Luv' were a Dutch girl group, most prominently consisting of Patty Brard, J… Read Full Bio ↴Luv' were a Dutch girl group, most prominently consisting of Patty Brard, José Hoebee and Marga Scheide. Luv' was 'Holland's best export act' and thus received the Conamus Export Prize. They are the best-selling Dutch girl group of all time.

In 1976, record producers Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer, assisted by manager Han Meijer, twenty years before the Spice Girls phenomenon, decided to form a girl group, inspired by the German disco trio Silver Convention. They had already recorded the music of a self-penned track ("My Man") and were looking for singers. They eventually recruited José Hoebee, Patty Brard and Marga Scheide.

“My Man” was released as Luv’ their debut single. It became a minor success on the Dutch official Top 40, peaking at #12. The lyrics of this ABBA-esque track dealt with the death of a railroad man. It was a coincidence that around the time of its release, a taking of hostages happened in a train in De Punt in late May and early June 1977.

Van Hemert was then commissioned by VPRO television to write the theme song for the Wim T. Schippers-written TV series Het is weer zo laat! (also known as Waldolala). Luv’ eventually recorded the opening theme “U.O.Me (Welcome to Waldolala)”. It became the first hit single for the girl group, becoming a Top 5-smash in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

In 1978, Luv’ released “You're the Greatest Lover”, which became a major hit throughout Europe, selling over 1 million on the continent. It peaked at Number 1 on the Dutch official Top 40. It also topped the charts in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and other European countries. The follow-up “Trojan Horse” became another hit throughout Europe and the girls’ second Number 1-smash in the Netherlands. Their debut album With Luv’ also became a best-seller across Europe.

In 1979, Luv’ released “Casanova” as the lead single from their sophomore album Lots Of Luv’. It was another worldwide success and their fourth consecutive Top 3-hit in Holland. Some tracks were covered in Spanish. "Eres Mi Mejor Amante" (a.k.a. "You're the Greatest Lover") was a hit in Spain and "Si, Que Si" (a.k.a. "Ooh, Yes I Do") reached gold status in Mexico. Near the end of the year, the girls released their third album True Luv’, which featured the pre-mentioned singles.

In 1978–1979, Luv' was 'Holland's best export act' and received for their entire oeuvre the Export award from Conamus, a foundation dedicated to the promotion and support of Dutch music abroad.

Soon after the release of the "One More Little Kissie" single, Patty Brard left the band in August 1980. She was replaced by a model and limbo dancer from the Ricardo and The Flames revue, Ria Thielsch. Later that year, they released their fourth studio album Forever Yours, which featured the Top 10-hit “My Number One”.

In March 1981, the girls and their team announced their break-up at the time they had planned to promote their recordings in new territories. Near the end of the year, they released their compilation album Goodbye Luv’. José scored a solo Number 1-hit with “I Will Follow” in the following years.

In 1988, the original line-up was reunited for a Dutch TV charity show (Samen) hosted by Mies Bouwman. Luv' later planned to record a comeback album. The British producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman were said to produce this opus. However, nothing materialized. Marga Scheide (only original member) and two other singers, Diana van Berlo and Michelle Gold then formed a new formation in 1989. They scored a minor Top 40-hit with “Welcome to My Party”.

Due to the success of ABBA and Boney M. compilations, the original Luv' girls got together. An anthology CD (Luv' Gold) and a medley single ("Megamix '93") were released in 1993.

In 2005, Luv' made a surprise performance at the 60th birthday of Hans van Hemert. One year later, a reality TV show about their comeback (Back in Luv) was broadcast on RTL 5 (a Dutch TV channel) and on VTM (a Flemish channel). In the later years, concerts were sporadic mainly due to the fact that Patty Brard was a busy TV personality. They gave their final performance on 11 August 2012 in Spaarnwoude at the Dutch Valley Festival.