Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 song by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara, released as the first single from their debut album Baccara. Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja [de], and produced by Soja, the song was a hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the United Kingdom, spending a single week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1977.

"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie"
Single by Baccara
from the album Baccara
B-side	"Cara Mia"
Released	April 1977 (West Germany) November 1977 (Spain)
Genre	Eurodisco[1]
Length	4:37 (album version) 3:15 (single version)
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Frank Dostal Rolf Soja
Producer(s)	Rolf Soja
Baccara singles chronology
"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (1977) "Sorry, I'm a Lady" (1977)

Baccara were Spanish flamenco dancers Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola. They were discovered on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands by RCA Records executive Leon Deane, who saw them dancing flamenco and singing traditional songs for tourists and signed them to the label.

Other uses

• Finnish singer Eini [fi; sv] had her first hit in Finland with a Finnish-language version called "Yes sir, alkaa polttaa" in 1978.^[2]
• British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor recorded a cover of the song as a bonus track for her second studio album Shoot from the Hip,^[3] and released it as the B-side of the single "I Won't Change You". This version would be included in the soundtrack of the 2018 Netflix series The House of Flowers.
• Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) performs the song during the closing scene of the 2005 movie Kinky Boots.^[4]
• In 2014, the song was used in a television advertisement in the United Kingdom for Cadbury Dairy Milk.^[5]
• The song was adopted by fans of the Scotland national football team in 2020 following the team's qualification for the UEFA Euro 2020 championships. It had first become notable locally in 2015, due to a stag party video of Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine miming to the song while dressed in drag.^[6] Five years later, after Scotland defeated Serbia to reach their first major tournament since 1998, videos of the players (including Considine) chanting the song in celebration after the match went viral on social media.^[7][8] Following the renewed success of the song, one half of Baccara, María Mendiola, said that she would be happy to re-record the song for the people of Scotland.^[9] Following renewed popularity, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 57 on 20 November 2020.^[10] In June 2021, Scottish DJ George "GBX" Bowie released a new remixed version of the song for Scottish fans to use as an anthem for UEFA Euro 2020. This dance version included new vocals from Baccara^[11] and peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.^[12] The song has since been considered an unofficial anthem of the Scottish national team.^[3]
  • Glaswegian band the Fratellis performed a live version of "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" for their appearance on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on 26 March 2021. The positive response to their version prompted the band to release a recording of their performance of the song as part of the Charity Boogie Bundle, a special edition digital download of their then-latest album Half Drunk Under a Full Moon, with all profits going to the Tartan Army Children's Charity, Soccer Aid and the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund.^[13] The band also announced plans to record a studio version of their cover with new lyrics, which would be released ahead of the Scotland national football team's opening game at Euro 2020 against the Czech Republic on 14 June 2021.^[14] While Mary Dostal and Marie-Luise Soja, widows of the song's writers Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja respectively, endorsed the Fratellis' version of the song and asserted that their late husbands would have also approved,^[13] Baccara vocalist María Mendiola was less keen on it, stating that she felt that they made the song sound more like the James Last Orchestra instead of disco. Having said that, Mendiola still considered the Fratellis "fantastic" and would be happy for their version of the song to be successful.^[15]
• In 2022, clothing chain store H&M used the song in an advertisement.^[16]
• In 2023, It was featured in an episode of The Continental: From the World of John Wick.^{[citation needed]}
• In 2023, it was featured in Sofia Exarchou's feature film Animal.^{[citation needed]}
• In 2023, it featured in the Wicked Little Letters movie trailer for cinema release in 2024.^{[citation needed]}

Track listings

7" single (Europe & US)

1. "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" – 4:28
2. "Cara Mia" – 2:53

12" maxi single (US only)

1. "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" – 6:50
2. "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" – 6:50

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1977–1978) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] 9 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[20] 1 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[21] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[citation needed] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[citation needed] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 1 France (IFOP)[23] 5 Ireland (IRMA)[24] 1 Italy (Musica e dischi)[25] 13 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 33 Norway (VG-lista)[29] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[30] 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[33] 1 West Germany (GfK)[34] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[35] 4 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 8 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 5 West Germany (Official German Charts)[40] 3 Chart (1978) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[41] 35

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[42]	Gold	700,000[43]
Japan	—	750,000[44]
Norway	—	300,000[45]
Sweden	—	100,000[46]
United Kingdom (BPI)[47]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of best-selling singles
• List of best-selling singles by country

References

1. Ross, Gemma. "'YES SIR, I CAN BOOGIE' SINGER MARIA MENDIOLA HAS DIED AGED 69". Mixmag. Retrieved 3 September 2023. The Euro disco anthem fetched a Guinness World Record for the highest-selling female duo record to date selling 16 million copies.
2. "Eini". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
3. Buguel, Safi (14 June 2024). "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie — cheesy Eurodisco hit adopted by Scottish football fans". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
4. "Kinky Boots (12/12) Movie CLIP - Yes Sir I Can Boogie (2005) HD". 28 September 2011 – via YouTube.
5. "Cadbury Dairy Milk – Office". TV Ad Music. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
6. "Andrew Considine: Drag video 'won't faze' Aberdeen defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
7. "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie: Why disco hit is now Scotland's unofficial anthem". BBC News. BBC. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
8. "WATCH: Scotland celebrate Euros qualification to Andy Considine's signature song 'Yes sir, I can boogie'". Evening Express. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
9. "Why is Yes Sir, I Can Boogie heading back to the Official Singles Chart?". www.officialcharts.com.
10. "yes sir i can boogie | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
11. "GBX drops remix of Scotland football anthem 'Yes Sir, I Can Boogie'".
12. "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
13. Brown, Hannah (7 April 2021). "Fratellis say they will donate all profits from a special edition of their new album to Scottish charities and Soccer Aid". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
14. McLean, David (2 April 2021). "Fratellis to unleash Yes Sir, I Can Boogie single ahead of Scotland Euros return". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
15. McLean, David (2 April 2021). "No Sir, You Can't Boogie: Fratellis cover of disco hit 'not my cup of tea', says Baccara singer". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
16. Affatigato, Carlo (5 April 2022). "The song in the new H&M commercial 2022: pure disco energy". Auralcrave. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
17. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 23. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
18. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
19. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
20. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
21. "yes sir, i can boogie - baccara". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
22. Pennanen, Timo (1977). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 9789511210535.
23. "TOP Hebdo". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
24. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Yes Sir I Can Boogie". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
25. Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). Independently Published. ISBN 9781093264906.
26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 30, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
27. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
28. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
29. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". VG-lista.
30. Salaverri, Fernando (September 1977). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
31. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". Singles Top 100.
32. "Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". Swiss Singles Chart.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
34. "Offiziellecharts.de – Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
35. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1977". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
36. "Jaaroverzichten 1977". Ultratop. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
37. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1977". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
38. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1977". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
39. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1977". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
40. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
41. "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
42. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Baccara; 'Yes Sir I Can Boogie')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
43. "Germany" (PDF). Record World. 27 August 1977. p. 99. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
44. Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 432. ISBN 0668064595. It subsequently became No 1 in nine countries including Britain, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and sold over 750,000 in Japan where it was a big disco hit
45. HUltin, Randi (1 October 1977). "From the Music Capitols Around the World - Oslo" (PDF). Billboard. p. 85. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
46. Schulaman, Leif (9 September 1978). "From the Music Capitols Around the World - Stockholm" (PDF). Billboard. p. 61. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
47. "British single certifications – Baccarra – Yes Sir I Can Boogie". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 August 2019.