ride to Agadir".

Despite producer Frank Farian having announced by the end of 1979 that Boney M. were to take a break, recording sessions for a new album began already in the first months of 1980, and the title "Boonoonoonoos" (a Caribbean word for "Happiness", derived from Latin "Bonus" = good) already appeared as one of the first completed tracks, a cover of Larry Dillon's ska-title "Train to Skaville", which was intertwined with new rap parts as "That's Boonoonoonoos".

Farian invited the singers Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett and his crew of musicians to Nice in the summer of 1980, where several new songs were recorded.

"Felicidad", originally recorded by Italian band Massara as "Margherita (Love in the Sun)" in 1979, managed to get Boney M. into the German Top 10 again where it stayed for 27 weeks, becoming one of their longest-running chart entries,[12] although it was once again not released in the UK and Spain.

At the same time, singer Marcia Barrett issued the solo single "You" / "I'm Lonely", produced by John Edmed, and written by Kelvin James.

[15] Another song from the same sessions, "Breakaway", ended up on Boonoonoonoos as a Boney M. track with Frank Farian on lead vocals.

[18] Also in February, Boney M. flew to Jamaica[19] to record a TV special and perform live in concert with Rita Marley[20] and shoot photos for the album cover.

One of the final songs "Silly Confusion" was recorded in Bob Marley's Tuff Gong studios in Kingston.

Apparently it was felt that the album did not have any strong lead single, as Frank Farian had Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett back in the studio in May to record a cover version of Fadhili Williams' "Malaika", released in June as a double A-side with the ballad Consuela Biaz.

The other side of the single featured a 5-and-a-half-minute edit of the album medley "Boonoonoonoos" which the group had already premiered nearly two months earlier in German Show-Express (September 10, 1981).

[31] "Jimmy" was mentioned in UK fan magazine Friends of Boney M. as a new single in April 1982 after Bobby Farrell's exit from the group.

[32] Having previously only mimed to Frank Farian's vocals on TV (but having sung live in the group's concerts), Farrell was featured on the track "Train to Skaville" (part of the song "Boonoonoonoos", as a rapper).

[33] Boney M.'s visit to Jamaica in February 1981* resulted in the TV-Special Ein Sound geht um die Welt (A Sound Goes Around the World) where they are seen performing to early mixes of songs recorded so far: Train to Skaville, Boonoonoonoos, Homeland Africa, African Moon, I Shall Sing, Ride to Agadir, We Kill the World.

Although hundreds of photos had been taken during the group's trip to Jamaica, photographer Didi Zill did not manage to capture a satisfactory photo of Boney M. standing in the sea as the sun was setting too fast,[37] and instead both front and back cover of the album were shot in a studio in Germany, the front cover with Boney M. posing as black silhouettes with raised hands against a setting sun on a red sky.