Baccara
Encyclopedia
Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 artists Mayte Mateos (February 7, 1951, Logroño
Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...

) and María Mendiola (April 4, 1952, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

). The pair rapidly achieved international success with their debut single "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 hit single by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara.Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja, and produced by Soja, this typical slice of disco was a major hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the UK, spending a single week at the top in October 1977...

"
, which reached number one across much of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. A successful follow-up single ("Sorry, I'm A Lady") and European tour led to a number of album releases, numerous television appearances and the duo's selection to represent Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
Eurovision Song Contest 1978
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...

.

Despite a substantial following in Spain, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, by 1981 the duo's distinctive blend of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 and Spanish folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 was no longer fashionable, and by 1983 Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola were both working on solo projects. Achieving little success as solo artists, the two formed duos of their own: separate incarnations of the original Baccara appeared during the middle of the decade, with Mendiola fronting New Baccara and Mateos keeping the duo's original name. During the 1990s New Baccara was renamed back to Baccara; as a consequence both Mateos and Mendiola now head different duos with the same name. Both principals have subsequently had prolonged but separate legacy careers based on nostalgia and their earlier fame.

Mendiola's Baccara has seen more international recognition, releasing a string of Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

 club hits such as "Fantasy Boy" and "Touch Me" in the late 1980s and the later UK club hit "Wind Beneath My Wings". Mateos' Baccara has released few new recordings, but has remained in demand for television and live appearances in countries such as Spain and Germany where the original Baccara developed a loyal fan base, performing the duo's back-catalogue and modernised versions of traditional Spanish songs.

Formation

Mayte Mateos graduated as a teacher from the Royal Spanish Academy for Arts, Drama and Dance in Madrid and then joined Spanish Television's Ballet Company. While there she met fellow performer María Mendiola. In 1976 the two women formed a singing and dancing duo (using the title Venus) and left the Ballet Company. Initially the duo's act was simply that of variety show dancers. Their first television appearance was on the Palmarés light entertainment
Light entertainment
Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances. These include comedies, variety shows, quiz/game shows, sketch shows and people/surprise shows.-Light entertainment in Britain:...

 programme and they were engaged at a nightclub in the Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

 city of Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...

, but their contract was cancelled when the club manager decided that they were "too elegant" for the style of show. Mateos and Mendiola relocated to the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

 in search of work. Here they found that there was an audience for the performance of traditional Spanish music and dance in a form that was adapted to suit international tastes.

The duo were spotted by Leon Deane, manager of the German subsidiary of record company RCA, whilst performing flamenco dance and traditional Spanish songs for tourists (mostly German) in the Tres Islas Hotel on the island of Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura , a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west. At 1,660 km² it is the second largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife...

. He invited them to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 in order for them to meet the 30 year old Dutch producer/composer Rolf Soja. Soja was the prime mover behind what became Baccara. He developed their stage performance and recruited their instrumental support. Mateos and Mendiola were retitled Baccara, after the name of the black rose
Black Rose (symbolism)
Black roses do not exist in nature as such, but nevertheless have been created in laboratories. Botanists have manipulated roses' genes through preliminary cross breeding, creating a hybrid black rose...

, in reference to the women's dark Spanish appearance. Together with fellow writer Frank Dostal
Frank Dostal
Frank Dostal is a German songwriter and music producer. In the late 1960s he was a singer with the rock bands The Rattles, who were consistently successful in Germany during the 1960s, and Wonderland. In the late 1970s, he was a co-writer for the internationally successful vocal duo Baccara...

, Soja penned their début single "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and most of their other 1970s hits. Recorded in Holland and released in 1977, "Yes Sir, …" proved to be a huge success, reaching the top of the charts in Germany, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, the UK, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, and number three in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Later that year a self-titled album
Baccara (album)
Baccara is the debut studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on RCA Victor in West Germany in 1977. It contains the European hit singles "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and "Sorry I'm A Lady"....

, written and produced by Soja and Dostal, was released. Soja is generally credited with the Baccara formula - consisting of breathy lyrics, lush backing, a disco beat and the striking image of two women (one dressed in black and the other in white) dancing. While drawing lightly on Spanish flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 song and dance tradition, the formula was very much rooted in 1970s disco music. Soja's song arrangements generally used Mateos as the lead singer while Mendiola contributed with backing and refrains.

"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" was an enormous pan-European hit and was a prime example of the phenomenon that is known as the "summer hit". The song was heard everywhere over the summer of 1977 and it is still evocative of that moment in time. It is also one of the best known examples of the Eurodisco genre :

"[…] this mind-bending Common Market melding of foreign accents, bad diction, bizarre arrangements and lightweight production, usually top-heavy with strings" - The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

, 10 April 1999

Baccara (1977–1981)

Baccara sold more than 16 million copies of "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and featured in the 1977 edition of the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

as the highest-selling female musical duo to date. They were the first female duo to reach number one in the UK, and had the only number one by a Spanish artist in the UK until Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...

, four years later. A follow-up single, "Sorry, I'm A Lady", was also an international hit, peaking at the top of the charts in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and reaching the top ten in the UK, Sweden and Switzerland. Most of Baccara's recordings were sung in English although they did also record in Spanish, German and French. They recorded different language versions of some songs (see Discography below).

Touring in Europe during the late 1970s helped the band establish a firm fan base in Germany (where their records continued to be produced) and the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

n countries, and their Spanish-flavoured interpretation of the disco sound also brought them recognition in Japan and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Baccara represented West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 at the eighth World Popular Song Festival
Yamaha Music Festival
The World Popular Song Festival, also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held in 1970-1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989...

held in November 1977 – until it ended in 1989 the largest such contest in the world. Their song, "Mad In Madrid", came 14th out of 37 participating countries.

In 1978 the second Baccara album, "Light My Fire
Light My Fire (Baccara album)
Light My Fire is the second studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in August 1978. It contains the European hit singles "Darling" and "Parlez-Vous Français?", their entry for the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest...

"
, was released across Europe, and whilst not matching the international success of the first, it spawned the single "Parlez-vous français?
Parlez-Vous Français?
"Parlez-vous français?" was the Luxembourgish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in French by Spanish disco duo Baccara...

"
which was selected as Luxembourg's entry in that year's Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1978
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...

. Despite full marks from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 and Spain the duo finished in 7th place. However high sales, particularly in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, meant that the single was a commercial success.

"Think what you like about Baccara, seen today their 1978 Eurovision performance has a certain style while their competition from that event looks dated and amateurish″ - New Musical Express, May 2002

Further recognition came in 1978 when Baccara was granted Germany's most prestigious media award, Burda Publishing Group
Hubert Burda Media
Hubert Burda Media is a German privately held, family-owned global media company with its origins in printing and magazine publishing. The company is headquartered in Offenburg and Munich, has additional main offices in Berlin and Hamburg and has more than 7400 employees...

's Bambi
Bambi (prize)
The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...

prize. This is offered annually to "celebrities whose abilities have impressed, moved and enthused the people in Germany". The duo made regular television appearances, becoming weekly guests on Sacha Distel
Sacha Distel
Sacha Distel was a French singer and guitarist who had hits with a cover version of the Academy Award-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" , "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was born in Paris.-Career:Sacha Distel, born Alexandre Distel, was a son of Russian White émigré Leonid Distel...

's show in the UK, and on Musikladen in Germany. 1978 was the high point of Baccara's artistic and commercial success. Late that year the duo released the single "The Devil Sent You to Laredo" with "Somewhere in Paradise" as its B side. Both of these Baccara recordings have become iconic. "Somewhere in Paradise" (with its allusions to life after death) is regularly played by Christian radio stations while "The Devil…" (with its background pistol shots) is sometimes identified with the gay community. A Spanish language version of the "The Devil…" ("El diablo te mandó a Laredo") was released at the same time as the English one.

1979 saw the album "Colours
Colours (Baccara album)
Colours is the third studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in 1979. It contains European single releases "Body Talk"/"By 1999" and "Ay Ay Sailor"...

"
and the separately-recorded single "Eins plus eins ist eins", released to mark the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' International Year of the Child
International Year of the Child
* Maureen Millicent Bomford founded International Year of The Child and it was endorsed by the United Nations. Maureen was born in Canterbury Punchbowl in 1930 and had four brothers. Her father was a Mayor and she always learned to appreciate the value of leadership. As the wife of a prominent...

 and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the UN adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child
Declaration of the Rights of the Child
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is the name given to a series of related children's rights proclamations drafted by Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb in 1923....

. Although still successful, sales of these and other releases in 1979 were disappointing.

Baccara's fourth and final album (in the band's original incarnation) was "Bad Boys
Bad Boys (Baccara album)
Bad Boys is the fourth and final studio album by the original formation of Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in 1981...

"
, released in 1981. By this time the disco sound had been overshadowed by newer music movements (such as punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 and synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

) in much of Europe and interest was largely confined to those countries where the duo had an established fan base, notably Germany. The album was not released in the UK or US. Baccara have been (possibly unfairly) described as a "one hit wonder" in the UK, while they never achieved any recognition in the US despite some of their songs being given significant airplay. One music critic suggested that the Baccara formula lacked artistic depth but had been "mined for all it was worth" over two years until public interest moved on to other things. The same critic also drew attention to an element of "anti-feminist subservience" in the lyrics of some Baccara songs.

Split

The 1980 single release of Sleepy-Time-Toy led to a disagreement within Baccara over the vocal mix used. Mendiola complained that her voice was not given sufficient prominence in the song's arrangement and sued RCA for breach of contract. Mendiola's case was that the song should not have been released as a Baccara recording when it amounted to a Mateos solo. A court hearing in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 resulted in 250,000 records being recalled from dealers and a revised recording with a new vocal mix being issued in place of the original. A twenty eight second instrumental bridge was removed from the start of the recording (thereby reducing the play time from 6:12 to 5:44) and the vocals were remixed so as to give Mendiola and Mateos equal prominence. The artwork for the single's cover appears to have remained unchanged. The single failed to chart successfully.

As a result of the dispute, relationships between all parties involved were fatally damaged. One consequence of this was that Soja and Dostal were not involved with Baccara's final album. The duo recorded Bad Boys with Bruce Baxter and Graham Sacher. Neither the album nor its spin-off single Colorado were successful. In 1981, after RCA declined to renew their contract, Mateos and Mendiola ended their professional partnership and both launched solo careers.

By 1983 both artists had released albums of their own – Mateos with Spanish Dreams and Mendiola with Born Again — which saw moderate success amongst Baccara's original fan base. However there remained a demand for Baccara's music, particularly on the European television circuit, and by the middle of the decade both Mateos and Mendiola had formed their own versions of Baccara with new singing partners. Despite a series of name and line-up changes, both Baccara duos continue to perform around Europe and have released new albums. Both have also made re-recordings of their hits for various minor record labels, which are regularly re-packaged and re-issued under the original Baccara name. However, the original song versions (those recorded between 1977 and 1981) remain the property of Sony-BMG, which holds the rights to the RCA back catalogue.

On the occasion of Baccara's 30th Anniversary, Sony-BMG Germany released a very complete 3 CD box set on August 31 2007. This collection includes 50 RCA original recordings. Several songs such as Mad In Madrid, Amoureux, Baila tú, En el año 2000, Eins plus eins ist eins and Candido made their debut on CD.

After the split, Mateos and Mendiola never performed together again. However, the two women remained on friendly terms. When Mateos married in Stockholm in 1982, Mendiola attended the wedding as a guest. There Mendiola met a fellow guest who she subsequently married and with whom she had two sons. Mateos's marriage failed and she now (2010) lives in Hamburg, where she works as a dance instructor when not touring with her own revived version of Baccara. Mendiola now lives in Madrid and still performs as a singer.

Mayte Mateos' Baccara (1983–present)

Re-forming as Baccara in 1983 with Marisa Pérez (a contemporary of Mateos and Mendiola at the Spanish TV ballet company), Mayte Mateos re-established the band on the European entertainment circuit. Pérez was followed by a succession of partners including Ángela Muro, Sole García, Jane Comerford
Jane Comerford
Jane Comerford is a singer, songwriter, lecturer and vocal coach working in Germany.-Education:Jane has an extensive musical and music-related education. She studied violin and piano for 12 years, and later music theory, and graduated from Newcastle Conservatorium...

, Carmen, Cristina Sevilla, Paloma Blanco, Isabel Patton, Romy Abradelo, Rose, Francesca Rodrigues and María Marín. Mateos' current singing partner is once again fellow Spaniard Paloma Blanco. Although having no new hits to their name, Mateos' Baccara have remained in demand for television and live performances, performing the band's extensive back catalogue — versions of which have been released as compilations — as well as up-tempo interpretations of traditional Spanish songs.

In 2004, Mayte Mateos was once again involved with Eurovision, when her incarnation of Baccara took part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...

preselection contest to represent Sweden with the song Soy tu Venus. However, Baccara lost out to local star Lena Philipsson
Lena Philipsson
Maria Magdalena "Lena" Philipsson is a Swedish singer and media personality.-Career:...

, who eventually placed 5th in the competition.

A new Baccara album with Mayte Mateos and Paloma Blanco, entitled Satin ...In Black & White and produced by the original Baccara team Rolf Soja and Frank Dostal, was released on May 30th, 2008. This album contained remakes of original Baccara recordings from the late 1970s and some new songs. Although appreciated by Baccara fans, sales of the album were disappointing.

Maria Mendiola's Baccara (1985–present)

Initially called New Baccara to distinguish it from Mayte Mateos' re-formed Baccara, Mendiola teamed up with vocalist Marisa Pérez and in 1987 reached the top five in Spain and top 40 in Germany with the single Call Me Up, written by Ian Cussick
Ian Cussick (musician)
Ian Cussick is a singer-songwriter from Dundee, Scotland. After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Cussick formed several local bands, with moderate success. In 1973, he answered an advertisement in Melody Maker for a "singer wanted", and flew to Germany to work with the popular showband Lake...

. 1988 saw the duo release a series of euro-influenced Hi-NRG dance tracks on the Bellaphon recording label. Call Me Up, Fantasy Boy and Touch Me were produced by Luis Rodríguez, and were big club hits across Europe. A version of Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...

's Wind Beneath My Wings
Wind Beneath My Wings
"Wind Beneath My Wings" is the title of a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad...

, released on the Loading Bay label in the early 1990s, was also a hit in UK clubs. Towards the end of the decade New Baccara was renamed back to Baccara, and releases continued, although the group did not chart as their output was directed towards the club scene with singles pressed in strictly limited quantities.

Mendiola and Pérez were stars of the UK 2000 tour and appeared at Wembley, London with various other music groups. In 2004, they appeared on British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time was a 2005 reality show first aired by ITV on British television and later, as a new version, by NBC in the United States; both were presented by Vernon Kay. During each programme, five former pop stars sing their biggest hit along with a cover version of a contemporary...

. Mendiola's Baccara has achieved greater success than Mateos - appearing on many more television shows in Europe and UK and having more successful reviews. Mendiola's Baccara enjoys a demanding schedule of television appearances, live shows and club dates. Mendiola's Baccara is considered to be more original in that it has developed its own style and material whereas the Mateos' Baccara remains rooted in repeating the late 1970s songs of the original Baccara.

In August 2005, Mendiola and Pérez were honoured with a memorial on Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

's "Musical Mile", along its Hollywood-style "Walk of the Stars".

In late 2008 Marisa Perez was diagnosed with acute polyarthritis
Polyarthritis
Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis which involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions.Polyarthritis may be experienced at any age and is not gender specific.-Causes:...

.
It was agreed that until Perez recovers, her place at Baccara live performances would be taken by Mendiola's niece Laura Mendiola. This measure (stated to be temporary) allowed Mendiola's Baccara to honour its outstanding commitments over the period Perez needs to recover.

Albums
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 

  • 1977 - Baccara
    Baccara (album)
    Baccara is the debut studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on RCA Victor in West Germany in 1977. It contains the European hit singles "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and "Sorry I'm A Lady"....

    - (RCA-Victor)
  • 1978 - Light My Fire
    Light My Fire (Baccara album)
    Light My Fire is the second studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in August 1978. It contains the European hit singles "Darling" and "Parlez-Vous Français?", their entry for the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest...

    - (RCA-Victor)
  • 1979 - Colours
    Colours (Baccara album)
    Colours is the third studio album by Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in 1979. It contains European single releases "Body Talk"/"By 1999" and "Ay Ay Sailor"...

    - (RCA-Victor)
  • 1981 - Bad Boys
    Bad Boys (Baccara album)
    Bad Boys is the fourth and final studio album by the original formation of Spanish duo Baccara, first released on label RCA-Victor in West Germany in 1981...

    - (RCA-Victor)

Compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

  • 1978 - The Hits of Baccara
    The Hits of Baccara
    The Hits Of Baccara is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released on RCA-Victor in late 1978. This the first international Baccara hits collection yielded one new single release, double A-side "The Devil Sent You To Lorado"/"Somewhere In Paradise", and also contained their three biggest...

    - (RCA-Victor)
  • 1990 - The Original Hits
    The Original Hits (Baccara)
    The Original Hits is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released on label BMG International in 1990.The Original Hits was BMG-Ariola's first compact disc release of Baccara material and was in fact a re-issue of 1978 compilation The Hits Of Baccara provided with a new title and alternate...

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1991 - Star Collection
    Star Collection (Baccara album)
    Star Collection is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released in Germany on label BMG-Ariola in 1991.This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire and the...

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1993 - The Collection
    The Collection (1993 Baccara album)
    The Collection is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released on label BMG-Ariola in 1993. This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire , Colours , Bad Boys and...

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1994 - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
    Yes Sir I Can Boogie (1994 compilation)
    Yes Sir I Can Boogie is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released in Germany on label BMG-Ariola in 1994.This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire and the...

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1994 - Star Gala
    Star Gala
    Star Gala is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released by BMG-Ariola's mid-price label Spectrum in 1994.This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire , Colours ...

    - (BMG-Ariola/Spectrum)
  • 1995 - Golden Stars
    Golden Stars (Baccara album)
    Golden Stars is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released by BMG-Ariola's Music Club in 1995.This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire , Colours , Bad Boys ...

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1998 - The Collection
    The Collection (1998 Baccara album)
    The Collection is a compilation by Spanish duo Baccara released on label BMG-Ariola in 1998, a re-issue of 1993's Collection with alternative cover art....

    - (BMG-Ariola)
  • 1999 - Woman to Woman
    Woman to Woman (Baccara album)
    Woman To Woman is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara issued by Dutch mid-price label Disky Communications in 1999.This compilation includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola, taken from their RCA-Victor studio albums Baccara , Light My Fire ,...

    - (BMG-Ariola/Disky Communications)
  • 2001 - The Best of Baccara – Original Hits - (BMG-Ariola/Hot Town Music-Paradiso)
  • 2005 - The Best of Baccara
    The Best of Baccara
    The Best of Baccara is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released by Sony-BMG UK's midprice sublabel Camden in 2005. This release includes sixteen of Baccara's hits and best-known songs from the era of the original formation , mainly focussing on their best-selling debut album Baccara, and...

    - (Sony-BMG/Camden UK)
  • 2006 - The Very Best of Baccara
    The Very Best of Baccara
    The Very Best of Baccara is a compilation album by Spanish duo Baccara released by Sony BMG in June 2006.This 14 track compilation was issued by Sony-BMG and while it includes recordings by the original formation of the duo, Mayte Mateos and Maria Mendiola, is digitally remastered and offers one...

    - (Sony-BMG)
  • 2007 - 30th Anniversary - (Sony-BMG)

7"

  • 1977 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
    Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
    "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 hit single by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara.Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja, and produced by Soja, this typical slice of disco was a major hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the UK, spending a single week at the top in October 1977...

    " / "Cara Mia"
  • 1977 - "Sorry, I'm a Lady
    Sorry, I'm a Lady
    "Sorry, I'm a Lady" is a song co-written by Rolf Soja and Frank Dostal, performed by the Spanish duo Baccara.-Charts:...

    " / "Love You Till I Die"
  • 1977 - "Granada" / "Sorry, I'm A Lady"
  • 1977 - "Koochie-Koo" / "Number One"
  • 1977 - "Mad In Madrid" / "Love You Till I Die" (Japan)
  • 1978 - "Darling" / "Number One"
  • 1978 - "Darling" / "Mad In Madrid"
  • 1978 - "Parlez-vous français?
    Parlez-Vous Français?
    "Parlez-vous français?" was the Luxembourgish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in French by Spanish disco duo Baccara...

    " / "Amoureux"
  • 1978 - "Parlez-vous français?" (English version) / "You And Me" (English version of "Amoureux")
  • 1978 - "Parlez-vous français?" / "Adelita"
  • 1978 - "The Devil Sent You To Lorado" / "Somewhere In Paradise"
  • 1978 - "El diablo te mandó a Laredo" (Spanish version of "The Devil Sent You To Lorado") / "Somewhere In Paradise"
  • 1979 - "Body-Talk" / "By 1999"
  • 1979 - "Baila tú" (Spanish version of "Body-Talk") / "En el año 2000" (Spanish version of "By 1999")
  • 1979 - "Ay, Ay Sailor" / "One, Two, Three, That's Life"
  • 1979 - "Ay, Ay Sailor" / "For You"
  • 1979 - "Eins plus eins ist eins" (German version of "One, Two, Three, That's Life") / "For You"
  • 1980 - "Sleepy-Time-Toy" / "Candido"
  • 1981 - "Colorado" / "Mucho, Mucho"

12"

  • 1977 - "Sorry, I'm A Lady" (Extended Mix) / "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (Extended Mix)
  • 1979 - "Body-Talk" (Extended Mix) / "By 1999" (Extended Mix)
  • 1980 - "Sleepy-Time-Toy" / "Candido"

Albums
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

  • 1990 - F.U.N.
  • 1999 - Made In Spain
  • 2000 - Face To Face
  • 2002 - Greatest Hits (Re-recordings plus 4 new songs)
  • 2006 - Singles Collection (Compilation
    Compilation album
    A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

     plus 2 new songs)

Maxi Singles
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...

  • 1990 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie '90"
  • 2002 - "Wind Beneath My Wings"
  • 2005 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie 2005"

Singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

  • 1987 - "Call Me Up" / "Talismán"
  • 1988 - "Fantasy Boy"
  • 1989 - "Touch Me"
  • 1990 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie '90"
  • 1999 - "Sorry, I'm A Lady" (Dance Version)
  • 2000 - "I Want To Be In Love With Somebody"
  • 2000 - "Face To Face"
  • 2002 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (Copa Remix)
  • 2005 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie 2005"
  • 2008 - "Fantasy Boy 2008"

Albums
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 

  • 1994 - Our Very Best (Re-recordings plus 5 new songs)
  • 1999 - Baccara 2000
  • 2004 - Soy tu Venus
  • 2008 - Satin …In Black & White

Maxi Singles
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...

  • 1999 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie '99"
  • 2004 - "Soy tu Venus"
  • 2008 - "Nights In Black Satin"

Singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

  • 1994 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (Italo Disco Mix)
  • 1994 - "Sorry, I'm A Lady" (Italo Disco Mix)
  • 1999 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie '99"
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK