35th anniversary of "Bonnie en José in Zweden" (TV special): Tribute to ABBA's music!!!

On May 27th, 1986 Dutch TV channel NCRV broadcast "Bonnie en José in Zweden", a special filmed in Stockholm and the surrounding area. Bonnie St Claire and José Hoebee performed cover versions of ABBA songs in Dutch: "Chiquitita", "Herinnering" (Andante, Andante), "Ligt dat nou aan jou, of aan mij" (Why Did It Have To Be Me?), "Zoals vrienden doen" (The Way Old Friends Do) and "Flierefluiter" (The Piper). 

Credits:

Special thanks to Silja Line/Finnjet

Clothing: Tom Touch, O'Neill

Production: Albert Hol, Will Hoebee

Local producer: Peter Ohlsson

Video editing: Dick Verkeke

Camera: Tjeerd Broekhuizen

VTR: John Davelaar

Directed by Bert van der Veer

Double Entertainment/NCRV - 1986

These tracks were taken from the ladies' LP entitled "Herinnering" released by RCA Records in late 1985 (see article posted on December 7th, 2020). At the time, Bonnie & José were respectively married to Albert Hol and Will Hoebee. The two couples were involved in the artist management company "Double Entertainment". 

Last autumn, the Herinnering album was reissued by CD-Licious on CD thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. This Deluxe Edition featured bonus tracks and a DVD (including the TV special).

DVD menu (including Bonnie & José in Zweden) as part of the Herinnering 2020 reissue

Read the article posted on November 20th, 2020: All About LUV' (past, present, future and more): Bonnie & José's Herinnering (2020 edition): officially out today and media coverage!!! (luvgirlgroup.blogspot.com)

The TV special was a logical step in the duo's career after a series of ABBA-oriented projects.

In 1984, Bonnie and José decided to team up to cover songs of the Swedish Fab Four in Dutch long before the revival of interest in the music of the quartet. Their first duet single "Cassandra" peaked at #24 on the Top 40 and #19 on the Nationale Hitparade in the Netherlands (see article posted on July 7th, 2019). In 1985, they were involved in the AbbaCaDaBra TV musical (see article posted on March 16th, 2020). Later that year, they put out the single "Zoals Vrienden Doen" (the cover of ABBA's The Way Old Friends Do). The track became the signature song of the duo. It reached #36 on the Top 40 and #18 on the Nationale Hitparade (see article posted on August 3rd, 2020). Then they put out a full-length album. 

The highlights of the TV special were the "Herinnering" video (filmed in ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm) and the appearance of Björn Ulvaeus (member of the legendary pop band) who gave an interview in which he approved the recordings of the ladies. 

Björn Ulvaeus

The broadcast of "Bonnie en José in Zweden" was mentioned in the press (including in the Privé section (entertainment news) of De Telegraaf and in AVRO Gids).

 "Privé" section of De Telegraaf on May 27th, 1986, the day of the broadcast of the ladies' TV special. Click here to read the article online

AVRO Gids

As the Herinnering album hit the stores, José gave birth to a beautiful son named Tim on October 14th, 1985. In an article published in Weekend magazine in April 1986 about the singer's motherhood, Bonnie & José's TV special was also announced.  

Click on the images to enlarge them:

Source: Beeld en Geluid, YouTube, Delphner.nl, Facebook (Jos Theuns - José Hoebee Mijn Idool, Herinnering - Bonnie & José), Luv' weblog archives