Wunderbar!!! Viva Germania!!!!

March 2016 saw the reunion of Luv's 1980-1981 line-up (Marga Scheide, José Hoebee and Ria Thielsch). More than one year and a half after their comeback, the ladies haven't performed in Germany yet although they were incredibly popular in Goethe's country between late 1978 and early 1981. Isn't it the perfect time for the group to sing in the Federal Republic again?

Here's a recap of their short and intense heyday in Germany (Luv's biggest export market) but also their legacy nowadays.

Luv' became a household name in the autumn of 1978 in Germany thanks to the success of "You're the Greatest Lover". They were chauffeured in limousines to luxury hotels, graced magazines covers and often performed on TV shows such as "Plattenküche", "ZDF Drehscheibe", "Starparade", "Disco" and "Musikladen" next to super acts like ABBA, Blondie, Boney M. or Village People. 

All You Need Is Luv' (medley) on Musikladen (1979)

"You're the Greatest Lover" (which sold 600.000 units in Germany and went gold) was included in the soundtrack of the Derrick TV series. 

Derrick episode 54 including a scene in a discotheque where "You're the Greatest Lover" was played (1979)

The same song was also used over the opening credits of a Teutonic comedy film "Sunnyboy und Sugarbaby" (aka She's 19 and Ready). 

Another proof of Luv's glory in the Federal Republic was their cameo role in the movie "Cola, Candy, Chocolate" (a.k.a Drei Kesse Bienen auf den Philippinen) in which they performed "Trojan Horse". 

Drei Kesse Bienen auf den Philippinen (featuring Luv' - 1979)

Luv' were not only popular in West Germany but also behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany. In 1977, they went on a promo tour in the German Democratic Republic which was at the time a communist dictatorship linked with the Soviet Union. On June 13th, 1977 they sang their debut single "My Man" and its B-side "Don't Let Me Down" on the East German TV show "Rund". Their classic hits "You're the Greatest Lover" and "Trojan Horse" were widely known in the socialist country. 

My Man on Rund (1977)

Here's what José told American author James Arena for his book "Stars of 80s Dance Pop - The European Edition" published in 2015:

"Germany was a very huge market for us...We appeared on the top television programs there and stayed at the best hotels. I remember we arrived at a hotel and it was crowded with people in the lobby. We all wondered what big celebrity was staying there. Then we saw all the banners for Luv' and realized they were our fans; they were there for us."

In 1993, when Luv's original trio (featuring Patty Brard) reunited to promote their compilation "Luv' Gold" and their "Megamix '93", they performed a couple of times on German TV.

"Heino - die Show" on SAT 1 (1993)

Two years ago, five months before the group's latest reunion, a German talent agency "Wild Heart Management" (whose artist roster includes Maggie Reilly (famous for her 1983 classic pop hit "Moonlight Shadows") announced on its website that Marga Scheide and José Hoebee could be booked as Luv' (without Patty) for performances. To this day, nothing concrete has been decided in Germany for the ladies.

Luv' on the German charts + record sales


According to data compiled by Musikmarkt/Mediacontrol, Luv' scored 8 singles and 2 albums on the German charts.

Singles - peak positions:

• „You're The Greatest Lover“ (1978): #1
• „Trojan Horse“ (1978): #3
• „Casanova“ (1979): #6
• „Eeny Meeny Miny Moe“ (1979): #36 
• „Ooh, Yes I Do“ (1979): #27
• „Ann Maria“ (1980): #37
• „One More Little Kissy“ (1980): #75
• „My Number One“ (1980): #60

Albums - peak positions:

„With Luv'“ (1978): #50

„Lots of Luv'“ (1979): #39

The December 8th, 1979 issue of Billboard magazine (the Bible of the music industry) featured an interesting article which mentioned Luv's record sales in "Deutschland". 

Roba Music was in charge of the publishing of their songs and communicated the record sales of three Luv' singles to the trade magazine:

Casanova (released in April 1979): 300.000 copies

Trojan Horse (released in November 1978): 480.000 copies

You're the Greatest Lover (released in July 1978): 650.000 copies

In a list of the "most popular bands between 1970 and 2000 in FRG", the ladies were ranked #65. In another list of "the greatest acts of the 1970s in FRG", they were ranked #52 (Source: Die Ultimative Charts Show on RTL, Musikmarkt/Mediacontrol).


In late 2016, German broadcaster RBB set up a list of the "30 greatest disco stars from the 1970s". Luv' reached the 21st position. Click here to see the complete list. 

Luv' in the media

The youth, music and tabloid press (including Bravo magazine and Rocky) often put the Luv' in the spotlight.

Press clippings:

Discography

In Germany, an alternate logo of the group (different from the iconic heart-shaped one) appeared on the first singles of the trio. During a brief time (1978-1979), Philips-Phonogram licensed Luv' records to Carrere in the Federal Republic. The German subsidiaries of Phonogram and Carrere put out singles with alternate sleeves. 

Back cover of "With Luv" (the German pressing included "Trojan Horse" which replaced "Don Juanito de Carnaval")

Since 1980, compilations have been specially released for the German market:

With Love From Luv' (Carrere, 1980)

Original Top-Hits (Europa, 1981)

Motive (Philips, 1981)

You're the Greatest LUVer (Mercury/PolyGram, 1998)

Best of LUV (Flex Media, 2007)

Best of LUV (2010 edition) (Weltbild, 2010)

The Best of Luv' (Polydor/Universal Strategic Marketing, 2014)

A collector's item in Luv's discography is the album "My Number One" (a re-issue of "Forever Yours" in 1981):

Cover versions

The ultimate sign of the impact of Luv's music on German pop culture is the impressive number of cover versions of their songs by local singers:

U.O.Me:

• Peter Petrel: Wer hat hier denn wohl wen verführt (1978)

You're the Greatest Lover:

• Ulla Norden: "Wir Sind Verrückt (Wir Beide)" (1978)
• Disco Light Orchestra (1979)
• James Last Orchestra (1979)
• Die Molly Sisters: He, hallo, du bist ein Mann geworden (1979)
• Karl Dall: Hey hallo, ich bin die größte Nummer (1979)
• Kristina Bach: Hey, ich such' hier nicht den größten Lover (1999)
• Loona: Latino Lover (2000)
• Massiv in Mensch (2004)
• Jack Gelee "Ich will mit Dir ein Selfie" (2016)
• Feierwut: "Hey Hallo wir sind heut auf Mallorca" (2016)

Trojan Horse:

• Siw Inger: "Komm und spiel mit mir" (1979)
• Orchester Tony Anderson (1979)
• Disco Light Orchestra (1979)
• The Golden Akkordeon Harmonists (1979)
• Die Molly Sisters: "Im grünen Wald" (East Germany, 1979)
• Luv' Connection: "Trojan Horse" (2003).
• Sheffield Jumpers: "Jump With Me" (2008). 
• Engel & Engel: "So ist die Liebe, mi Amor" (2011)

Casanova:

Kirstin Lill: "Du bist ein Casanova" (1979)

Source: Luv' blog archives, YouTube, Discogs.com