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)
Erop los
Clouseau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Op een dag gaan we allemaal
Kijk toch maar uit of je hart begeeft het
Op zoek naar de heilige graal
Redene genoeg om bezorgd te zijn
Maar negatief gevoel loop ik zo voorbij
Kon maar zo zijn als een vogel zo vrij
Leef erop los laat je zweven
Leef erop los wild en luid
Nu ben ik niet in te tomen
Al me vrienden zijn hier bij mij
Verlost en bevrijdt uit die grijze zonde
Toch zijn we de weg niet kwijt
Redenen genoeg om verliefd te zijn
Om zo onbezorgd de zon schijnt
Kon maar zo zijn neem een voorbeeld aan mij
Leef erop los niks is zeker
Leef erop los kijk vooruit
Leef erop los onberekend
Leef erop los schreeuw het uit
Samen... we doen dit samen
Stel dat er geen...
Hierna maals is...
Denk dan aan wat. je mist
Pluk elke dag...
Maar doe niet wat niet mag
Leef erop los alle dagen
Leef erop los met elkaar
Leef erop los zonder vragen
Leef erop los geen bezwaar
We doen dit samen.
The lyrics to Clouseau's song Erop los promote a carefree and joyful outlook on life. The first stanza emphasizes the inevitability of death, but urges the listener not to worry and to focus on finding their own happiness. The second stanza talks about being surrounded by friends and feeling liberated from the constraining grip of sin. The chorus repeats the message of living without reservation or hesitation, and encourages the listener to scream out in happiness. The final stanza emphasizes the importance of living in the moment and cherishing every day, while also taking responsibility and not breaking the rules.
It's clear from the lyrics that the song is about seizing the day and not taking life too seriously. It's a call to enjoy life to the fullest, without regard for the consequences. The lyrics portray a carefree attitude, one that motivates the listener to take more chances and live a little. By letting go of inhibitions and embracing freedom, one can find true happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
De weinige leven eeuwig
Only a few live forever
Op een dag gaan we allemaal
One day we will all go
Kijk toch maar uit of je hart begeeft het
Watch out, your heart might fail
Op zoek naar de heilige graal
In search of the holy grail
Redene genoeg om bezorgd te zijn
Reasons enough to be worried
Maar negatief gevoel loop ik zo voorbij
But I quickly overcome negative feelings
Kon maar zo zijn als een vogel zo vrij
If only I could be as free as a bird
Leef erop los laat je zweven
Live it up, let yourself soar
Leef erop los heel je leven
Live life to the fullest
Leef erop los wild en luid
Live it up, wild and loud
Nu ben ik niet in te tomen
Now I cannot be restrained
Al me vrienden zijn hier bij mij
All my friends are here with me
Verlost en bevrijdt uit die grijze zonde
Freed from the gray sin
Toch zijn we de weg niet kwijt
Yet we haven't lost our way
Redenen genoeg om verliefd te zijn
Reasons enough to be in love
Om zo onbezorgd de zon schijnt
To bask in the sun without a care
Kon maar zo zijn neem een voorbeeld aan mij
If only it could be that way, take inspiration from me
Leef erop los niks is zeker
Live it up, nothing is certain
Leef erop los kijk vooruit
Live it up, look ahead
Leef erop los onberekend
Live it up, uncalculated
Leef erop los schreeuw het uit
Live it up, shout it out
Samen... we doen dit samen
Together... we're doing this together
Stel dat er geen...
Imagine if there's no...
Hierna maals is...
After this life is...
Denk dan aan wat. je mist
Think about what you'll miss
Pluk elke dag...
Seize every day...
Maar doe niet wat niet mag
...but don't do what's not allowed
Leef erop los alle dagen
Live it up every day
Leef erop los met elkaar
Live it up together
Leef erop los zonder vragen
Live it up, no questions asked
Leef erop los geen bezwaar
Live it up, no objections
We doen dit samen.
We're doing this together.
Contributed by Jackson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.