Ottawan came together after producers Daniel Vangarde (from France) and Jean Kluger (from Belgium) met Patrick Jean-Baptiste in a bar in 1979. They had been looking for a singer to front a group they wanted to put together similar to Boney M who were enjoying much success at the time. Patrick was originally from the Caribbean and when the producers decided they wanted a female voice in the group, they chose another person from the Caribbean in the form of Annette Eltice. Vangarde and Kluger had seen some success producing and writing songs for The Gibson Brothers and Sheila B. Devotion. They also had a hand in an album called ‘Thembi’, by a local South African singer called Thembi Zikhali. They would also work with Amii Stewart (who had an SA chart hit with ‘Knock On Wood’). Ottawan’s name allegedly comes from the city Ottawa in Canada. Vangarde and Kluger came up with on a flight home from the city. They would see 4 UK chart hits (best peak of 2 with ‘D.I.S.C.O.’) but would not crack the US ones.
SA Singles Charts 