Editing Rob Pilatus (section)

===Early life===
Pilatus was born in Munich, West Germany, on 8 June 1964 or 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fischundfleisch.com/nzerr/milli-vanilli-der-groesste-popskandal-und-die-tragoedie-dahinter-42175|title=Milli Vanilli|website=fisch+fleisch|date=20 December 2017 |access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> Sources differ on the year of his birth, with obituaries variously describing him as 32 or 33 years old at the time of his death in 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |title=ROB PILATUS, 32, DIES |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/04/06/rob-pilatus-32-dies/7cbaa8cc-551c-4431-ac12-be956bf650d6/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Milli Vanilli's Rob Pilatus dead at 33 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/milli-vanillis-rob-pilatus-dead-at-33-2-243519/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=6 April 1998 }}</ref> His father was an [[African-American]] serviceman and his mother was a [[Germans|German]] dancer.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Collier|first=Aldore|date=July 1990|title=Milli Vanilli: Creating Controversy and Platinum Records|pages=30–34|work=Ebony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9QDAAAAMBAJ&dq=reserve+singer+milli+vanilli&pg=PA34|quote=Pilatus was born in New York City, the son of a Black American serviceman and a German dancer.}}</ref> He spent his first four years in a Bavarian orphanage in [[Oberammergau]] before he was adopted by a [[Munich]] family.<ref name="MTV Obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1432182/milli-vanillis-pilatus-dead/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020090834/http://www.mtv.com/news/1432182/milli-vanillis-pilatus-dead/|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2014|title=Milli Vanilli's Pilatus Dead|last=Staff|date=6 April 1998|publisher=[[MTV]]|access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref> He stated he was an outsider as a child in Germany, being called "[[Kunta Kinte]]" (the African hero in the film ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]'') by his classmates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iloveoldschoolmusic.com/pimp-slaps-thefts-who-knew-this-milli-vanilli-singer-was-this-wild/3/|title=So Sad: This Milli Vanilli Singer Lived A Hard Life After Their Success|date=8 April 2015|website=I Love Old School Music|access-date=20 January 2019}}</ref> After leaving his adoptive home as a teen, Pilatus worked as a model and [[breakdancing|breakdancer]],<ref name="MTV Obit"/> and appeared as a backing singer with the group [[Wind (band)|Wind]] at the [[1987 Eurovision Song Contest]] in Brussels. (The band finished in second place.)  He met Fab Morvan on the dance scene in Munich in 1988, and after working as models, they formed a short lived group "Empire Bizarre" which consisted of three members, Pilatus, Morvan, and Charliene,{{Clarify|reason=Charliene who? I find no mention of such a person|date=September 2022}} who released one single "Dansez" in 1988<ref>{{Citation |title=Empire Bizarre - Dansez |year=1988 |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/317515-Empire-Bizarre-Dansez |language=en |access-date=2023-02-12}}</ref> and was performing locally with all members dancing and Rob singing lead while playing bass guitar.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p40SIT8Cuu4&ab_channel=Becka-Frcite] Rob & Fab before Milli Vanilli | “Dansez” clip + Empire Bizarre interview</ref><ref name=mtv>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432182/19980406/milli_vanilli.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506062356/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432182/19980406/milli_vanilli.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 May 2008|title=Milli Vanilli's Pilatus Dead|date=6 April 1998|publisher=MTV|access-date=25 July 2008}}</ref>