Here is Luv', José & Marga's latest media news:
* On May 6th, German channel RBB reran the August 13th, 1977 episode of the iconic show "Musikladen" featuring Luv' performing their debut single "My Man".
* On May 13th, the music channel 192 TV broadcast the Dutch Top 40 from May 12th, 1979. On this date, Luv's classic hit single "Casanova" peaked at #6 on the Dutch hit parade. Luv's performance of the song on AVRO's TopPop (aired on May 3rd, 1979) was used to illustrate the 192 TV program.
Luv' singing Casanova on AVRO's TopPop (1979)
The Dutch Top 40 on May 12th, 1979, including Casanova by Luv' at #6
The legendary girl group shared the record chart with prestigious acts, including Boney M., Bob Marley, Eruption, Village People, Clout, ABBA, Patrick Hernandez, Gloria Gaynor, Pointer Sisters, Julio Iglesias and Babe.
* Yesterday, AVROTROS/NPO 3 reran the third episode of "Het beste van...de jaren 80", which drew 305.000 viewers (market share: 6.3%). The program reached #24 on SKO's Dag Top 25 (the daily list of the 25 most popular TV shows conceived by Dutch audience measurement company Stichting KijkOnderzoek).
"Het beste van...de jaren 80", initially broadcast on August 24th, 2021, featured several Dutch celebrities who told their memories of the 1980s illustrated with excerpts from music videos of this decade.
One part of the program dealt with Dutch girl groups from this era. It included a clip from Luv's hit "One More Little Kissy" (originally broadcast on July 4th, 1980, as part of the NCRV special "This Is True Luv'").
Radio DJ Erik de Zwart said: "The 1980s was the decade of girl groups. Female groups from abroad were also successful at the time".
Eric de Zwart
Radio DJ Giel Beelen explained: "Luv's secret is that Hans van Hemert wrote good songs for them. His idea was to choose three kinds of girls for everybody".
Giel Beelen
Singer Karin Bloemen told: "It's so wonderful that these girls had such an amazing success. They were three lovely girls".
Karin Bloemen
Other female pop groups were also mentioned: Dolly Dots, Star Sisters, Babe and Frizzle Sizzle.
Click here to watch episode 3 of "Het beste van...de jaren 80".
* The latest issue of Privé magazine features an interview with José Hoebee discussing the Brabantian accent and the use of the hard and soft "G" in Dutch.
The former Luv' lead singer was born in Best, North Brabant, where the soft "G" is used. Dutch people from the Randstad, the wealthiest area of the Netherlands, use the hard "G". Recently, an item about Brabantian people was discussed on Eva Jinek's talk show on RTL 4. When asked if José was angry at Jinek, the ex-Luv' lady answered: "I'm not angry at the presenter herself, but, instead, at one of the items on her show. It dealt with Brabantian people and their accent. According to the talk show, we should all speak Standard Dutch. I don't agree with it. I've been everywhere in the world and never lost my Brabantian accent. Marc-Marie Huijbregts and Frank Lammers, both born in North Brabant, recently appeared on Jinek and used the hard "G". Why? We should not give up the soft "G". I talked about it with Guus Meeuwis. He said about his hard "G": "That's what happens when you've been living in Utrecht for five years!". Nonsense! To me, it's "choed" instead of "goed".
When asked if she was still in contact with the other former Luv' members, José said: "I'm not in touch with Ria Thielsch, Chimène van Oosterhout and Patty Brard. I call Marga Scheide practically every day".
* Yesterday, Corné Klijn and Jan Paparazzi interviewed Marga Scheide on their show, "De Weekendborrel", on AVROTROS/NPO Radio 5. Marga's friends, Vincent de Paauw (purser and vlogger at Transavia), Gerard and Rob accompanied the former photo model and ex-Luv' singer to the NPO studio.
Marga discussed her Luv' years. She told how she became a member of Holland's greatest girl group: "I was a photo model. Piet Souer asked me if I wanted to come to the studio. He wanted me to learn a song which was recorded on a demo tape. In the beginning, I was surprised. I expected another mission. The model agency sent me there. On my way back home, I thought it was a strange situation. I listened to the song "My Man", which was very well recorded by José. I said to myself: "What do they want from me?". But they were looking for a childish and high voice like The Ronettes. One week later, I went to the Phonogram Studio in de Honingstraat in Hilversum. Hans van Hemert was there. They asked me if I had a boyfriend. I didn't like the direction the conversation was taking. So I went away and was sure I would never hear anything from them. But one week later, I returned there. I thought they would choose among the girls who were there. Patty and José were present. I didn't know I was already part of the group. At the end of the evening, I understood I was a member of Luv'. The recruitment took one year".
Marga remembered the group's debut: "Our first single came out. I didn't believe in the potential of the group at the time. I kept on working as a model. I didn't follow the charts. "My Man" reached approximately #14 on the Top 40. But a train was hijacked in De Punt at the time. Because our song was about the railroad, the radio stations banned it. I was sure the group's career was over. Two of three singles later, "You're the Greatest Lover" became a number-one hit. I didn't know it as I was busy with a photo shoot for Foxy Fashion and C&A. Mobile phones didn't exist back then. When I returned home, my mother told me: "Your manager phoned. You have immediately to go to his agency". So I went to the agency where I found out we were #1"..
Here's what Marga explained about Luv's classic hit "Ooh, Yes I Do": "We were in Spain for a TV special. It was fun. Three boys followed us during the special. For "Yes I Do", we were in a church dressing in wedding dresses. It was our best TV show".
Marga cherished Luv's international success: "We were #1 in Mexico and Europe. We were popular in South America, South Africa and Australia, where we couldn't pick up a gold record due to a lack of time. We received a gold record in Mexico. The record executive planned a trip there by Concorde".
Marga mentioned Luv's guest performance at De Toppers mega concerts as one of the best memories of her career. "Before the first Toppers show, René Froger visited me with a camera crew for a TV show. He wanted to perform with Gordon and Gerard Joling. He asked me for advice and wanted to know how to handle a feud between group's members. He invited me to the first Toppers concert. I was impressed by this show. One year later, Luv' performed there".
When asked what the reason for the tensions between the Luv' singers was, Marga answered: "Now the international artists have a manager in each country. Our manager, Pim ter Linde, was in charge of a roster including numerous artists. Saskia & Serge, Lee Towers and many other singers were part of his agency. Pim had to take care of all these acts simultaneously. He didn't have enough time just for us. Things are now more professional. Artists can stop for three months if they are not okay. Our manager hired a private jet with our name on it so we could travel abroad for a TV show and return to Holland in the evening for a stage performance".
Marga talked about the time she went on with Luv' with other girls than Patty and José: "I appreciated that we could sing other songs. It was a challenge. We could present another material and a new sound. We worked very hard. Even if we didn't score a #1 hit, we performed a lot, including abroad. I really enjoyed it".
"José is not well. I'm regularly in touch with her," she confirmed.
Source: RBB, Michael Verkooyen, 192 TV, AVROTROS, NPO 3, SKO, Privé, Facebook (Official Luv', José Hoebee Fan Page), NPO Radio 5