Luv's biography: from "My Man" to "With Him Tonight" (1976 - 2019)

Montage by Co Rnz

1976: Formation of Luv' (featuring José van de Wijdeven, Marga Scheide and Patty Brard) by Dutch record producers Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer, assisted by manager Han Meijer. 

1977: "My Man" (first single) peaked at #12 in the Netherlands and #10 in Belgium. "Dream, Dream" (second single) flopped. 

1978: In March, the single "U.O.Me" (theme from the Dutch high-rated TV series "Het is weer zo laat!" (aka Waldolala) reached the Top 3 in Benelux and sold 150.000 copies. 

In May, the group chose a new manager: Pim ter Linde who ran Interlinde Management, the House of Dutch Stars (Bonnie St. Claire, Lee Towers, Saskia & Serge, Ciska Peters...).

The follow-up single "You're the Greatest Lover" was the group's international breakthrough in the autumn (#1 in Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, #2 in Austria, #19 in France and #15 in South Africa). This million-seller became Luv's signature song and was certified platinum in Holland and gold in Germany. 

The debut album "With Luv" came out in late August. It went platinum in the Netherlands and reached the silver status in Denmark.

Luv' later conquered the charts with "Trojan Horse" (another million-selling record which hit the number one spot in the Netherlands and Belgium, the Top 5 in German-speaking countries and Denmark, the top 10 in New Zealand and Argentina, the top 20 in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the top 50 in France and Australia as well as the top 100 in Canada). This single went platinum in Holland as well as gold in Belgium and Austria. 

1979:  The singles "Casanova", "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" and "Ooh, Yes I Do" maintained Luv's position as a popular group in the above-mentioned countries. The studio albums "Lots of Luv'" and True Luv' were successful on the charts. The girls kept on collecting gold and platinum records. On December 31st, they received the Conamus Export Prize for being the "best selling Dutch Export act".

1980: Popularity of the singles "Ann-Maria" and "One More Little Kissie". In May, Luv' embarked on a promo tour in Mexico where they received gold records for "Si, Que Si" (the Spanish version of "Ooh, Yes I Do") and the True Luv' album. 

In July, Patty left the group and was replaced by Ria Thielsch.

In the autumn, the renewed trio enjoyed success with the "My Number One" single and the "Forever Yours" album. Before Christmas, the group had to stop its activities due to Marga's burn-out. 

1981: Luv' disbanded in early March. To the public's great surprise, Luv' gave a farewell performance on July 22nd on "Nederland Muziekland" (a TV show on Veronica channel) by singing "Tingalingaling" (which was released as a single). Luv' also appeared at the Efteling theme park during a summer multi-sport event with Dutch celebrities. Then the compilation album "Goodbye Luv" came out.

Montage by Co Rnz

1985: Dutch celebrity gossip magazine Story brought the original trio together for a photo session and an interview.

1988: Luv' reunited for a one-off performance on a TV charity show. They later planned to record a comeback album with British producers "Stock, Aitken & Waterman" (famous for the hits of Bananarama, Mel & Kim, Rick Astley and Kylie Minogue) but this project never saw the light of day.

1989: Marga formed a new Luv' act with two new members: Michelle Gold and Diana van Berlo. This line-up (nicknamed "Marga's Luv" by the fans) scored a moderate hit ("Welcome To My Party": #22 in the Netherlands and #28 in Belgium).  

1990: Michelle left Luv' and was replaced by Carina Lemoine. Although chart success was a distant memory, the ladies toured the club circuit and performed on TV. In December, they entertained the Dutch marines based in Dubai and involved in the Gulf War.

1991: Luv' had a minor hit: "He's My Guy" (#75 on the Dutch Single Top 100).

1992: Marga's Luv' disbanded.

1993: The original Luv' girls (Patty, José and Marga) got together. A compilation (Luv' Gold) was released and peaked at #14 on the Dutch albums chart. It sold 40.000 copies in Benelux. A megamix also came out and reached the 23rd position on the Dutch Top 40. The trio went on a promo tour through Benelux, Germany and Denmark.

1994: Luv's studio album entitled "All You Need Is Luv'" was released and only available in Kruidvat shops (a chain of drugstores).

1994-1996: The group did sporadic gigs and disbanded in late 1996. 

2003: Universal Music put out a double CD compilation (25 Jaar Na Waldolala) to celebrate Luv's 25th anniversary. This anthology featured smash hits, album songs and bonus tracks.

2005: Luv' gave a surprise performance at the 60th birthday party of Hans van Hemert. This event made front-page news in the Netherlands.

2006: The girls reunited once again. A reality TV show (Back In Luv) about their comeback was broadcast on RTL 5 in Holland and on VTM in Flanders. A DVD (also entitled "Back In Luv" and featuring TV archives from the trio's heyday) came out. With the help from the official fan club, Universal Music released "Completely In Luv'", a box set including their entire repertoire from the 1977-1980 period with bonus tracks and remixes.  On May 26th, 27th and 28th 2006, the three singers and Bobby Farrell (of Boney M.) made a guest appearance on the mega shows of De Toppers (a group formed by Gordon, René Froger and Gerard Joling) at the Amsterdam ArenA. In addition to TV performances, Luv' was booked for discos, festivals, private parties and corporate events.

2007-2012: Luv' performed on stage occasionally. On March 12th, 2012 Marga Scheide confirmed the definitive break-up of the group on NOS/Radio 1. The ladies took this decision without anger. They gave their so-called final live performance on August 11th, 2012 at the Dutch Valley Festival in Spaarnwoude, Netherlands. 

2013: Brief reunion of the 1980-1981 lineup (José, Marga and Ria) at a fan club meeting in Eindhoven on May 25th.

2015: Peter Boonstra published the long-awaited photo book entitled "The Story of Luv'" including exclusive pictures and a CD compilation (with their greatest hits as well as remixes of "Trojan Horse" and "Life Is On My Side" by highly acclaimed remixer-producer Matt Pop). Marga and José supported this initiative. 

On May 1st, the press launch of "The Story of Luv" took place at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, NL. The author of the book, José, Marga, Ria, Hans van Hemert and Dutch illusionist Hans Klok (who hosted the event) were present.

One day later, a meet'n greet afternoon with fans combined with a release party was held in the same location. 

Former Luv' singer Patty Brard wanted to ban the book. Shortly afterwards, Peter was obliged to stop the sale of the book due to copyright issues about some photographs. This cruel decision led to a great disappointment and provoked (once again) a feud between Patty and her ex-colleagues.

In late October 2015, the media speculated about a comeback of Luv'. A German talent agency announced on its website that Marga and José could be booked as Luv' for live shows. In interviews, the ladies remained vague about plans to reactivate the group.

2016: On March 16th, 2016, a dream came true when Marga, José and Ria announced officially their comeback in De Telegraaf (Holland's most read newspaper) and its sister magazine Privé. This great news generated publicity in the media (radio interviews, articles in the tabloid press and news websites...). The ladies toured the nostalgia circuit in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) until late 2018.

2017: In July, the ladies celebrated their 40th anniversary with fans in Best, Netherlands.

2019: On January 4th, the group announced an unexpected line-up change in De Telegraaf: media personality Chimène van Oosterhout replaced Ria Thielsch. This surprising news boosted Luv' in the media. In addition to the usual articles in the tabloid press (Privé, Weekend, Story and Party), Luv' appeared on Dutch national television again (RTL Boulevard, Shownieuws, Tijd voor Max, 6 Inside...). 

In May, the Luv' ladies went to Miami, Fl to record new material with producers and sound engineers Keith Morrison and Manuel Garrido-Lecca. Henk Schorel, CEO of the multimedia company "Viva Canal", linked Luv' with a team of talented music professionals. In addition to the recording sessions, Luv' also gave interviews on American channels (CBS,  Azteca 48 WWHB Palm Beach, Beach Channel, Space Coast TV...).

On June 30th, Luv' revealed their Latin pop-reggaeton single entitled "With Him Tonight" at a fan club meeting at the Quatre Bras restaurant in Best, Netherlands. Two days later, the audio of this track was posted on YouTube.