Baccara

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Baccara
Original lineup: María Mendiola and Mayte Mateos.
Background information
Origin	Madrid Spain
Genre(s)	Disco Pop
Years active	1977 - present

Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish flamenco artists Mayte Mateos (February 7, 1951, Logroño) and María Mendiola (April 4, 1952, Madrid). The pair rapidly achieved international success with their debut single "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie", which reached number one across much of Europe. 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 in the Eurovision song contest in 1978.

Despite a substantial following in Spain, Germany and Japan, by 1981 the duo's distinctive blend of disco, pop and Spanish folk music 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 incarnations have continued to work, although Mendiola's Baccara has seen more international recognition, releasing a string of Hi-NRG club hits such as "Fantasy Boy" and "Touch Me" in the late 1980s and the later UK club hit "Wind Beneath My Wings". Mateos's 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.

[edit] Formation

Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola met whilst working for Spanish Television's Ballet Company, and on leaving the company in 1976, formed Venus - a traditional Spanish vocal and dance duo. Their first televised appearance was on the Palmarés light entertainment programme, and the duo were engaged at a theatre in the Aragon city of Zaragoza, but their contract was cancelled when the theatre manager decided that they were "too elegant" for the style of show.^[1] Mateos and Mendiola relocated to the Canary Islands in search of work.

The duo were spotted by Leon Deane, manager of German record company RCA, whilst performing flamenco dance and traditional Spanish songs for tourists in the Tres Islas Hotel on the island of Fuerteventura. He invited them to Hamburg to record with the composer Rolf Soja, who penned their début single "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". Released in 1977, the single proved to be a huge success, reaching the top of the charts in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, Belgium, Israel, and Switzerland, and number three in France.^[2] Mateos and Mendiola were retitled Baccara, after a type of rose, and later that year a self-titled album, written and produced by Soja and Frank Dostal, was released.

[edit] 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 as the highest-selling female musical group 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, 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.^[2]

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 Scandinavian countries, and their Spanish-flavoured interpretation of the disco sound also brought them recognition in Japan and Russia. Baccara represented West Germany at the eighth World Popular Song Festival held in November of 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, was released across Europe, and whilst not matching the international success of the first, it spawned the single "Parlez-Vous Français?" which was selected as Luxembourg's entry in that year's Eurovision Song Contest. Despite full marks from Italy, Portugal and Spain the duo finished in 7th place. However high sales, particularly in Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, meant that the single was a commercial success.

Further recognition came in 1978 when Baccara was granted Germany's most prestigious media award, Burda Publishing Group's Bambi prize. This is offered annually to "celebrities whose abilities have impressed, moved and enthused the people in Germany".^[3] The duo made regular television appearances, becoming weekly guests on Sacha Distel's show in the UK, and on Musikladen in Germany.

1979 saw the album Colours and the separately-recorded single "Eins Plus Eins Ist Eins", released to mark the United Nations International Year of the Child and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the UN adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Baccara's fourth and final album (in the band's original incarnation) was Bad Boys, released in 1981. By this time the disco sound had been overshadowed by newer music movements (such as punk, new wave and synthpop) in much of Europe and interest was largely confined to those countries where the duo had an established fan base; the album was not released in the UK.

[edit] Split

The 1980 single release of "Sleepy-Time-Toy" led to disagreement within the band over the vocal mix used, and as a result of the subsequent dispute with their record company, 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, and in 1981 Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola decided to launch 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.

[edit] Mayte Mateos' Baccara (1983-present)

Re-forming as Baccara in 1983 with Marisa Pérez (who would later go on to partner María Mendiola), 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, Cristina Sevilla, Paloma Blanco, Romy Abradelo, Francesca Rodrigues and María Marín. Mateos's current singing partner is fellow Spaniard Paloma Blanco (once again). Although having no new hits to their name, Mateos's 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 preselection contest to represent Sweden with the song "Soy Tu Venus". However, Baccara lost out to local star Lena Philipsson, who eventually placed 5th in the competition.

There will be a new Baccara album with Mayte Mateos, produced by the original Baccara team Rolf Soja and Frank Dostal. It will be released on May 30th, 2008.

[edit] María Mendiola's Baccara (1985-present)

Initially called New Baccara to distinguish it from Mayte Mateos's 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. 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's "Wind Beneath My Wings", released on the Loading Bay label in the early 1990s, was also a hit in UK clubs.^[4] 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.

In August of 2005, Mendiola and Pérez were honoured with a memorial on Vienna's "Musical Mile", along its Hollywood-style Walk of the Stars.^[5]

[edit] Discography (Original Baccara)

[edit] Albums

1977 - Baccara - (RCA-Victor)
1978 - Light My Fire - (RCA-Victor)
1979 - Colours - (RCA-Victor)
1981 - Bad Boys - (RCA-Victor)

[edit] Compilations

1978 - The Hits Of Baccara - (RCA-Victor)
1990 - The Original Hits - (BMG-Ariola)
1991 - Star Collection - (BMG-Ariola)
1993 - The Collection - (BMG-Ariola)
1994 - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - (BMG-Ariola)
1994 - Star Gala - (BMG-Ariola/Spectrum)
1995 - Golden Stars - (BMG-Ariola)
1998 - The Collection - (BMG-Ariola)
1999 - Woman To Woman - (BMG-Ariola/Disky Communications)
2001 - The Best Of Baccara - Original Hits - (BMG-Ariola/Hot Town Music-Paradiso)
2005 - The Best Of Baccara - (Sony-BMG/Camden UK)
2006 - The Very Best Of Baccara - (Sony-BMG)
2007 - 30th Anniversary (3 CD box set) - (Sony-BMG)

[edit] Singles

[edit] 7"

1977 - "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" / "Cara Mia"
1977 - "Sorry, I'm A Lady" / "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?" / "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"

[edit] 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"