Michael Coy
IF you were around in the 1970s, you’ll remember “Baccara”, though the name might not be familiar.
In October, 1977 Pelé played his last game of soccer. A new concept in space travel, a machine with wings (the Space Shuttle) was undergoing tests. A punk band called The Sex Pistols brought out a controversial album.
People were saying things like, “If I go out for the night, it’s got so bad that I have to take a whole pound with me. Fifty pence goes nowhere any more.”
You might recall the new singles that were playing on the radio (remember when singles mattered?) Rod Stewart’s new one was “You’re In My Heart”, and The Stranglers released “No More Heroes”.
Status Quo were “Rocking All Over the World”.
An unknown Spanish duo, Mayte Mateos (26) and María Mendiola (25), put out their debut single, a ditty called “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie”. It was the start of a phenomenon.
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The two girls had an ‘angle’. They sang in English.
They were utterly ignored in their homeland, but they expected that. This was the age of Abba, and people wanted lyrics in English.
“Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” had a catchy tune, told a story, and – this is where Baccara REALLY cashed in – was mildly risqué. It made the Top Ten everywhere, and reached Number One in eight countries, including the UK, Sweden and Germany.
Three months later, their follow-up song was also a massive hit. “Sorry I’m a Lady” swept the European charts in February 1978 (this is when we were all singing “Take a Chance On Me”, and a film called “Grease” was creating a stir).
Baccara were now appearing on Top of the Pops. They even showed up at the Eurovision Song Contest (representing, bizarrely, Luxemburg!)
If you’re now humming “Do It, Do It Again, With Love”, you’re wrong. That wasn’t Baccara. It was their Italian imitator, Rafaella Carra, who made the British charts in May 1978.
The sad truth is, though they did very well on the cabaret circuit and pumped out singles non-stop, the girls never had another hit.
Despite a substantial following in Germany and Japan, by 1981 their blend of disco, pop and Spanish folk music was no longer fashionable, and by 1983 Mateos and Mendiola were both working on solo projects.
They fell out over one of their many failed singles (Sleepy Time Toy). María claimed that Mayte was too prominent, and she (María) was being relegated to the role of backing singer.
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 reverted to Baccara and as a consequence both Mateos and Mendiola headed different duos with the same name. Both principals subsequently had prolonged but separate legacy careers based on nostalgia and their earlier fame.
Sadly, María (the blonde one) died in 2021 at the age of 69.
