The day after and before the scandal came out I said to myself, 'Whatever happens, I'm going to continue because it's my dream'

Fabrice Morvan

Morvan and partner Rob Pilatus were forced to give up their 1990 Grammy award after it was revealed they never sang a word on 1980s dance-pop hits like Girl You Know It's True and Blame It On The Rain.

Pilatus died in 1998 after suffering years of depression. At 32, he overdosed on drugs and alcohol.

Now, more than a decade after the lip-synching scandal broke, Morvan is orchestrating a comeback by releasing one of those songs that contributed to his downfall.

But this time he will be vocalising the words himself.

Determined dreamer

Speaking to the BBC in Los Angeles, Morvan said he had always been determined to prove himself as a musician: "The day after and before the scandal came out I said to myself, 'Whatever happens, I'm going to continue because it's my dream.'

"My dream was always to become a singer-songwriter, a performer," he said.

The French-born entertainer said he had spent the past decade preparing for a comeback that would force the world to sit up and take notice.

"I didn't speak English very well, I couldn't express myself, I knew that it was time to go back to the drawing board," he said.

Rise and fall

For Pilatus and Morvan it was a meteoric rise to fame. In the space of two years in the late 1980s, they sold millions of albums around the world and won a Grammy for best new group.

Milli Vanilli fooled their way to the top

But, behind the scenes, rumours spread in the music business that the duo were fakes.

There was no question that they had become handsome pin-up stars but the duo were about to be exposed as nothing more than con artists.

The Milli Vanilli hoax was exposed by the man who started the group in the first place, Eurodisco producer Frank Farian.

Pilatus and Morvan faced the anger and ridicule of critics and fans. In public, the two front men took the blame and accepted the shame for one of the biggest pop scandals ever.

They soon sunk back into the obscurity from which they'd been plucked. But since the dark days of the scandal, Morvan has emerged as a determined artist, hell-bent on proving himself.

Fighting for credibility

His contemporary remake of Blame It On The Rain, written by Diane Warren, had its first airing on American radio on the breakfast show on Los Angeles-based KIIS FM, hosted by one of the country's best-known DJs, Rick Dees.

Although the song has been played on the radio, Morvan has not been signed to a record label.

He explained: "I would like to see Blame It On the Rain licensed to a movie soundtrack and ultimately get a record deal. That's the only way I can finish the album."

The music industry is reacting cautiously to Fabrice's attempt at a comeback.

Roy Trakin, a senior editor with the US music industry newspaper HITS believes Morvan may have a difficult time in putting the scandal behind him.

"It was such a humiliating thing. The industry would rather shove it under the carpet and not deal with it," he said.

But Mr Trakin added that Fabrice should be given a second chance. "He's really talented, a really charismatic guy."

Morvan is well aware that some fans and sceptical critics will take some persuading that he is the genuine article.

"I'm not worried about the critics. I've been doing what I've been doing all through the years, and that is to go with the flow and go with my heart."

He added philosophically, "The rest is up to the universe. The people will decide."