The Hearts of Soul, also known as Dream Express and LBS, were a Dutch-Belgian

musical group Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

that originally consisted of the Indonesian-born Dutch sisters

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. Variants * Blanche: French * Bianca: Italian * Bianka (Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, English, French, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Co ...

(born 30 June 1950),

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...

(12 May 1952 – 15 May 1996) and Stella Maessen (born 6 August 1953). Belgian singer and composer Luc Smets joined the group in 1975. The group is known for representing the

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Netherlands was represented by three-sister group Hearts of Soul, with the song "Waterman", at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Amsterdam on 21 March. "Waterman" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, ...

and Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977.

History

Early career

The sisters Maessen started their career in 1969 as

backing vocalists A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

for Dutch singer

Rob de Nijs Rob de Nijs (born 26 December 1942) is a Dutch singer and actor, active since the 1960s. Biography 1962–1968 De Nijs, backed by The Lords, won a talent-contest in 1962 and released his first single in 1962, " Ritme van de Regen". In 1965 D ...

at the ''

Nationaal Songfestival (; ) was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster (NTS), and later by the (NOS) and (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for the Eu ...

'', the Dutch national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, performing the song "Zaterdagavondshow". Shortly after, the group released their debut single "Oh What a Price", followed by their debut album ''Hearts of Soul'' later that year. In 1970, the group returned to the ''Nationaal Songfestival'', this time with their own entry " Waterman", written by

Pieter Goemans Pieter Goemans (1925-2000) was a Dutch composer, probably best known for having written the classic song "Aan de Amsterdamse grachten". Biography Goemans was born on 6 June 1925 in Amsterdam. The son of a diplomat, his father forced him to write u ...

. They went on to win the competition, which gave them the right to represent the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the ...

, held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. At the time, the

rules of the Eurovision Song Contest A detailed set of rules and obligations which all participating broadcasters and participants in the annual Eurovision Song Contest () must uphold is produced annually ahead of each edition of the international song contest. These rules are drafted ...

did not allow groups to compete, so Patricia performed as a solo singer, while Bianca and Stella joined her on stage as backing vocalists. They received a total of seven points from the international juries, finishing seventh out of twelve participants. From 1971 onwards, the sisters worked as

session singers Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

for several artists, including

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

and

Rika Zaraï Rika Zaraï ( he, ריקה זראי; 19 February 1938 – 23 December 2020) was a France, Franco-Israelis, Israeli singer and writer. Early life Rika Gozman (later Zarai) was born in Jerusalem. Her father came from Odessa (now Ukraine) in the ...

. They also provided backing vocals for the Belgian singer

Will Tura Arthur Achiel Albert, Knight Blanckaert (born 2 August 1940 in Veurne), known by his stage name Will Tura, is a Belgian artist famous in Flanders and the Netherlands. Tura is a singer, musician (he plays the piano, guitar, drums, accordion and ha ...

Success in Belgium

Bianca, Patricia and Stella moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 1973, because there was more work for them in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In 1975, Bianca's boyfriend (and future husband) Luc Smets, a former member of the Belgian band

The Pebbles The Pebbles were a Belgian rock band from Hoboken, Antwerp in Belgium, who came out of the beat boom and would enjoy some international success in the late 1960s. Biography The band was formed in Hoboken, Antwerp by Fred "Bekky" Beekmans and ...

, joined the group to form ''Dream Express''. In the summer of 1976, their debut single "Dream Express" reached number two in the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

charts. In 1977, they entered ''Eurosong'', the Belgian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the songs "

A Million in One, Two, Three Belgium was represented by Dream Express, with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in London on 7 May. Before Eurovision Eurosong The selection consisted of three semi-finals, followe ...

", "Sold It for a Song" and "Spinning Top". Their entry "A Million in One, Two, Three" went on to win the final and was thereby chosen to represent Belgium in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1977 The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organise ...

, held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. This was the first time that Belgium entered the contest with a song that was sung entirely in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The group received a total of 69 points, finishing in seventh place out of eighteen participating countries. After Patricia decided to leave the group, Dream Express changed its name to ''LBS'' (an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for Luc, Bianca and Stella) in 1979. Their singles "LBS" and "Uncle Jim" received much airplay in 1979. The group broke up in 1981, due to the divorce of Luc and Bianca.

Solo careers

After the breakup of LBS, Bianca pursued a solo career, releasing singles throughout the 1980s. In 1982, Stella released a solo album under the stage name ''Stella Mason''. She represented Belgium in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1982 The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Organised by the ...

with the song "

Si tu aimes ma musique Belgium was represented by Dutch singer Stella Maessen (billed simply as Stella), with the song "Si tu aimes ma musique", at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Harrogate, England on 24 April. This was Stella's third appearanc ...

", reaching fourth place out of eighteen participants. At the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

, Patricia provided backing vocals for the winning entry "

J'aime la vie "J'aime la vie" (; "I Love Life") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed for by Sandra Kim. Belgium had finished the 1985 contest in last place, and thus achieved the rare turnaround from last to first in the space o ...

", performed by

Sandra Kim Sandra Caldarone (born 15 October 1972), better known as Sandra Kim, is a Belgian singer of Italian descent who won the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. Her father was an Italian immigrant from Torrebruna in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo re ...

. In the 1987 edition, she was a backing vocalist for

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgium, Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi". Bi ...

, representing

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. Patricia Maessen died on 15 May 1996 in

Mortsel Mortsel () is a city and municipality close to the city of Antwerp located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the city of Mortsel proper. In 2021, Mortsel had a total population of 26,170 people. The total area is ...

, Belgium at the age of 44, from the effects of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Comeback

In September 2010, the Hearts of Soul released the single "Suddenly You". The group now consisted of Bianca, Stella and younger sister

Doreen Maessen Doreen may refer to: *Doreen (name), a woman's name, usually found in English-speaking countries *Doreen (given name), any of several people In arts and entertainment Fictional characters *Doreen Corkhill, on the British soap opera ''Brookside'' * ...

Discography

Singles

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hearts of Soul Sibling musical trios Dutch pop music groups Dutch girl groups Musical groups from Gelderland Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Belgium Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1970 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1977 Nationaal Songfestival contestants