In '88 they have a small hit with "Alleen met Jou" (Only with you) and win the Baccara-trophy in the squad of Raymond Van Het Groenewoud.
In 1989 they participated in the preselection to determine the Belgian delegate to the Eurovision Song Festival. Clouseau finishes second (behind Ingeborg), but now has a foot in the door. The breakthrough comes immediately with the single "Anne" and an album "Hoezo ?" (How so?). Screaming teenagers all over the place and smashed record sales in Belgium are the consequence. The Netherlands follow, when "Daar Gaat Ze" (There she goes) becomes a big hit. The 2nd album "Of zo" (Or so) also proves to be very successful.
1990 is a year which can only be described as the year of "Clouseau-mania". Everything the boys touch turns to gold.
Manager Hans Kusters : "They really appeal to the teens. Simple songs, but also lyrics in the form of "She comes, she goes or she is". No fuss about apartheid or the nuclear missiles. Clean, cute, sometimes rocking, sometimes slowing, always charming melodies with innocent and easily recognizable love- and dance stories."
In 1991, the Benelux is getting too small for the group so they (or at least the record company) decide to try to storm the European market.
This time they are appointed to participating for Belgium in the Eurovisionsongcontest (where the finish very low with "Geef het op", despite the very high hopes Flanders was posing in them). They record a CD in English called "Close Encounters" (mainly consisting of adaptations of their own Dutch songs) of which they sell 200.000 copies in the slipstream of Roxette's European tour of 1992.
The 2nd English-language album "In every small town", however, is a complete commercial failure. Frontman Koen Wauters starts a career as a television presenter and race-pilot (Paris-Dakar), kicks a few old friends out of the band and refocuses on the Dutch market with the CD "Oker" (Ochre) in 1995.
On the album "Adrenaline", only the two Wauters' Brothers remain. The album shows a more adult Clouseau. They have successfully survived the hype and are starting to produce decent material again, without the necessity to "score" or match the sales figures of the 1989-1990 craze.
What about the band members that were left behind :
- Bob Savenberg has ventured to a successful solo career (e.g. the duet with Dutch singer Stef Bos in "Breek de stilte" and his solo CD "Vuur en Vlam"). He also presented "Ultratop" (the Belgian hitparade on VRT) and has a small company that builds websites. In 2001, he did the show "Popstars" for VT4.
- Tjenne Berghmans has played in about every other Belgian group (e.g. The Scabs, Betty Goes Green ...) since he left Clouseau.
- Karel Theys, formerly of the Employees, was at the base of another Kloot Per W project, de Lama's in 1993-94.
In 1997, they release a compilation album "Clouseau 1987-1997" and have a celebration on their 10 years of existence. Koen Wauters (although hard to recognize amidst all the publicity for Belgacom) finishes another Dakar at the beginning of 1997. He also continues his television career (Familieraad, Koen & The Gang, Wedden dat ...), and fights off a female stalker in his bathroom. In 1999, he marries Carolijn Lillipally (who was a VJ for MTV-Europe).
In 1999 Clouseau conquers Flanders for the umpteenth time, on this occasion with the new CD "In Stereo". In a production with a lot of violins by Jean Blaute (see RvhG, Kate's Kennel ..) and with songs that were written by people such as Frank van der Linden (of De Mens), Jan Leyers (of My Velma & Soulsister), Mark Vanhie (The Bet, Sarah) and others, and pulled by singles such as "Heb ik ooit gezegd" (a Van Morisson-cover) and "Altijd meer en meer" the group even makes it back again as a headliner at Marktrock (where it all had started). This leads them to a new live-album, simply called "Live", released in 2000.
In 2001 they opened with an album with nothing but slow songs for the Dutch market - entitled "Ballades" - but in recording their next album they deliberately stepped away from this trend in ever slower songs. En Dans - wrapped in a funny cover hand-drawn by Marcel Vanthilt, who also sings on one song - was released in November 2001, and contained much more uptempo songs, taking them back to the starting days of the band. Most striking track was certainly the title song "En Dans", Clouseau in an festive disco-outfit. However the first single that was taken from the album was a ballad "Ik Geef Me Over" (I surrender) with a video that caused some controversy due to the smoking habit of Koen. Through the usual visits to radio stations and a break-in into the BigBrother house, the CD certainly didn't miss it's start, as it deserved platinum for 30,000 copies in the presales, and entered the album-charts at n°1. On the live-front it remained fairly quiet, working towards two gigantic gigs in the Sportpaleis in Antwerp in the month of December.
The band released their latest CD Vonken & Vuur ("Sparks & Fire") in March 2007.
Band members (original line-up) :
- Koen Wauters (vocals)
- Kris Wauters (keyboard and guitar)
- Bob Savenberg (drums and backing vocals)
- Karel Theys (bass)
- Tjenne Berghmans (guitar).
Albums :
- Hoezo(Hans Kusters Music - 1989)
- Of Zo (Hans Kuster Music - 1990)
- Close Encounters (EMI - 1991)
- Doorgaan (tot je niet meer op je benen kan staan) (EMI- 1992)
- In Every Small Town (EMI - 1993)
- Oker (EMI - 1995)
- Adrenaline (EMI - 1996)
- In Stereo (EMI - 1999)
- En Dans (EMI - 2001)
- Live in het Sportpaleis DVD ("Live at the Sport Palace, Antwerp") (2003)
- Vanbinnen (2004)
- Clouseau in 't lang DVD ("Live at the Sport Palace, Antwerp") (2006)
- Vonken en Vuur (2007)
- Zij aan Zij (2009)
Compilations :
- Clouseau Live (Hans Kusters Music - 1991)
- Clouseau 1987-1997 (EMI, 1997)
- Live (EMI, 2000)
- Ballades (EMI, 2001)
Alleen Bij Haar
Clouseau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ik zit heel alleen te leven
En de radio staat zacht
Wat muziekjes weg te geven
Onbewust denk ik aan haar
Hoe haar blik me kon vervoeren
Hoe ik vaak achter het raam
Alleen bij haar was alles zoals het hoorde
Alleen bij haar raakte ik soms niet uit m'n woorden
Alleen bij haar was alles zoals het zijn moest
Alleen bij haar, alleen bij haar
Was het nacht of was het dag
Zij stond altijd aan m'n zijde
Met haar liefde, met haar lach
En dan meestal nog met beide
Alleen bij haar...
In het donker, in de nacht
Denk ik vaak nog terug aan haar
En de radio speelt zacht al die liedjes na elkaar
Was het wat ik had verwacht
Of was het veel te zwaar
In het donker, in de nacht verlang ik toch naar haar
Alleen bij haar...
The lyrics to Clouseau's song "Alleen Bij Haar" describe a sense of loneliness and longing for a past love. The singer remarks that it is dark and night, and he is sitting alone while the radio plays softly, occasionally giving away some music. Despite himself, he finds himself unconsciously thinking about her - how her gaze could capture him, and how he often went to spy on her sneakily from behind the window. He sings that things were as they should have been only when he was with her - he was often at a loss for words, but ultimately everything was as it ought to be. He wonders if he had expected too much, or if it was just too difficult, and he admits that he still longs for her in the dark of the night.
Line by Line Meaning
Het is donker, het is nacht
It's a metaphor for a sad and desolate state of mind
Ik zit heel alleen te leven
The singer is experiencing loneliness
En de radio staat zacht
The singer is listening to soft music for comfort
Wat muziekjes weg te geven
The artist has nothing else to do but listen to music
Onbewust denk ik aan haar
The artist thinks about his past relationship without realizing it
Hoe haar blik me kon vervoeren
The singer reminisces about how her gaze used to make him feel
Hoe ik vaak achter het raam
The singer used to sneakily watch her through a window
Haar heel stiekem ging beloeren
The artist used to secretly observe her
Alleen bij haar was alles zoals het hoorde
The artist felt that everything was right when he was with her
Alleen bij haar raakte ik soms niet uit m'n woorden
The artist had feelings for her that made him speechless
Alleen bij haar was alles zoals het zijn moest
The singer felt a sense of belonging and completeness with her
Alleen bij haar, alleen bij haar
Repetition of the above three lines as a chorus
Was het nacht of was het dag
The singer is unsure of the passage of time without her
Zij stond altijd aan m'n zijde
She used to be a constant presence in the singer's life
Met haar liefde, met haar lach
She brought love and joy into the singer's life
En dan meestal nog met beide
She used to be both loving and cheerful
In het donker, in de nacht
Repetition to establish a consistent setting
Denk ik vaak nog terug aan haar
The singer frequently remembers their time together
En de radio speelt zacht al die liedjes na elkaar
The singer uses music to reminisce about his time with her
Was het wat ik had verwacht
The artist ponders if his time with her met his expectations
Of was het veel te zwaar
The artist wonders if the relationship was too much for him
In het donker, in de nacht verlang ik toch naar haar
Despite the sadness, the artist still longs for his past love
Contributed by Eli N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.