José Hoebee


Josina van de Wijdeven, known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She is a member of Luv', a famous Dutch girl group in the late 1970s and early 1980s that scored hits in more than 15 countries. In late 1981, she went solo and was successful in her homeland and in the Flanders region of Belgium between 1982 and 1985. She formed an occasional duo known as Bonnie & José with Bonnie St. Claire to record Dutch cover versions of ABBA's songs. She currently performs solo and with Luv'.

Career

Hoebee 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 Hoebee 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' 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 first dissolution. The pop formation reunited later on several occasions.
After Luv' had split up, Hoebee went solo, gave up her artist name 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, including "I Will Follow Him", with the help of her husband. Her first album The Good Times was produced by Pim Koopman and released in 1982.
Twelve of her singles entered the record charts; twelve in the Netherlands and five in Flanders. Hoebee was the first female singer who had #1 hits on the Dutch Top 40 as a member of a group and as a solo artist. Then, Diana Ross, Yvonne Keeley, Melanie C, Sita and Beyoncé established the same record in the hit parade.
After the birth of her son Tim, Hoebee 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 that she sold in the summer of 2003.
Then, with the help from Corry Konings and her management agency, Hoebee decided to go back on stage. Her live shows attracted fans who had not seen her for years. In early 2004, she recorded under the pseudonym Stuff a dance-oriented cover version of a Four Tops hit. Moreover, she sang two tracks as a guest artist on a tribute album to Doris Day. She later left CK Produkties and signed a deal with WVS Management. This transfer was accompanied by Hoebee's move from the Netherlands to Lommel, Flanders, Belgium.
In the fall of 2004, Hoebee hosted a music talent contest show on a Dutch local channel. 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 "Be My Baby", rendered as a duet with former BZN member Anny Schilder and produced by Will Hoebee and Piet Souer.
In March 2011, Hoebee re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March who originally had a #1 hit with the song in 1963. The two singers appeared on several Dutch television programmes. The release of the song, however, was delayed one year later and finally came out on the German edition of March's album Always And Forever, together with an original track "My Christmas Wish".
On June 10, 2012, José's husband Will Hoebee died and it took her months to recover.
In January 2013, she took part in Sterren Dansen Op Het Ijs. She was rapidly eliminated from the competition but the artist considered it as a great learning experience.
In June 2014, Hoebee released "Noheyo", a cover version of a 2011 single by Polish band Blue Café. This single quickly became a #1 hit on SBS 6 download chart in the "Dutch-speaking" category.
September 2014 saw the re-issue of "Who's Sorry Now?".

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. 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', Ron Brandsteder and Benny Neyman.
In 1985, Bonnie & José recorded a whole LP with ABBA's standards. This opus contained another Top 40 hit: "Zoals Vrienden Doen". 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 performing ABBA's songs in Dutch. Björn Ulvaeus 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". In December 2004, Hoebee acted as a witness at Bonnie's wedding.
In the summer of 2013, Bonnie & José relaunched their duo for several performances but ended their collaboration in early 2014.

Background vocals

Hoebee worked as a backup singer for other artists including:

Singles

Guest appearances on other albums: