From "1, 2, 3...Bananas" to Vinylvreter Show (1982 - 2022)
Marga Scheide gave a farewell performance at CC De Spil in Roeselare, Belgium, as part of Piv Huluv's Vinylvreter Show on April 15th. The blonde and charismatic singer wanted a discreet artistic farewell without a lot of fanfare.
On behalf of Official Luv' and the fans, we want to thank Marga for all the beautiful moments and the good music she brought us.
Pictures and videos of this unique moment were posted on Facebook.
Photos and videos by Chris Dekimpe for Official Luv', Piv Huvluv, Michiel Gunning, Marga Scheide and The Music Office BV:
Marga's final performance marked the end of her music career. The blonde singer got into the record industry with Patty Brard and José Hoebee in late 1976 as a member of the legendary Dutch girl group Luv'. The ladies scored hit after hit between 1977 and 1981 in the Netherlands and sixteen other countries. After Luv's first break-up in 1981, the group went through line-up changes. Marga took part in all the Luv's incarnations and reunions between 1989 and 2020.
Before Luv', Marga was a sought-after photo model and took part in many beauty pageants (including Miss Holland 1972 and Miss Holland 1977, where she was the second runner-up).
After Patty Brard and José Hoebee went solo in 1981, Marga was the last to try her luck musically outside of Luv' in September 1982.
On May 28th, 1982, the Dutch newspaper Limburgsch Dagblad published an article about Marga. The beautiful blonde (who was the partner of TV mogul John de Mol) revealed that she wanted to sing again but preferred to do it with a group.
Limburgsch Dagblad - May 28th, 1982
Click here to read the article online
In August 1982, journalist Henk van der Meyden covered for De Telegraaf the 60th birthday party of Dutch comedian Jan Blaaser that Marga and other celebrities attended. Van der Meyden wrote that "in late September, a solo single of Marga with a backing group would come out".
De Telegraaf - August 17th, 1982
Click here to read the article online
In its edition of September 13th, 1982, De Telegraaf gave more details about her music project. "Former Luv' singer Marga Scheide is busy again. Last weekend, she recorded a new single with Piet Souer. Marga is the only Luv' singer who hasn't sung yet. Whereas Patty and José started with solo careers, Marga doesn't sing alone. She performs with the beautiful Deuce twin sisters. A female trio. "But it's not a new Luv', according to Marga's partner John de Mol. Deuce sing the backup vocals. Marga doesn't want to sing on her own," Henk van der Meyden wrote.
De Telegraaf - September 13th, 1982
Click here to read the article online
Shortly afterwards, Polydor put out "One, Two, Three...Bananas" by Marga & Deuce. Piet Souer (who co-wrote Luv' hits with Hans van Hemert) penned the song and produced it.
Marga & Deuce performed their track on Veronica's iconic TV show "Nederland Muziekland":
Article published in Hitkrant, 1982
Unfortunately, Marga & Deuce's song didn't chart. Later it achieved cult status among the Luv' fans. "One, Two, Three...Bananas" appeared as a bonus track on the double CD compilation "25 Jaar Na Waldolala" (which celebrated the 25th anniversary of Luv's breakthrough hit "U.O.Me" in 2003).
Marga's partnership with Deuce was short-lived. On February 23rd, 1983, the Horsmeier sisters took part in the Nationaal Songfestival (Dutch preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest), which meant the end of their collaboration with Marga.
For her next record, Marga wanted to pay tribute to America's most successful girl group, "The Supremes", fronted by Diana Ross. In late 1983, she teamed up with Jacques Zwart (former member of the rock bands Het and Amsterdam as well as a sought-after producer (Albert West, Gerard de Vries, Mariska Veres, Dennis Christian, Teach-In, Dee Dee, Debbie...). Jacques produced a potpourri of The Supremes hits sung by Marga (Love Child, My World Is Empty Without You, Where Did Our Love Go, I Hear A Symphony and Baby Love). The medley entitled "Love Symphony" was released by Carrere Records in the Netherlands in November 1983.
Love Symphony by Marga - front cover (1983)
On December 2nd, 1983, Marga sang "Love Symphony" on VARA's TV program "Vijf Tegen Vijf".
Dutch radio stations seemed to boycott ''Love Symphony". On December 10th, 1983, the newspaper "Het Vrije Volk" published an article entitled "DJ don't play Marga".
Het Vrije Volk - December 10th, 1983
Click here to read article online
Though Marga's single didn't enter the charts in her homeland, it was licensed to Starborn Records in the USA in 1984. "Love Symphony" got airplay on Black American radio stations. By incorporating R&B infused beats in the music and not including her image on the cover artwork, marketing for the song gave the impression of Marga as a black artist in Uncle Sam's country. That impression did not last long as the singer was asked to appear in a music video to promote her song. It caused the immediate end of the project in America because the performing artist was "as blond as the Dutch dunes", which was not suitable for the R&B stations that targeted a black audience at the time.
American pressing of Love Symphony by Marga (1984)
Het Vrije Volk - September 8th, 1984
Click here to read the article online:
After promoting this track, Marga broke up with John de Mol. She and Jacques Zwart became romantically involved.
"Love Symphony" appeared on Luv's double CD compilation "25 Jaar Na Waldolala" as a bonus track in 2003.
In March 1985, TROS/Nederland 2 broadcast "ABBAcadabra", a TV musical based on songs by the Swedish pop group "ABBA". Marga was part of the cast with other Dutch celebrities (including José, Ron Brandsteder, Benny Neyman and Bonnie St. Claire).
The cast of ABBAcadabra (1985)
A few months later, Marga put out her next solo single, a Motown-influenced track entitled "Love Again", produced by Jacques Zwart. The September 9th, 1985 edition of De Telegraaf featured an article about Marga discussing this record. But Henk van der Meyden mistook the title of the record ("Love Again") for the title of the previous single ("Love Symphony").
De Telegraaf - September 9th, 1985
Click here to read the article online
Despite Jacques Zwart's positive input, "Love Again" was not a hit single.
1986 saw the release of Marga's fourth single, a summer song entitled "I'll Sing You A Song (He-Ho)". It was her last attempt to achieve solo success, but this record missed the Top 40.
I'll Sing You A Song (He-Ho) by Marga - front cover (1986)
I'll Sing You A Song (He-Ho) by Marga - 1986
Flemish teen magazine Joepie published a short article about Marga's final single and indicated the wrong title for the song ("Shame On You" instead of "I'll Sing You A Song").
Joepie - April 13th, 1986
Marga realized in the following years that she could only be musically popular as a Luv' singer. In 1989, she trademarked the group's name and took part in all the trio's line-ups and comebacks until Luv's final dissolution in February 2020. In 1992, she was briefly involved in the musical "Rockstar" with fellow singer Lisa Boray.
From October 2020 to April 2022, Marga appeared as a guest artist for a limited number of performances of Flemish comedian Piv Huvluv as part of his Vinylvreter tour.
The October 16th, 2020 edition of Nieuws WTV (TV news on the Flemish channel Focus-WTV) featured an item about Piv Huvluv & Marga's nostalgic show.
The songstress announced that she retired from stage performing in the March 24th, 2022 edition of De Telegraaf. "I think now is the time to say goodbye to showbiz. I don't have any plans to do anything else, and there won't be a big farewell. After the show, I'll go to the dressing room, pack my suitcase, and drive home, as I have always done with my partner Michiel in recent years. I won't shed a tear either. I am very discreet. But don't think it doesn't affect me at all. I realize that it's the end of an important chapter of my life," Marga said.
De Telegraaf - March 24th, 2022
Now that Marga is not active as a performing artist anymore, the fans are hoping for the reissue of the singer's material from the 1980s on digital platforms and the shooting of a Luv' biopic. As of today, nothing concrete about these projects has been announced yet.
Source: Luv' blog and site archives, Delpher.nl (newspapers archives), gisterennogvandaag.com, Discogs, YouTube