Baccara

Biography

Mayte Mateos, born on 7 February 1951 in Logroño, and María Mendiola, born on April 4, 1952 in Madrid, met in November 1973 at a Spanish television ballet. As flamenco dancers and singers, they set themselves up in Spain as a duo “Venus” and performed among others on Fuerteventura, where they were discovered in January 1977 by Leon Deane, Fred Dieckmann and Patrick Kavetz. The first album “Baccara” was  a huge success. The singles from the album, “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” and “Sorry, I’m a Lady” were number 1 hits all over Europe in 1977 and are now considered disco classics. “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” has been number one in 18 countries. In the UK, Baccara was even the first Spanish group and the first female vocal duo to top the charts. In 1978 and 1979 were followed by other successful singles such as “Darling”, “The Devil Sent You to Lorado” and “Ay, Ay Sailor”.
In 1977 baccara represented Germany in the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. With the song “Parlez-vous français?” the duo representedLuxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest. 
After legal disputes in 1982, the paths of Mateos and Mendiola finally separated. Both initially pursued solo projects and later founded one after the other each one own new vocal duo.
In 1983, Mateos started as “… the voice of baccara” with Marisa Pérez, a former colleague of the television ballet. They performed under the familiar name Baccara usually with a well-known repertoire. Pérez left the duo after a short time. The Spanish singer Paloma Blanco now sings with Mayte Mateos all over the world.
In 1985 María Mendiola followed and founded – also with Marisa Pérez – the duo “New Baccara”. Years later, theydropped the “New,” and since then, two female vocal duos known as Baccara exist.
Baccara with Mayte Mateos released two albums, Baccara 2000 (1999) and Soy tu Venus (2004). The duo participated in 2004 in Melodifestivalen with the song “Soy tu Venus”.
In 2007, a 3-CD box with all the original Baccara titles was released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the duo.
On 11 September 2021, Mayé Mateos passed away.