mardi 21 octobre 2014

Welcome To My Party: 25th anniversary

Luv' anno 1989: Diana van Berlo, Marga Scheide & Michelle Gold

25 years ago, on October 21st, 1989, Luv's single "Welcome to my party" entered the Dutch charts. This song did not feature the vocals of José Hoebee and Patty Brard. It was actually performed by the line-up consisting of Marga Scheide (the only original member of Luv') and two other girls: Diana van Berlo and Michelle Gold.

History

In late October 1988, José, Marga and Patty reunited seven years after the first break-up of the trio for a performance on a charity TV show ("Samen") hosted by Mies Bouwman (see Chapter VI of the biography). The ladies took the public and the media by surprise as they had not been on speaking terms for years. Because of many enthusiastic reactions, Luv' planned to record new material. British hit machine "Stock-Aitken & Waterman" (whose artist roster included Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Jason Donova, Mel & Kim and Bananarama) were rumoured to produce an album for Luv'. Unfortunately, this project never saw the light of day. Moreover, José and Patty were not interested in a comeback. 


Luv' on Samen (1988)

Marga (who held the copyright on the group's name and logo) wanted to resurrect Luv'. She recruited two other singers: 23-year-old Diana van Berlo (from Helmond, NL) and 28-year-old Michelle Gold (from London, UK). 

Diana was an experienced vocalist as she had already performed under the stage name "Sharon Vice". 

Diana van Berlo a.k.a Sharon Vice (1988)


Michelle had an impressive career in the music business before joining Luv'. She had been a background singer of James Ingram, Grover Washington jr, Nik Kershaw, Helen Terry (of Culture Club), Princess, Evelyn "Champagne" King and Run DMC. She released a couple of solo records in the mid-1980s.

Front cover of "Oh Suzy" by Michelle Gold (1986)


With the help from Marga's partner Jacques Zwart (a.k.a E. Mergency), a new repertoire (highly inspired by the Dance-pop sound of PWLwas chosen. English producer Nigel Wright was hired to supervise the recording session. This former member of Shakatak was a veteran of the music scene thanks to the hit records he produced for MirageImagination and numerous bands.



Under Wright's guidance, Luv' recorded "Welcome to my party" which sounded like a Stock-Aitken & Waterman production. Dureco/High Fashion Music decided to release it as a single to mark the return of Luv'. The track did not achieve the success of Luv's classic hits from the late 1970s but kept the girls busy. They promoted their record in the media, often performed on TV and toured the club circuit. 



Photo source: Siegfried Stelte

Luv' and the Dureco Team at a music trade fair in Hilversum (1989)


Chart performance

"Welcome to my party" peaked at #22 on the Dutch Top 40 and #19 on the Nationale Hitparade in the Netherlands. It reached the 28th position on the BRT Top 30 in Belgium.



Luv' on "Grote Club Show" (TROS, 1989)


"B.O.O.S" (Veronica, November 1st, 1989)




Track listing and release:

Welcome To My Party
Released by High Fashion Dance Music / Dureco in September 1989

7" vinyl single:
  • A side: Welcome To My Party (J.v. Katwijk, M. Schimscheimer, R. Sommer) - 3:00
  • B side: No Cure No Pay (E. Mergency) - 3:39

Front cover of "Welcome to my party"

12" vinyl single:

  • A side:                                                                                               
Welcome To My Party (Party House Mix) - 6:01                                                                 Welcome To My Party (Acapella) - 1:32
  • B side:                                                                                                      
Hit-Medley (Greatest Lover/Trojan Horse/Yes I Do/Casanova /U.O.Me) - 7:14

                                         Welcome To My Party (12" single)

CD Maxi-single: 

  1. Welcome To My Party (J. v. Karwijk, M. Schimscheimer, R. Sommer) - 3:00
  2. Welcome To My Party (12 Inch Version - J. v. Karwijk, M. Schimscheimer, R. Sommer) - 6:21
  3. No Cure No Pay (E. Mergency) - 3:39

Press clippings






* Source: Wikipedia, Discogs.com, Dutchcharts.nl, Beeld en geluid, YouTube...

* Bibliography:
Top 40 Hitdossier 1956-2005 (9e editie) by Johan van Slooten, publ: Gottmer Bech 

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