BABE CELEBRATES NEW BOX SET
TOGETHER IN LOVE AGAIN: It is the reissue that has provided a major step towards what could be some long awaited answered prayer. The CD-Licious label has made available The Complete Collection, a three CD set celebrating the enormously influential legacy of the beloved Netherlands vocal supergroup BABE. Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People's Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell waxes euphoric over this landmark release below. Pictured above in a May 2026 television appearance are (left to right): founding member Gemma van Eck, along with the group's definitive line up of Rita van Rooy, Margot van de Ven and Marga Bult (Click on above image to enlarge).
EXPLOSIVE:
BABE CELEBRATES
CAREER SPANNING BOX SET
By Michael McDowell
As Bill Deal And The Rhondels once astutely observed, nothing succeeds like success.
In principle, when the Netherlands vocal trio Babe first joined forces as a group in 1979, that success was predicated on a tried and true mission statement that had been successful on multiple occasions for such like minded vocal groups as the Pixies Three, the Shangri-Las and the Secrets. Basically, a behind the scenes group visionary would compose the material and produce the results, with the vocalists (who were generally at the virtuoso or near-virtuoso level out of necessity, in order to meet the stringent demands of the material) rose to the occasion accordingly for optimum results.
In Babe's case, the behind the scenes visionary was Peter Koelewijn. The trio was initially comprised of Rita van Rooy, Monique Hagemeyer and Gemma van Eck.
Upon signing with Philips in 1979, Babe hit the ground running. One first rate single followed another, including Wonderboy, Please Me Please Do, (Never Listen To A) Bouzouki Player and The Drunken Sailor.
Although Babe enjoyed considerable acclaim throughout much of Europe straight out of the gate, that acclaim came at a price. By 1980, Monique Hagemeyer opted to exit the group. She was succeeded by Margot van de Ven, who had already established a formidable recorded legacy as part of the Cees En Monique duo with Cees de Wit. Cees En Monique recorded nine superb singles for the Telstar and Killroy labels.
Gemma van Eck followed suit in 1981 by opting to follow her long held dream of a solo career. In her place came the great Marga Bult, who had made her recording debut in 1970 with her otherworldly Twee Witte Duiven single as Marga for MCA. Two solo 45s for MCA followed, as did a brief stint with the band Tulip.
And that is where Bill Deal And The Rhondels' maxim reached fruition.
Initially, Koelewijn's vision was to sustain and/or build upon the momentum generated by Babe's original line up. To that effect, he continued to supply the trio with sublime material that combined rich, inventive lyricism with lavishly scored melodies that rank among the best in all of music.
But what Koelewijn and perhaps Babe themselves did not anticipate at the onset was just how well this revised mission statement would succeed on an aesthetic level. Rita van Rooy, Margot van de Ven and Marga Bult were arguably among the most accomplished vocalists in all of music. In turn, Bult's remarkable flair for the dramatic provided the icing on the cake.
The revised trio immediately clicked both personally and professionally, and went on to establish one of the most formidable recorded legacies of the twentieth century. One A+ original release followed another, including Indian Habits, (Don't You Ever) Shop Around, Boomerang, Explosive, Dolly The Doll, Shocking, Tommy Is A Winner, Hot Shot and Wanna Do (What Mama Said), along with superb covers of Cab Calloway's Minnie The Moocher and the Exciters' Tell Him, plus a stunning interpretation of John Newton's 1779 Gospel standard, Amazing Grace.
By far, chief among those triumphs was their 1982 Carerre label single, Together In Love Again. Inspired by the best work of their like minded predecessors, Together In Love Again raiseed the bar to unprecedented heights and set the absolute standard of excellence within the genre. Together In Love Again was subsequently saluted by Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as one of the best singles of the decade of the 1980s.
Despite those many accolades, Rita van Rooy, Margot van de Ven and Marga Bult decided to call it a career in 1986. A bit of renewed solo success followed for Bult as Marcha. She then went on to establish an equally formidable legacy in nursing and medical research.
Most encouragingly, the van Rooy, van de Ven and Bult line up of Babe has remained close and continues to meet on a regular basis. The trio has done occasional live reunion appearances in the interim, but most disconcertingly has not yet returned to a recording studio.
However, a most promising recent development may well provide a bit of answered prayer in that respect.
The CD-Licious label is widely regarded as being among the leading lights amongst companies specializing in the reissue of classic material, with first rate collections by Patricia Paay and the dream duo of Luv' co-founder Jose Hoebee and Unit Gloria alum Bonnie Saint Claire to their credit.
In May 2026, CD-Licious took the most welcome step of releasing the first comprehensive box set of Babe's formidable recorded legacy. The three disc Babe: The Complete Collection includes the beloved group's entire recorded legacy, along with heretofore unissued live tracks, rarities and an impressive rendition of the Four Seasons / Frank Sinatra standard, I've Got You Under My Skin.
"We like it very much", said Bult.
"There is finally this beautiful CD album box".
Multiple television appearances followed upon its release.
"We laughed a lot and we had so much to tell each other", said Bult.
"How nice is that?"
Margot van de Ven concurred.
"What a party again with my Babe girlfriends", she said.
"So much fun!"
Indeed, featuring as it does the all too rare attributes of fun, heart, technical perfection and the cerebral, Babe: The Complete Collection continues a standard of excellence that can (in terms of like minded vision and purpose) be traced as far back as the work of the original vocal supergroup, the Heidelberg Quintet in the early 1910s. A solid contender for Best Reissue / Anthology of the year.
posted by BlitzMagazine at 3:06 PM
