For You by Luv': 30th anniversary

Front cover of "For You"

Photo by Govert de Roos

In November 1989, Luv's mini-album "For You" was released by High Fashion Dance Music/Dureco. It was recorded by the line-up consisting of Marga Scheide (the only original member), Diana van Berlo and Michelle Gold. It included four dance-pop songs released as singles: the chart hit Welcome To My Party (read my article about this track), I Don't Wanna Be Lonely, Girl Like Me and Medley (also entitled Luv Hit-Medley). Let's celebrate the 30th anniversary of For You!!!

History

In the fall of 1989, Luv' made a comeback more than eight years after a first break-up. Original Luv' members José Hoebee and Patty Brard were replaced by Diana van Berlo and British singer Michelle Gold. Marga Scheide (who trademarked the group's name) and her partner, record producer Jacques Zwart (aka E. Mergency) supervised Luv's return.

The release of Luv's single "Welcome To My Party" in early October 1989 was a foretaste of "For You". This song was written by John van Katwijk (who worked previously with Patricia Paay), Marcel Schimscheimer (who collaborated with René Froger) and Ronald Sommer. It was produced by Nigel Wright (an English sought-after professional famous for his productions (including Shakatak, Mirage, Jack Mix and Debbie D) in association with John Smits. Luv' were aiming to match their big Continental European chart success in the late 1970s but they didn't succeed. Welcome To My Party (which sounded like a Stock, Aitken & Waterman single) reached #22 on the Dutch Top 40 and #28 on the Flemish BRT Top 30. 

The next logical step was to put out the six-track mini-album "For You". Nigel Wright was in charge of the production of the CD. Most of the work was done at Wright's Skratch Studios in London while the vocals were recorded at Dureco studio in Weesp, Netherlands. 

For You featured three cover versions:

* No Cure No Pay - a track from Jacques Zwart's back catalogue and originally performed by Dutch singer Florence in 1988. Written and produced by E. Mergency and mixed by Nigel Wright. The original Luv' trio recorded a version of it. After José and Patty left the group, the "new" Luv' re-recorded it. 

* Naughty Boy - originally performed by Italo-house girl group "Macho Gang" in 1988.

* I Don't Wanna Be Lonely - originally performed by R&B and gospel singer Joan Orleans in 1989. A track written by Nigel Stock and produced by Nigel Wright. 

Four songs from For You came out as singles:

- The above-mentioned "Welcome To My Party" in early October 1989 in Benelux.

- I Don't Wanna Be Lonely - released in December 1989 by Dureco in Benelux and in 1990 by Spanish label Clash.

Dutch front cover

Spanish front cover

- Girl Like Me which only came out in Japan in 1990. This track was licensed to Toco/Beaver Records/Alfa International. It was promoted as a Eurobeat song (this style of music was very popular back then on the Asian archipelago). It also was included on Japanese compilations. This strategy to adapt to the Land of the Rising Sun didn't succeed. Nowadays, this single is a rare collector item among Luv's fans.

- Hit-Medley composed from parts of Luv's greatest hits (You're the Greatest Lover, Trojan Horse, Ooh, Yes I Do, Casanova and U.O.Me) re-recorded by Marga, Diana and Michelle. It appears on the B-side of some pressings of "Welcome To My Party" and was licensed to RCA/BMG in Germany in 1990. 

The release of "For You" was announced on the November 11th, 1989 issue of the Pan-European trade magazine "Music & Media":

Another article was published on December 2nd, 1989 in "Music & Media":

Photography

Govert de Roos (who photographed the who's who of Dutch and international pop-rock artists) took beautiful pictures for the album cover. 

Tracklisting

For You - released in November 1989 by  Dureco/High Fashion Dance Music

1. "Welcome to My Party" - 3:00

written by R.Sommer, M. Schimscheimer, J. van Katwijk

2. "Girl Like Me" - 4:12

written by Nigel Stock

3. "I Don't Wanna Be Lonely" - 4:07

written by Nigel Stock

4. "Naughty Boy" - 3:58

written by M. Farina and G. Crivillente

5. "No Cure No Pay" - 3:39

written by E. Mergency 

6. "Medley" (12" Version) - 7:14

written by Janschen & Janschens

To know details about the album: click here

Album credits

Marga Scheide, Diana van Berlo and Michelle Gold - vocals recorded at Dureco Studio in Weesp, Netherlands

Nigel Wright, Nigel Stock, John Smits, E. Mergency - synthesizers, keyboards, sequencing, programming at Skratch Studios in London

Welcome To My Party, Naughty Boy and No Cure No Pay - co-produced by Nigel Wright and John Smits 

Girl Like Me and I Don't Wanna Be Lonely - co-produced by Nigel Wright - arranged by Nigel Stock - engineered by Robin Sellars in London

Medley - co-produced by Margret - arranged by E. Mergency

Design: Bart Falkmann

Photography: Govert de Roos

Back cover of For You

High Fashion/Dureco released a limited edition of For You as a box set including a CD and a cassette: 

Currently, the For You mini-album is available on the major digital platforms (including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, YouTube and Spotify). 

Source: Luv' blog archives, Discogs.com, YouTube, Music & Media archives (https://americanradiohistory.com)