All About LUV' (past, present, future and more): Luv' biography

1993 - 1996: Luv' Gold - The Reunion

In late 1988 and early 1989, the original Luv' ladies were close to recording new material. But José Hoebee and Patty Brard gave up. Marga Scheide relaunched the group with two other girls (see previous Chapter). This new formation only scored a Top 30 single ( "Welcome To My Party") and a minor hit ("He's My Guy"). Despite their weak chart performance, the trio remained busy on television and on stage. Their Christmas show in Dubai to support Dutch marines in 1990 generated lots of publicity. But the public missed the magic of the initial line-up and in 1992 Marga's Luv' disbanded.

On January 14th, 1993, "De Verleiding" (a TV program on VARA/Nederland 3) featured an interview with Patty, Marga, José and their former producer Hans van Hemert. They discussed the marketing concept of the manufactured band "Luv'" (the dance routines, the image, the cooperation between the members...). Their appearance on television caused a wave of positive reactions.

Luv' on "De Verleiding"

Meanwhile, a nostalgia for the 1970's spread like wildfire in the fashion and record industries. Bell bottoms and platform shoes were trendy again. The music video of Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper" (which premiered in December 1992) was a tribute to the decade of Rock and Disco. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz sounded like an early '70s rock hit. The video of "Be My Baby" by French lolita Vanessa Paradis (also produced by Kravitz) was praised for its replication of the "Hippie" imagery. The "Gold" compilations of ABBA and Boney M. sold million copies worldwide. It was the right moment for Luv' to make a comeback.

Back to the 1970s....

Madonna in "Deeper and Deeper"

Vanessa Paradis in "Be My Baby"

ABBA

Boney M.

José's husband, record producer Will Hoebee had a wonderful idea: why not put out a "Luv' Gold" CD with the hits of the "1977-1981" period? Arcade Records was interested in the project and signed a deal with the three singers. A "Megamix '93" produced by Dancability (featuring Martin Boer of 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor) was added to the track listing of the anthology and released as a single.

Luv' signing their deal with Arcade Records

Luv' started their promotion campaign on RTL 4's "De Staatsloterijshow" to perform "Megamix '93" on April 20th. It was a highly covered event.

A week later, the ladies gave a memorable performance at Amsterdam's iconic gay club "de It". They were chauffeured by limousine to the famous disco like real stars. Many enthusiastic fans attended the show as well as Dutch celebrities (including Gordon, Anita Meijer, Bonnie St. Claire, Saskia & Serge, Gerard Joling and the cast of "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden" soap opera). TV personality and comedian Paul de Leeuw gave the group the first copy of their new CD. Luv' was back for good!!!

Luv's show at De iT

Luv' & Paul de Leeuw

To watch the video of Luv's performance at De iT, click here

Shortly after this flamboyant show, another "Luv' Gold" release party took place in Belgium. Patty, José and Marga received the first Flemish copy of their album from Koen Wouters (lead singer of the Pop-rock band "Clouseau").

Luv' and Koen Wouters of Clouseau

On May 15th, Luv' entered the charts with their long-awaited compilation (which later peaked at #9 on the Mega Album Top 100 and #14 on the Album Top 100) and "Megamix '93" (which reached #17 on the Mega Top 50 and #23 on the Dutch Top 40). Luv's CD spent 18 weeks on the hit parade - a respectable result for a 1970s pop act whose original formation had not scored a hit since 1980.

To watch the TV commercial for "Luv' Gold", click here

Luv's summer agenda was hectic. The girls toured the club circuit in Holland and Flanders. They appeared on three shows on Veronica channel: "Nederland Muziekland" (on July 3rd) to perform their "Megamix", "Discover the World with Luv" (a TV special taped on the British Virgin Islands during the Peter Stuyvesant Windsurf Tour which aired on July 6th) and "Hollandse Hits Festival" (with a live performance of a medley of Dutch songs).

Luv' backstage at "Muziekland Nederland"

Discover the World with Luv' (Veronica Special - July 1993)

Luv' at Veronica's Hollandse Hit Festival

The girls also went on a promo tour through German-speaking countries and Denmark.

Luv' singing "Trojan Horse" on German television

To listen to an interview with Luv' on the Swiss radio, click here (part 1) and here (part 2).

In order to capitalize on Luv's renaissance, Ultrapop/Edel Music released a '93 remix of a "Dance-medley" (originally performed by the 1989 line-up). This single only came out in Germany, Switzerland and Austria but failed to break into the charts because it was not supported by the real Luv'.

Before Christmas 1993, terrible news occurred and overshadowed the trio's revival: Patty went bankrupt due to bad management of her magazine "Hello" she had launched with her partner Eric Peute. Misled by her lover, the diva was obliged to auction all her possessions in late March 1994 and lost everything. This tragedy hit the headlines. Even the honourable NOS Journaal (Holland's equivalent for BBC News) covered this catastrophe.

Luv' in 1994 (photo credit: Arnold Kroone/Martin Vink)

Despite this misfortune, Luv' decided to record new material and released the "All You Need Is Luv" album. Experienced producers worked on the project: Piet Souer and Martin Duiser assisted by Koen van Baal supervised the recording sessions. Souer is familiar to the group's public as Hans van Hemert and he wrote the whole Luv' repertoire in their heyday. Duiser was an acclaimed artist as he was involved in the world-famous Stars on 45 productions. Souer and Duiser had already teamed up in the 1980s to produce popular Dutch artists (including Anita Meyer). Keyboard player Koen van Baal had a career as an arranger and a session musician (for successful acts like German band Scorpions and Marco Borsato). "All You Need Is Luv'" consisted of thirteen tracks recorded in the Bolland studios (owned by the duo Bolland & Bolland) in Blaricum. Luv' covered "All You Need Is Love" (originally performed by The Beatles) in a reggae-oriented tempo. Some songs were rendered in a Euro-dance style: "Don't Stop Now", "One More Night", "I Cried You Outta My Heart" and "Let's Go To The Paradise Of Love". Another track ("Your Love") had a Contemporary R&B influence. Other songs (including "Bad Reputation" and "Big Time Spender") had Pop rock elements. "No Johnny No Can Do" was an attempt to pay tribute to the camp and Latino style of Luv's debut. The album was released by Roman Disc and only available in Kruidvat shops (a chain of drugstores). Because of this limited distribution, the CD did not enter the album charts.

All You Need Is Luv' was reissued in 1995 and re-packaged as "One More Night" by Rondo Music/Pink Records. At that time, the group performed sporadically.

Patty was the Luv' girl who stayed the most in the spotlight thanks to her TV activities. In order to overcome her financial difficulties, she became a workaholic and hosted a series of programs (Hart van de stad (RTL 4, 1994), Brard Gaat Extreem (RTL 5, 1994) and Onder de B van Brard (RTL 5, 1995).

Patty in the mid 1990s

As for José, she recorded in 1995 a duet with Bonnie St. Claire ('n Engel Als Jij), the Dutch cover version of a Teutonic track ("Ein Engel Wie Du" originally performed by Juliane Werding, Maggie Reilly & Viktor Lazlo).

Bonnie & José: 'n Engel Als Jij

Bonnie & José in 1995

José & Marga in 1994

In late 1996, AT5 (local TV channel from Amsterdam) aired a program called "Terug naar Luv" about the story of the girl group. The trio celebrated its 20th anniversary. The ladies were interviewed as well as their former producers (Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer):

After two public shows in 1996 (De iT on (May 18th) and the Ahoy Rotterdam on (October 20th), Luv' broke up. But the following years the three entertainers would get their names in the papers again. Their story is never-ending...

Luv' at "de iT" (1996)

Backstage at De iT (photo courtesy of Martin Vink)

Performance at The Ahoy in October 1996

Backstage at the Ahoy (Photo courtesy of Martin Vink)

To be continued...
Click here to read the next chapter.

Singles charts (peak positions):

Megamix '93: #23 on the Dutch Top 40 and #17 on the Single Top 100 (Netherlands)

Albums charts (peak positions):

Luv' Gold: #14 on the Album Top 100 and #9 on the Mega Album Top 100 (Netherlands)

Record releases

CD Singles & CD Maxi Singles:

1. Megamix '93

Released by Arcade Records in April 1993

CD Single:

"Megamix '93" (Radio Version) — 2:49

U.O.Me (Waldolala)/Trojan Horse/You're The Greatest Lover/Ooh, Yes I Do

"You're the Greatest Lover 1993" — 3:18

Maxi CD Single:

"Megamix" (Radio Version) — 2:49

U.O.Me (Waldolala)/Trojan Horse/You're The Greatest Lover/Ooh, Yes I Do

"You're the Greatest Lover 1993" — 3:18

"Megamix"

You're The Greatest Lover/Casanova/Ooh, Yes I Do/Trojan Horse/U.O.Me (Waldolala)

"Megamix '93" (Long Version) — 4:21

U.O.Me (Waldolala)/Trojan Horse/You're The Greatest Lover/Ooh, Yes I Do/Casanova

2. LUV Dance-Medley
Released by Ultrapop/Edel Music in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1993

Maxi CD Single:

"LUV Dance-Medley" (Club Edit) — 6:50

Luvely/You're the Greatest Lover/Trojan Horse/Yes I Do/Casanova/U.O.Me

"LUV Dance-Medley" — 3:28

Luvely/You're the Greatest Lover/Trojan Horse/Yes I Do/Casanova

"No Cure No Pay" (1993 version) — 3:21

12" Vinyl Single:

"LUV Dance-Medley" (Club Edit) — 6:50

Luvely/You're the Greatest Lover/Trojan Horse/Yes I Do/Casanova/U.O.Me

"LUV Dance-Medley" — 3:28

Luvely/You're the Greatest Lover/Trojan Horse/Yes I Do/Casanova

"No Cure No Pay" (1993 version) — 3:21

Albums

1. Luv' Gold

Released by Arcade Records in April 1993

Track listing:

"You're the Greatest Lover" - 2:51
"U.O.me (Waldolala)" - 2:58
"Trojan Horse" - 3:25
"My Man - 3:05
"Eeny Meeny Miny Moe - 2:59
"Ooh, Yes I Do" - 2:58
"I Like Sugar Candy Kisses" - 3:36
"Dream, Dream" - 3:30
"One More Little Kissie" - 3:46
"Life Is On My Side" - 2:38
"Ann-Maria - 4:41
"Casanova - 3:51
"I.M.U.R" - 3:36
"Tingalingaling - 2:31
"Boys Goodnight" - 2:39
"Getaway" - 3:04
"Shoes off (Boots on)" - 3:07
"My Number One" - 3:11
"Who Do You Wanna Be" - 3:42
"Megamix '93" - 2:49

All songs written by Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer (aka Janschen & Janschens)

Production:
Hans van Hemert - producer, songwriter (track 1-19)
Martin Boer & Dick Liefting for Dancability Productions - track 20

2. All You Need Is Luv
Released by Roman Disc in 1994

Track listing:

"All You Need Is Love" (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 4:15
"Don't Stop Now" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 3:24
"Everything's Gonna Be Allright" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 4:00
"Shine On" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 3:28
"One More Night" (Koen van Baal) - 3:45
"I Cried You Outta My Heart" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 6:10
"You Love" (Koen van Baal) - 4:23
"Let's Go To The Paradise Of Love" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 4:00
"Bad Reputation" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 3:22
"No Johnny, No Can Do" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 3:38
"Big Time Spender" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 3:00
"Break" (Piet Souer - Martin Duiser) - 4:00
"Medley" (Janschen & Janschens) - 4:00 U.O.Me / You're the Greatest Lover / Casanova / My Number One

Credits:

José Hoebee - vocals
Marga Scheide - vocals
Patty Brard - vocals
Produced by Piet Souer and Martin Duiser
Arranged by Koen van Baal except "Don't Stop Now" and "Big Time Spender" arranged by Piet Souer
Recorded at M.D.P and Bolland Studios, Blaricum, Netherlands.
Mixed by Piet Souer, Martin Duiser and Okkie Huysdens
Cover Design: Henk-Jan Voordes

Re-issue:

All You Need Is Luv was re-issued in 1995 by Rondo/Pink Records with another title (One More Night) and a different cover: