Patty Brard's latest news: Ranking the Stars, Column about Peter R. de Vries, the diva's weight, Interview in AD, VetGelukkig, Vlog for LINDA.tv

* On August 26th, BNNVARA/NPO 3's panel game "Ranking the Stars" (hosted by Paul de Leeuw and featuring Patty Brard) attracted 402.000 viewers (market share: 8.6%). 

Source: Source: NPO 3, SKO

* Patty's latest column for Weekend magazine deals with Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. The former Luv' singer and De Vries have not been on good terms (see news posted on January 7th, 2017).  Despite tensions, Patty pays tribute to De Vries because of his role in the Nicky Verstappen case. Click here to read the column. 

Peter R. de Vries

The arrest of 55-year-old Dutchman Jos Brech in Barcelona last Sunday could see the most famous unsolved case in Holland brought to a conclusion.

In 1998, 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen was taken from the tent where he was sleeping during a summer camp in Limburg, in the south of the Netherlands. He was sexually abused and his body was found the following day. His family have vowed not to let the crime be forgotten, and the police got a new lead this year after taking DNA samples from 15,000 people in search of a suspect. A match was found with a relative of Brech, who had been missing since April.

The Spanish police located the man close to the town of Castellterçol, around 50 kilometres from Barcelona, “in a tent next to a house that was used as a kind of commune,” they explained on Monday. Brech was located after a Dutchman recognized him from photos made public by the police in Holland last week. They had spoken several times, and he had no doubt that it was him, officers explained. He was arrested when he went to chop wood, and has since been placed in custody without bail, and has accepted his extradition to Holland.

Brech, who is an expert at survival in hostile environments, has lived in a number of different forests since he went missing. His last known residence was a house in France. He was not located there, but detectives found his belongings and found a DNA match.

Brech was interviewed by the police in 1985 for an alleged sexual assault, but the case went no further. It has now been revealed that he has a history of abusing children. Shortly after the death of Nicky Verstappen, he was seen near where the body was found.

Three years later, Brech admitted that he had been treated “for having committed sexual abuses.” In 2002, he left the Boy Scouts, where he had been working. He also worked in a kindergarten.

The Nicky Verstappen case has been kept in the headlines thanks to the work of Peter R. Vries who regularly mentioned the crime on his TV show. “Without his help, we never would have got this far,” the victim’s mother said. “He has been a huge support for us and he has always been there, even during vacations.”

The Dutch police have requested that their Spanish colleagues hand over the suspect.

Source: Weekend, El Pais, Dutchnews.nl, RTL Boulevard...

* Earlier this week, Patty announced on social media that she lost weight again more than six months after her gastric bypass. Now she weighs 69.8 kilos. The diva will soon reach her ideal weight: 65 kilos. 

RTL Boulevard video

Source: Patty Brard on social media (Instagram, Twitter...), RTL Boulevard...

* Yesterday's edition of Dutch newspaper AD featured an interview with La Brard. The ex-SBS 6 star discussed her participation in panel games and her latest TV projects ("Het Perfecte Plaatje" on RTL 4, "VetGelukkig" on NTR/NPO 3 and a recent pilot she did with Fred van Leer). Click here to read the interview. 

Source: AD, Mediacourant.nl

* Earlier this week, the broadcast date of the first episode of the NTR/NPO 3's program "VetGelukkig" (hosted by Patty Brard and Diederik Jekel) was announced in the media. This new weekly TV show dealing with weight issues will air on October 30th at 8.25 pm. 

Source: De Telegraaf, Weekend, De Stentor....

* The fourth episode of Patty Brard's vlog for LINDA.tv "Patty op Ibiza" was posted on August 17th and dealt with the favourite hang-outs for celebrities on the Balearic island.

Source: LINDA.tv, YouTube, Lindanieuws.nl

Hans van Hemert works with a new girl group

Sarah, Yoriko and Corina are Adalyn

Yesterday's edition of De Telegraaf (Holland's most-read newspaper) featured an article about Luv's former producer Hans van Hemert who wrote a song entitled "Hold On" for "Adalyn", a new Dutch girl group from Groningen. 

The members of this new formation are Sarah Djouad (23), Corina Lascher (25) and Yoriko Kruyning (21). Adalyn is the brainchild of Frederik Nelck who is assisted by Shirley Vecht (in charge of the marketing and PR). 

"I was not involved in the creation of this group and the recruitment of the singers. I don't have to think about the fuss due to the launch of such an act. I let other people do it but I wrote the music. It's a nice and fresh act. No piercings, no tattoos. A trio of girls next door. Their first single is called "Hold On" and I even appear in the music video," Hans van Hemert told De Telegraaf.

Other Dutch news websites (AD.nl, NU.nl, DVHN.nl) posted articles about Van Hemert's collaboration with Adalyn. 

It's not the first time that Hans writes tracks for girl groups. In addition to Luv' and Adalyn, he wrote songs for Babe in 1981 as well as Lily Marlene and PattyCash (formed by Patty Brard) in the 1990s, Blinq Inc in 2005 and Camee two years ago (see news posted on June 16th, 2016). 

Two exceptions to the rule are the Dutch #1 hit "Shine Up" (1980) and the Top 10 song "Dance On" by Doris D & The Pins (1981). Though Van Hemert was credited as one of the songwriters with Piet Souer as "Janschen & Janschens", the Maestro was not involved in the production of these tracks. Actually, these songs were entirely written by Souer and Martin Duiser. 

Video about Adalyn and their managers posted on the YouTube channel of RTVOOG

Source: De Telegraaf/Privé, AD.nl, NU.nl, DVHN.nl, RTVOOG, YouTube

35th anniversary of "Hey Now, Watcha Gonna Do"

Photo edited by Marco Rens

35 years ago exactly, on August 27th, 1983, "Hey Now, Watcha Gonna Do" (a single by José Hoebee) entered the Tipparade (a list of songs that didn't chart on the main Dutch Top 40). It was not a triumph like her previous hits "I Will Follow Him" and "Secret Love". However, this record has achieved a cult status among the fans. Let's celebrate the 35th anniversary of this 80s dance-pop track.

History

José proved that she could be very successful as a solo artist after Luv's first break-up in 1981. In the summer of 1982, her cover version of Peggy March's pop classic "I Will Follow Him" was a chart-topper in the Netherlands and Belgium (see article posted on July 3rd, 2017). The follow-up single "Secret Love" (a cover version of a Doris Day's song) was also popular on the singles charts:  #11 on the Dutch Top 40 and #3 on the Flemish BRT Top 30 (see article posted on September 18th, 2017). 

Her next step was to release her first solo album. This LP was produced by Pim Koopman (member of the legendary pop-rock band Kayak and producer of the sister duo Maywood) and was named after the song "The Good Times" (penned by Piet Souer and released as a single - see article posted on December 4th, 2017). 

In February 1983, CNR/Carrere Records put out another single entitled "I Can Hear Music" (taken from José's album). Once again it was a cover version. This track was made famous by The Beach Boys in 1969. José's version peaked at #11 on the Tipparade in Holland. It failed to break into the Dutch Top 40 but it reached #48 on the Nationale Hitparade (currently Single Top 100). Moreover, the single peaked at #13 on the BRT Top 30 and #15 on the Ultratop in Flanders (Belgium). See article posted on March 5th, 2018. 

Photo montage by Marco Rens

On August 17th, 1983, "Hey Now Watcha Gonna Do" (written and produced by Pim Koopman) came out. Though this uptempo dance-pop song was catchy, it was not popular. It was included on José's CD compilation "Alle Hits & Unieke Bonustracks" in 2005. 

Photography 

Renowned photographer Govert de Roos took a beautiful picture of the singer for the front cover of the single. 

Commercial performance

"Hey Now Watcha Gonna Do" entered the Tipparade at #27 on August 27th, 1983 and later peaked at #6. It stayed 5 weeks in this list of songs that didn't chart on the main hit parade. Info: https://www.top40.nl/jose/hey-now-whatcha-gonna-do-15089

Tracklisting

• A side: Hey Now, Whatcha Gonna Do - 3:09
• B side: Hey Now, Whatcha Gonna Do (Instrumental Version) - 3:09

Credits:

Written, produced and arranged by Pim Koopman for Purple Eye Productions B.V.

Design: Myosotis

Management: Interlinde Management

Photography By Govert de Roos

Styling: In Wear

Makeup: Frans Sam

TV performances

José performed the song twice on television:

Zomerhits 1983 on TROS - broadcast date: September 1st, 1983

Nederland Muziekland on Veronica - broadcast date: September 4th, 1983

Cover version

A Norwegian singer named Kate covered the song in her language in 1984. Her version was entitled "Hjelp meg" and was released by Arco Records. 

Source: Pimkoopman.nl, Top40.nl, Beeld en Geluid, Marco Rens, Jos Theuns

Patty shows off her body in a black swimsuit!!!

Earlier this week, Patty Brard posted on Instagram a picture of herself in a black swimsuit. The diva wants to show her followers the results of her impressive weight loss after her gastric bypass. The former Luv' singer now weighs 70 kilos. She wants to lose 5 kilos to achieve her goal. 

Source: Patty Brard's instagram account

Patty's column about Rossana Kluivert

Patrick & Rossana Kluivert

Patty Brard's latest column for Weekend magazine deals with Rossana Kluivert, wife of Dutch former footballer Patrick Kluivert and mother of Shane (a sensation on social media who plays for the FC Barcelona Alevin – the club’s Under-11s). 

Rossana is a friend of Patty and suffers from a breast cancer. Despite her illness, she remains active and is currently busy with " Rossana Kluivert On A Mission", a TV program for TLC which features her activities at the Kluivert dog rescue center on Curaçao. 

Click here to visit the website of Rossana's dog rescue center.

Click here to read Patty's column.

Source: Weekend

Patty Brard's reaction to Eric Peute's death

Patty Brard & Eric Peute

Earlier this week, the death of Patty Brard's former partner Eric Peute was announced in the Dutch media. In response to this news, the diva posted on social media a picture that said "Karma has no deadline" to tell that Eric died because of his bad actions and that she didn't miss him. This picture was rapidly removed.

In the early 1990s, Patty and Eric became romantically involved. They settled down in a luxury house on the Javastraat, a chic street in The Hague, Netherlands and lived the high life. In 1992, they launched a glossy magazine entitled "Hello" (later renamed "Brard"). Due to the flop of this publication and bad investments, Patty went bankrupt in December 1993. She found out that she was liable for all the debts the couple had because all the business contracts mentioned her name. La Brard was obliged to auction all her possessions in March 1994. It took her ten years to recover. The former Luv' singer has often discussed this bad situation in interviews in the press and on TV programs. Recently, she talked about it on RTL 5's show "BN'ers In Therapie" (see news posted on June 1st, 2018). 

Yesterday's edition of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf featured an article about Patty's reaction to Eric's death. 

Other articles about this issue were published in the press or posted on Dutch news sites (De Stentor, Eindhovens Dagblad, AD, Shownieuws...). 

After this bankruptcy, Patty rapidly bounced back thanks to her hard work on television and the comebacks she did with Luv'. However, Eric spent a miserable life. He lived for several years in France where he had judicial troubles because of many swindle activities. In his final months, he worked in an art and antique shop in The Hague.

Source: Martin Vink, Marco Rens, Patty Brard on social media, De Telegraaf/Privé, AD, RTL Boulevard, Shownieuws...

Ria's birthday

Photo by Marco Rens

Today Ria Thielsch celebrates her birthday!!! As we say in Dutch: "Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!". 

Ria can be proud of her life and achievements. This happy mother and grandmother started her career as a photo model in the late 1960s. She modelled until the early 1990s and remained active in the fashion industry until 2015.

In 1980, she replaced Patty Brard and was immediately accepted by the fans. She was busy with Luv' for several months until the group disbanded in March 1981.

Since 2016, she has been performing with Marga Scheide and José Hoebee again.

Jose @ Vlegeldag Bennekom

Yesterday, José Hoebee gave a solo performance during the "Vlegeldag Bennekom", an event in Bennekom, Netherlands. Other singers (including José's friend Ramon Beense) performed.

I Will Follow Him (Video by David Hay Gibson)

Ramon Beense & José Hoebee (photo by David Hay Gibson)

Photo by Dennis van Korven

Photo by Vlegeldag Bennekom (Facebook)

Photo by Jacky van Caem-Jense (Facebook)

Source: José Hoebee's fan page (Facebook)

With Luv': 40th anniversary

40 years ago, Luv's first album, entitled "With Luv'", was released. It later became a big selling record in the Netherlands and the neighbouring countries. This release was a milestone in the ladies' career and achieved cult status among the fans. 

History

1978 was a special year for the girls. "U.O.Me" was their breakthrough in their homeland. The follow-up single "You're the Greatest Lover" was a bigger success: this million seller hit the number one spot in some European territories and even charted in South Africa (see article posted on July 29th, 2018). 

Luv's triumph happened in a special context. On August 3rd, 1978, De Telegraaf, Holland's most-read newspaper, published an article about the new playlist of AVRO/Hilversum 3. It was decided that the influential radio station stopped the broadcast of its "Radio and TV tip" and would play less commercial songs. This drastic change was at first bad news for Luv'. 

De Telegraaf - August 3rd, 1978

A song chosen as a "tip" was played in heavy rotation on Hilversum 3 so there was a high probability that it would become a hit single. In February 1978, "U.O.Me" took advantage of this policy and was a Dutch Top 3 hit (see news posted on February 12th, 1978). The Phonogram radio pluggers hoped that the same thing would happen with "You're the Greatest Lover" but it didn't. Fortunately, this bad situation was rapidly forgotten and Greatest Lover became a #1 hit.

The next step for Luv' was to put out a full-length album. The trio's first LP was released by Philips/Phonogram in late August 1978. The production of this opus was supervised by Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer who wrote all the songs under the pseudonym "Janschen & Janschens", with the exception of "Don Juanito de Carnaval" (the cover version of "A far l'amore comincia tu", the 1977 hit of Raffaella Carrà). "With Luv'" was a perfect blend of ABBA-esque sounds (My Man, Dream Dream), Latin American and Spanish orchestrations (U.O.Me, You're the Greatest Lover, Don Juanito de Carnaval), Disco (Everybody's Shaking Hands On Broadway), Pop music (Who Do You Wanna Be) and Soft Rock (Get Ready). 

Photography

One important aspect of the record was its iconic front and back covers with the three sexy singers posing at the Gran Canaria airport. The pictures were taken by Claude Vanheye. This artist had already photographed the "crème de la crème" of the 1960s and 1970s: Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Iggy Pop...

Ad published in the press to promote "With Luv'"

Release and distribution

                          Patty, Marga and José at the release party of "With Luv'                                                   

The album release party took place at the Hilversum Airport on August 21st, 1978. This event was combined with the presentation of gold records for Conquistador (a group from Hans van Hemert's artist roster). It generated publicity in the media. 

 

Article published in Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (August 23. 1978) 

Limburgs Dagblad - August 23rd, 1978

With Luv' came out in various editions - all depending on which countries the release took place. Philips/Phonogram licensed the rights for the record to various labels around the world (Carrere Records in Germany, PGB RTB in Yugoslavia, Mercury Records in Canada...).

Some pressings of the album included "Trojan Horse" instead of "Don Juanito de Carnaval". 

To know details about the release of "With Luv": click here

Back cover (original Dutch version)

German edition

German pressing

French edition

Canadian edition

Spanish edition (including "Tu eres mi mejor amante" - Spanish version of "The Greatest Lover")

Australian edition

Korean pressing (front cover)

Korean pressing (back cover)

Zimbabwean pressing

Colombian edition (back cover)

Re-issues

Philips Records re-issued the LP in 1980 after the trio left the label and was under contract with CNR/Carrere Records. This pressing was part of the "Succes series", a re-issue of popular albums from the Philips back catalogue.

1980 re-issue (Succes series)

With Luv' was digitally remastered and reissued in 2006 as part of the "Completely In Luv'" box set with the same track listing and three bonus tracks: 

• "Don't Let Me Down" (Janschen & Janschens) – 2:37                                                    B-side of "My Man"

• "Eres Mi Mejor Amante" (Alfred Garrido, Janschen & Janschens) – 2:50                        Spanish version of "You're the Greatest Lover".

• "All You Need Is Luv' Jingle" (Janschen & Janschens) – 0:12

Tracklisting

A Side:

• "You're the Greatest Lover" (Janschen & Janschens) - 2:50
• "Who Do You Wanna Be" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:44
• "My Man" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:05
• "Sugar Babe" (Janschen & Janschens) - 2:49
• "Don Juanito De Carnaval" (Daniële Pace, Franco Bracardi, Gianni Boncompagni, Janschen & Janschens) - 3:09
• "Life Is On My Side" (Janschen & Janschens) - 2:38

B Side:

• "U.O.Me (Welcome To Waldolala)" (Janschen & Janschens) - 2:55
• "Dream, Dream" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:30
• "Oh, Get Ready" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:16
• "Louis, Je t'Adore" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:40
• "Everybody's Shaking Hands On Braodway" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:27
• "Hang On" (Janschen & Janschens) - 3:07

Note: "Don Juanito de Carnaval" was replaced by "Trojan Horse" on some pressings.

Album credits

Luv': 

José Hoebee - vocals

Marga Scheide - vocals

Patty Brard - vocals

Additional personnel:

Ernö Olah & Metropole Orkest - strings

Producer: Hans van Hemert

Arranger/conductor: Piet Souer

Photography: Claude Vanheye

Design: Jan H. van Uden

Art Direction: Clouds Studio

Commercial response and chart performance

As a manufactured pop formation which targeted youngsters, Luv' was more successful on the singles charts than on the albums charts. Indeed, 7" singles were popular among teenagers in the 1970s. With Luv' entered the Dutch charts on September 2nd, 1978. It later peaked at #6 on the LP Top 50 and #8 on the Nationale Hitparade Top 50 in the Netherlands, #15 on the Austrian Alben Top 25, #11 on the Swiss Musikmarkt album chart and #9 on the Danish chart (BT Hitlisten). The LP was a minor hit in Germany where it reached the 50th position. The album eventually turned gold and platinum in Holland (100.000 copies) and silver in Denmark (25.000 copies). 

Clipping from November 1978

Gold record for With Luv' in the Netherlands (50.000 copies - November 1978)

Platinum certification for With Luv' in the Netherlands - 100.000 copies (1979)

Clipping from Billboard Magazine (August 1979)

Newspaper clipping from Denmark (1979 - With Luv' silver certification) 

Source: Wikipedia, Discogs.com, Dutchcharts.nl, Austriancharts.nl, Charts.de, Delpher.nl...

Bibliography:
Albumdossier 1969-1972 by Johan van Slooten, publisher: Becht's Uitgevers
The Story of Luv' by Peter Boonstra