RIP María Mendiola (of Baccara)

Two days ago, the Instagram account and Facebook page of Baccara Official announced the passing of pop singer Maria Mendiola. The talented vocalist was one half of the Spanish disco and pop duo Baccara. She died at age 69 in Madrid, surrounded by her family on Saturday morning.

"My dear Maria, a wonderful artist but above all my friend left us today," her bandmate Cristina Sevilla wrote on Instagram. The media immediately reported the sad news. 

Mendiola formed the original Baccara duo with Mayte Mateos in 1977 when they were both flamenco dancers entertaining tourists on the island of Fuerteventura. They were spotted by Leon Deane, manager of the German subsidiary of record company RCA. Deane invited the ladies to Hamburg so they could do a voice test at the record company.

The original Baccara duo (Mayte Mateos and Maria Mendola) at the height of their success in 1977

The ladies scored hit after hit worldwide (including the #1 singles "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and "Sorry I'm a Lady" (both from 1977), "Darling" (1977), "Koochie-Koo" (1977), "Parlez-Vous Français" (the Luxembourgian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978), "The Devil Sent You To Lorado" (1978), "Body Talk" (1979) and "Ay Ay Sailor" (1979). Together with fellow writer Frank Dostal, Rolf Soja penned the majority of their songs. Their heyday coincided with Luv's glory years (1977 - 1981). Both girl groups entered the same charts and appeared on the same European TV shows (including AVRO's TopPop in Holland, Aplauso on TVE in Spain and Musikladen on Radio Bremen in Germany). 

Maria Mendiola and Mayte Mateos ended their professional partnership in 1981, and both started solo careers that achieved little success. By the mid-1980s, the ladies launched two competing versions of Baccara that each recorded and toured the nostalgia circuit worldwide successfully and separately. 

Mendiola's incarnation of the band - featuring co-vocalist Marisa Pérez - achieved the most success, scoring a trio of Hi-NRG club hits in the 1980s with the songs Touch Me, Fantasy Boy and Call Me Up. They also appeared on the 2004 ITV reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time, in which former pop stars performed their biggest hit along with a cover version. Pérez stepped away from the band after being diagnosed with arthritis in 2008 and was replaced by Cristina Sevilla, who broke the news of Mendiola's death on Saturday. "My dear Maria, I do not have the words," she wrote on Baccara's Instagram page. "I can only tell you what I had the opportunity to say so many times in life... I love you."

Mendiola's family also released a statement that said: "She will always be remembered for her love, dedication and respect for the world of music and interpretation. We will always remember her smile."

On behalf of the Luv' fan community, we would like to express our condolences. We will never forget Maria's talent and music. Thank you for the wonderful years!

Source: Baccara Official (Instagram and Facebook), BBC, The Guardian, Rolling Stone Germany...