From the album
Title: “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie”
Artist: Baccara
Year: 1977
Writer(s): Frank Dostal/Rolf Soja
Genre: Pop/Disco
Highest chart position (if applicable) 1
Album: Baccara
Did I own it? Oh no I did not.
Album, single, both or neither? Neither
Opinion then: Positive
Opinion now: Positive
These days: Has remained in the public eye since it was adopted by the Scottish national football theme for Euro 2020 (played in 2021 thanks to a little disease you probably never heard of) and was in fact re-recorded for them by Baccara. Also used in a H&M clothing store advert, so in a sense it’s never really gone away.
From the opening female moan that introduces the song to the boppy Latin beat, this song was known and loved by just about everyone when it was released, taking it to the top not only in the UK but most of Europe. Mayte Mateos and Maria Mendiola were Spanish flamenco dancers discovered by an executive of RCA Records in the Canary Islands, and invited to the UK to record the song, which then shot to number one just about everywhere. In essence, it’s an empty disco song about two girls going on about how well they can dance, however a very simple look below the surface shows you an actual empowerment song, wherein the girls rebuff the man’s advances, wanting only to dance: “No sir, I don’t feel very much like talking/ No, neither walking: you wanna know if I can dance.” Ooh yeah! Sing it, sisters!
The whole idea of a Latin-style disco song, while not exactly new, was fresh and innovative enough and interesting enough to make people buy the single, and the fact that the two ladies looked fine probably didn’t hurt either. Again though my jaw drops as I see that for a group with a total of four albums, there are no less than THIRTEEN compilation albums!
Madre de dos dios! Or something. Great song though, even if, like me, you certainly cannot even perform anything coming close to a boogie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32wDFCM7iSI