Jahloul “Chico” Bouchikhi formed Chico & the Gypsies in 1992 after he left the band Gipsy Kings, who enjoyed an international breakthrough when they recorded the song ‘Bamboleo’.
With his new band he continued to have success, mainly in France. Their first album ‘Tengo Tengo’ (1992) did not chart, but the next, ‘Vagabundo’ (39) reached number 39. The albums ‘Nomade’ (1998), ‘Bamboleo’ (2003) and ‘Disque d’Or’ (2004) did not chart, but in 2005 the album ‘Freedom’ reached number 12 in the French albums chart. After the relatively minor success of ‘Suerte’ (number 43 in 2008), ‘Chantent Charles Aznavour’ (number 78 in 2011), they scored again with ‘Chico & the Gypsies & Friends’ in 2012, reaching number 8 in France, and, for the first time, number 20 in the Belgian (French-speaking) chart.
In June 2014, they released the album ‘Chico & the Gypsies & International Friends’, featuring duets with various artists including Kim. She sings on the track Las Cartas, which is an adaptation of Sting’s 1993 song ‘Shape Of My Heart’. The album reached number 60 in the French albums chart.
The albums ‘Color 80’s’ and ‘Color 80’s vol. 2’, both released in 2016, reach number 9 and 47 respectively in France. Their biggest success to date followed in 2018 with the album ‘Mi Corazón’, which peaked at number 4 in 2018.