"Who Do You Wanna Be" is the eighth single by the Dutch girl group

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Rhodesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada ...

, released in the autumn of 1979 by

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the nam ...

. This song appears on the formation's debut album

With Luv' ''With Luv is the first album by the Dutch girl group Luv', released in August 1978 by Phonogram/Philips Records. It includes the hit singles " My Man" (the trio's first record), " U.O.Me" (Luv's breakthrough in Benelux) and the million-seller " Yo ...

and their first compilation "Greatest Hits". It was the trio's closing release under their contract with Philips/Phonogram just before they joined CNR/

Carrere Records Carrere Records (french: Disques Carrère, link=no, ) was a French record label which specialized in Euro disco and rock music. The record company was sold to Warner Music Group in the early 1990s. Early days Claude Carrere started working ...

Song history

When

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Hans van Hemert Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945 in Voorburg, Netherlands) is a Dutch ASCAP award-winning record producer and songwriter. Mouth & MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He also composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Conte ...

and

planned to leave

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, the label decided as a counterattack to release Who Do You Wanna Be only in the Netherlands. This song was taken from the group's first opus

and later included on a

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album. Luv' group didn't promote the song and instead focused on their Carrere releases (

Ooh, Yes I Do "Ooh, Yes I Do" is the ninth single by the Dutch girl group Luv', released in the autumn of 1979 by CNR/Carrere Records. The song appears on the group's 1979 third studio album True Luv'. It was a hit in Benelux, Denmark, France, Austria and Ge ...

and

True Luv' ''True Luv is the third album by Dutch girl group Luv', released in December 1979 by CNR/Carrere Records. It includes the hit singles " Ooh, Yes I Do" and " Ann-Maria" scored in the charts of European countries and also in a new territory: Mexico ...

). That's why it failed to enter the record charts. Lead singer

José Hoebee Josina van de Wijdeven (born 29 March 1954), known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She was 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 we ...

has stated this is her favourite song from their debut album, and that it was her first choice for a lead single.

Cover version

In 1979, Irish pop group

Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions are an Irish pop group who formed in 1973 and remained a successful chart act for the next two decades. They were one of the most popular club acts in Ireland, playing on the showband circuit until their retirem ...

released a cover version of this track. This followed a cover version of

You're the Greatest Lover "You're the Greatest Lover" is a single by the Dutch girl group Luv'. It was first released in July 1978 by Philips/Phonogram Records. It appears on the 1978 debut album With Luv' and on compilations ( Luv' Gold, 25 Jaar Na Waldolala, Complete ...

(also originally by

) - both singles made the Irish top ten.Peak positions on Irish record charts
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References

{{Luv' 1979 singles 1978 songs Luv' songs Songs written by Hans van Hemert Songs written by Piet Souer Philips Records singles Phonogram Records singles