Ria Thielsch

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Ria Thielsch
Background = khaki
Born = Birth date and age|1951|8|25|mf=y; Manokwari, New Guinea / Indonesia
Birth_name = Ria Thielsch
Origin = Netherlands
Occupation = Model, Singer
Genre = pop
Years_active = 1978 - 1981
Instrument = Singing
Labels = CNR/Carrere Records, Universal Music
Associated_acts = Luv', José Hoebee, Marga Scheide, Hans van Hemert, Piet Souer

Ria Thielsch (born in Manokwari, New Guinea/Indonesia, on August 25, 1951) is an Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) entertainer. She was a model and a member of the girl group Luv' in 1980 and 1981. She was officially introduced to the public with the release of the album Forever Yours (a LP which reached the gold status in the Netherlands) and the single My Number One (a Top 5 single in Benelux).

Early Years

Ria Thielsch started her career as a model in the 1970's. In 1978, she was a limbo dancer and singer of the Ricardo & The Flames group which recorded a single (Trinidad) that was produced by Roy Beltman (who collaborated with the band BZN) and flopped.

Luv'

In August 1980, after a couple of years of mainstream success, the pop trio Luv' experienced trouble as Patty Brard suddenly left the formation. Luv' had already recorded new material for a next album and had legal obligations. Patty was replaced by Ria Thielsch who like her had Indonesian and New Guinean origins. Ria knew Marga Scheide, the blonde singer of Luv', from modeling agencies. Though she made some appearances by performing One More Little Kissie on stage and on TV, she was officially presented to the media when the album Forever Yours and the single My Number One came out. These records were smash hits in Benelux. Then, Luv' was supposed to take part in the Yamaha Music Festival (officially known as the "World Popular Song Festival" and considered as the "Oriental Eurovision") in November 1980 with the song "Be My Lover Tonight" [ [http://home.scarlet.be/~peterg3/Continents&Countries.htm#Netherlands Details about the Netherlands participation in the World Popular Song Festival] ] . Instead of it, Luv' cancelled their participation to this competition and performed in the Musikladen TV show in Germany.
Soon after, Marga Scheide became overworked because Luv' toured extensively Europe. That's why, in early 1981 the ladies stopped their concerts but continued the TV and radio performances. In March, an official statement announced Luv's break-up. The group made a farewell performance later, in August, in the Nederland Muziekland show on Veronica (TV channel) to promote the single Tingalingaling. Finally, CNR/Carrere Records released the compilation Goodbye Luv'.
After Luv', Ria continued her modeling career. In April 2003, she took part with José Hoebee in a Luv' fan club day. Six months later, she attended with José and Hans van Hemert the presentation of the compilation 25 Jaar Na Waldolala.

Discography

Single with Ricardo & The Flames
* "Trinidad" (1979) Singles with Luv'
* "My Number One" (CNR/Carrere Records, 1980)
* "Tingalingaling (CNR/Carrere Records, 1981) Album with Luv'
* "Forever Yours" (CNR/Carrere Records, 1980) Compilations with Luv'
* "Goodbye Luv'" (CNR/Carrere Records, 1981)
* "Luv' Gold" (Arcade Records, 1993)
* "You're the Greatest LUVer" (Mercury/PolyGram Germany, 1993)
* "" (CNR, 2002)
* "25 Jaar Na Waldolala" (Universal Music, 2003)
* "Completely In Luv'" (Universal Music, 2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.popinstituut.nl/Encyclopedia/Person.aspx?id=1684&name=Ria+Thielsch Ria Thielsch's page on the Dutch Pop Institute Website]
* [http://muziek.clubs.nl/luv Luv's official fan club site (in Dutch)]
* [http://allaboutluv.tripod.com Site in English about Luv']