Georgie was the next single taken from the album 'First Of All' and also found a highly receptive audience in Europe but did not seem to reach America as did album tracks Mexicali Lane and Help Me Living On. Pussycat was contemporary with such other international groups as Abba and Fleetwood Mac (Buckingham & Nicks incarnation), but also showed a country twang and sometimes some organ work (such as on I long To Hear Your Footsteps), and a bit of the harmonies of the Everly Brothers. The next album 'Souvenir' was if anything better than the first with the singles Smile and My Broken Souvenirs topping the charts in 1976 and 1977. The Souvenir album also included other stand outs with Tony and sisters up front, I'll Be Your Woman, The Easy Way, Nothing To Hide (by Eddy Hilberts), and a favorite of mine You Don't Know (What It's Like To Be Near). Also offered was Someday, an interesting honkytonk country ballad with Lou Willé vocals. All but one song were written by Werner Theunissen.

    In 1978 the single and album Wet Day In September were released and the album offered other hits with If You Ever Come To Amsterdam, and Hey Joe, Another Day, To Lovin', and Love In September (written by Eddy Hilberts). Already various Best Of albums were being issued to meet the European demand. The next album was a little sparser, 'Simply To be With You', but included the hit Doin' La Bamba, Let Freedom Range, a very stirring tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with Tony at full strength, Alleghenny, and On The Corner Of My Life.

    The next album, 'Blue Lights', featured a closeup of a kitten instead of the band, but you can see them reflected in the cat's eyes. Thuenissen's And Then The Music Stopped and Teenage Queenie both charted, as did Une Chambre Pour La Nuit. Following this, the band was reduced to the sisters and Lou Willé due to costs of touring. The single Take A Look At Me was released by Pussycat as a foursome in 1982. The last Pussycat album, 'After All', was a thinner assemblage, and only one single from it charted, which was Lovers Of A Kind. Meanwhile Best Of albums and two new singles; Roll On Mississippi, and Light Of A Gipsy, continued to appear and sell.

    After this Tony's sisters had had their fill and Pussycat dissolved. A group simply called The Cats appeared at this time and had a small hit with She's So In Love but I don't know if there is a connection. Tony went solo the same year, covering songs by Chris Rea and Anne Murray among others on her first album. Two more solo albums appeared to some success in the next few years, a light pop ballad approach was taken with some country and sometimes a bit of Spanish influence. Tony is still performing today (see her official website at the bottom of this page) having begun in 1967 with her sisters.

    The original family name was Kowalczyk and they came to Holland from Poland. The sisters performed as The Beat Girls or The BGs From Holland as well as recording as Sweet Reaction, and Tony alone as Sally Lane (with the single Let Me Live Again). Lou Willié was part of a skiffle type rock band as Ricky Rendall and His Centuries, while Theo Coumans, John Theunnisen and Theo Wetzels made up a group called Scum in the 1960s.

    Still the magic of Mississippi and Souvenirs is in the past now, linked to the late seventies. Yet the recordings of Pussycat are lush and fresh today, well produced by Eddy Hilberts and never settling for workmanlike. A two record set titled Gold released in 1985 summed up the band's and Thuenissen's career. In the photo below are Betty, Marjan and Tony, and the men are guitarist John Theunissen, Lou Willé, Theo Wetzels, and drummer Theo Coumans.