Ria Thielsch on Tempus (Houten FM)

Photos by Vincent Beenhakker

On March 13th, Ria Thielsch gave an interview on Tempus, a radio show hosted by Meester Michel (in association with Alec Boswijk and Tassy) on Houten FM. The ex-Luv' singer discussed her years as a member of Holland's greatest girl group. It's very unusual to listen to the most discreet Luv' lady on the radio. That's why the fans enjoyed this moment.

Click here to listen to the interview with Ria on Tempus.

First, she explained how she became part of Luv'. "I was a model in the 1970s. I loved to dance. A lady working for Joop van den Ende productions discovered me in a disco and asked me if I wanted to join a limbo revue. I performed a lot with this limbo group in Holland and abroad. As we were in Switzerland for a show with other artists, we lunched backstage and the Luv' ladies sat in front of us. I asked a colleague: "Who are they?". "This is Luv', don't you know them?" she answered. "Oh, I've never heard of them," I replied. I didn't know them and I didn't listen to their music. Then one day, I received a call from their manager, Pim ter Linde, who asked me if I wanted to be part of Luv' because Patty Brard left the group. But he wanted first to test me with the "One More Little Kissy" single in Belgium and Germany. He wanted to make sure the public would accept me. Then when it was sure that Patty would not be back in Luv', I was officially introduced to the fans and the media with the release of the "My Number One" single. It was scary to replace Patty. I didn't know what would happen to me. Fortunately, our single was a Top 5 hit. It could have been a #1 hit but we had to stop the group because of Marga Scheide's burnout," Ria said.

When asked if the Luv' girls were lipsyncing, Ria answered: "But everybody was lipsyncing on TV at the time". 

Ria also mentioned Luv's comeback in 2016: "We decided to be back in 2016 because of the fans. Our set list on stage consisted of eight songs including U.O.Me which is a very special track". 

When asked if she remembered a special performance with Luv', she replied: "We did a TV show with André van Duin. We sang "My Number One" and wore yellow outfits. After our performance, André told the audience: "Well now the canaries have to go back to their cage!". It was so funny!"

Moreover, Ria talked about her career as a model: "I was seventeen. I didn't want to work in an office. My oldest sister was already a model. I discovered the fashion industry through her". 

Ria also discussed two singles by Luv'. Here's what she told about "Billy The Kid": "Fans always asked me why we didn't release it as a single. That's why I want to play it on this program". As for "Tingalingaling", she had a funny anecdote about it: "This single was the last one I did with Luv'. We sang it on a farewell TV program on a boat in 1981. Unfortunately, the boat was out of service and could not move. However, we performed the song on this still ship".

The playlist of Tempus included:

One More Little Kissy (1980)

My Number One (1980)

Billy The Kid (1980)

U.O.Me (1978)

You're the Greatest Lover (1978)

Tingalingaling (1981)

Source: Houten FM, Facebook (German Luv' Facebook Page, Meester Michel, Ria Thielsch)