José Hoebee

Career

José started her career as a professional singer in the early 1970s as a member of a folk & country band, Young Tradition, formed with her two sisters. This formation took part in talent shows, changed its name into Elongi and recorded a single produced by Piet Souer, who later suggested that José join Luv'.

In 1976, she became a member of girl group Luv' with Patty Brard and Marga Scheide. She chose José Andreoli as an artist name. From 1977 to 1981 Luv' was the Netherlands's biggest hit machine and scored a string of hit records in the Benelux countries, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico. In March 1981, the group announced its dissolution. The original formation reunited twice (in 1993-1996 and 2005–2012).

After Luv' had split up, José went solo, gave up her artist name (José Andreoli) and married record producer Will Hoebee. The wedding reception took place in David Soul's villa in Los Angeles. Her new career was less international than the one she had as a Luv' member. Artistically, she chose a repertoire featuring a majority of cover versions of pop standards with the help of her husband. Her first album The Good Times was released in 1982.

Twelve of her singles (among them a #1 hit and duets) entered the record charts (twelve in the Netherlands and five in Flanders):

José was the first female singer who had #1 hits on the Dutch Top 40 as a member of a group (Luv') and as a solo artist. Then, Diana Ross (of the Supremes), Yvonne Keeley (of the Star Sisters), Melanie C (of the Spice Girls), Sita (of K-Otic) and Beyoncé (of Destiny's Child) established the same record in the hit parade.

After the birth of her son Tim (on 14 October. 1985), José slowed down her career. She retired from show business in 1989 to devote herself to her family. Four years later, she made a brief comeback with Luv' and then escaped from entertainment again to live with her relatives in Best, a village near Eindhoven. For one year and a half, she was the owner of a video rental shop (The Movie Store) that she sold in the summer of 2003.

Then, with the help from Corry Konings (a popular singer in the Netherlands) and her management agency (CK Produkties), José decided to go back on stage. Her live shows attracted fans who hadn't seen her for years. In early 2004, she recorded under the pseudonym Stuff a dance oriented cover version of a Four Tops hit (Walk Away Renée) downloadable on internet. Moreover, she sang two tracks as a guest artist on a tribute album to Doris Day (Marjan Berger meets Doris Day). She later left CK Produkties and signed a deal with WVS Management. This transfer was accompanied by José's move from the Netherlands to Lommel, Flanders, Belgium.

In the fall of 2004, José hosted a music talent contest show (Tijd Voor Muziek) on a Dutch local channel (VSM TV). Her husband collaborated on the production of this programme.

In 2005, WVS Music released her first compilation Alle Hits & Unieke Bonustracks. This anthology includes the singer's greatest hits, b-sides, album tracks and bonus tracks. In 2009, she has covered a Phil Spector classic hit (Be My Baby) rendered as a duet with former BZN member Anny Schilder and produced by Will Hoebee and Piet Souer.

Bonnie & José: the ABBA project

In 1984, she formed with her best friend in the show business, Bonnie St. Claire, an occasional duo, credited as Bonnie & José. The two vocalists recorded a Dutch cover version of ABBA's Cassandra which became a Top 40 hit in the Netherlands in the summer of 1984. A few months later, Bonnie & José were involved in the ABBAcadabra project (a TV musical for children based on songs of ABBA). Bonnie played the role of Sleeping Beauty and José had the role of Snow White. Other Dutch celebrities took part in this music show: Marga Scheide of Luv' (as "Carabosse/the Bad Fairy"), Ron Brandsteder (Patty Brard's first husband) and Benny Neyman. In 1985, Bonnie & José recorded a whole LP (entitled Herinnering) with ABBA's standards. This opus contained another Top 40 hit: Zoals Vrienden Doen (The Way Old Friends Do). In 1986, the duet recorded a TV special in Sweden: Bonnie en José in Zweden aired on the NCRV channel. The two singers were filmed in Stockholm (including a scene in the Polar Music Studios, ABBA's recording studios) performing ABBA's songs in Dutch. Björn Ulvaeus (member of the Swedish pop band) was interviewed for this special and acknowledged the duet's initiative. After the broadcast of this show, they performed from time to time on TV and on stage, even with a non-ABBA repertoire but no new records were released. In 1987, they broke up. Eight years later, they made a comeback by recording a single 'n Engel Als Jij (a cover version of a German song: Engel Wie Du originally sung by Juliane Werding, Maggie Reilly & Viktor Lazlo). In December 2004, José acted as a witness at Bonnie's wedding (aired live on SBS 6, a Dutch TV channel).

In March 2011, José re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March who originally had a #1 hit with the song in 1963. The two singers appeared in several Dutch television programmes. The release of the song, however, was delayed one year and finally released on the German edition of March's album "Always And Forever", April 2012, together with an original track "My Christmas Wish".

Background vocals

José worked as a backup singer for other artists including:

Singles

Albums