35 years ago.....December 1980: Luv' at a complete standstill

1980 was a year of transition for Luv' (see Chapter IV of the biography). After they won a Conamus Export award for being the best selling Dutch recording act abroad, they scored two hit singles on the charts: "Ann-Maria" and "One More Little Kissy". After their success in several European countries (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark) and overseas (South Africa, Zimbabwe and New Zealand), they started to conquer the French hit parade. In May 1980, they went on a memorable promo tour in Mexico and received a gold record for "Si, Que Si" (the Spanish version of "Ooh, Yes I Do") (see article posted on May 10th, 2015). On this occasion, Patty Brard met Italian record producer and music publisher Carlo Nasi (heir to the FIAT empire). She immediately fell in love with him. In July, the enfant terrible of Luv' left the group. Unexpectedly, she escaped from Holland to go to Los Angeles where Carlo lived (see article posted on August 22nd, 2015). Patty's departure from Luv' had a bad impact on the group's career: the ladies had big plans in the Soviet Union and Japan (see article posted on June 7th, 2015). 

A replacement was rapidly found as Luv' had legal obligations: photo model Ria Thielsch became a new member of the trio (see article posted on October 8th, 2015). Luv's new line-up was popular. "My Number One" was a Top 5 single and their album "Forever Yours" was a big selling record (see articles posted on November 17th and on December 13th, 2015). 

On the surface, Luv' seemed to be back in business. However, tensions between the girls appeared rapidly. Marga Scheide became overworked and suffered from a burn-out. On December 18th, 1980 De Telegraaf (Holland's most-read newspaper) published an article about the blonde singer who fainted during the rehearsals for the TV show "Popcorn". She had to be on sick-leave until February 1st, 1981. Once again, Luv' was at a complete standstill. They ladies had to cancel all their TV performances and other activities even though their records did well on the charts. 

Two days later, De Telegraaf published a tell-all interview with Patty. The young woman had been speechless in the media since the summer. She explained why she left Luv'. She gave the impression that she was bitter. She could not stand the fact that she was not free during her Luv' days. This article was illustrated with photos with Carlo Nasi. It was a bad publicity for the group who didn't need that.

On December 23rd, newspaper "Het Vrije Volk" mentioned Patty who attended a showbiz event during which she presented an award to Dutch girl duo "Maywood". 

On December 28th, Patty took everybody unawares when she was invited on "Jaaroverzicht Journaal 1980", a restropective program broadcast on NOS which focused on the greatest media events of 1980. Dressed in a strict trouser suit, she looked different from her usual sexy image. She expressed her feelings in a short interview. She told that she left Luv' without anger. She wished Marga all the best.

Around the same time, José Hoebee appeared alone on "Telebingo" (a TV show hosted by Mies Bouwman on AVRO) to sing "Mother of the hearts", a track from "Forever Yours" penned by Hans van Hemert and dedicated to his mother. Before her performance, she told Mies that Luv' would be performing again after Marga's rest cure. But it didn't happen that way.

José performing "Mother of the Hearts" on Telebingo

1980 ended in a strange way: Luv' was about to vanish. The group didn't survive the next year...

Source: Beeld en Geluid, YouTube, Delpher.nl, Facebook (Co Rnz)