Milli Vanilli's Lip Sync Scandal at Lake Compounce

Did you know Milli Vanilli’s famous lip-syncing incident happened at an amusement park in Bristol, Connecticut?

On July 21, 1989, Milli Vanilli performed at what was then called Lake Compounce Festival Park. Their performance was in front of a packed crowd at the 20,000-seat outdoor amphitheater and broadcast on MTV.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any great quality videos of the incident, but here’s a short clip from VH1’s Behind the Music. When Milli Vanilli’s tape looped, Rob Pilatus panicked and ran off stage. MTV’s “Downtown” Julie Brown convinced Rob to go back on stage. Milli Vanilli went back on stage, and no one seemed to notice or care that they were lip-syncing.

Lake Compounce has a sign dedicated to the incident, which says they were “caught lip-syncing.” However, the group went on to win Best New Artist at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in February 1990 and returned to Lake Compounce in the summer of 1990. The truth wasn’t revealed until November 1990, when their producer Frank Farian fired the group and admitted they didn’t sing any of their songs. Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan claimed they were fired because they demanded to sing on the next record.

This sign is located in front of Zoomerang, which is in the former location of the Lake Compounce amphitheater. The amphitheater was removed in 1996.

Update (January 1, 2023):
This article was so popular that we decided to make a video with more details. Watch our Milli Vanilli Lip Sync Incident video on YouTube.