Maria Mendiola, who has died aged 69, was one half of Baccara, whose Eurodisco anthem Yes Sir, I Can Boogie reached No 1 in the UK in 1977 and is claimed to be the best-selling single ever by a female duo; latterly, it had been adopted by the Scotland football team as their unofficial song during the European football championships.
– The Telegraph, September 12, 2021
That’s a heck of a first sentence for an obit. Having never heard the song, I sought it; what follows is an abbreviation of the rabbit hole. [“But hey! Enough of my yakkin’…” – ed.]
The original? Kind of a Donna Summer-meets-ABBA vibe. They sing it “booo-gie.”
The Scottish football thing. As best I can tell – skip to 1:55 – they sing it “beu-geh.”
This, though. Holy smokes. That saudade intro! The backup trio! What a terrific cover.
PS I’m no disciple of pretention, but I think they sing it “beu-gie.”