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