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)
Mary-Lou
Clouseau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ze was niet goed snik
Ze was dom, ze was stom
Ze had een hazelip
En haar haar in de war, ze was blond
Het was eigenlijk zonde
En ik vroeg haar ten dans
Ze was meteen bereid
Haar echte roos stond haar voor
Maar ik was blij dat ik haar had gevonden
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
Ze droeg een groene blouse, een oranje broek
Rond haar hals een paarse zijden doek
Haar bril was te groot en haar kousen waren versleten
Ze had geen veters aan haar schoenen en die waren te groot
De strik in d'r haar was compleet idioot
Ze was verschrikkelijk geschminkt, ik zal haar nooit vergeten
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
En je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
The song Mary-Lou by the Belgian band Clouseau tells the story of an unattractive girl named Mary-Lou, who is described as being dumb, crazy, and having a cleft lip. However, despite her unappealing appearance and peculiarities, the singer finds her to be the sweetest and most genuine person on earth. He is enamored by her and sees past her looks, calling her his "shoe" or darling.
The song is written in a light-hearted manner, with the singer acknowledging Mary-Lou's imperfections, but also highlighting her endearing qualities. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they convey a message about the value of inner beauty over physical appearances. Ultimately, the song celebrates the uniqueness of individuals who are often overlooked or dismissed due to their looks or odd behavior.
Line by Line Meaning
Ze was dom, ze was dik
She was not very smart and overweight
Ze was niet goed snik
She was not completely sane
Ze was dom, ze was stom
She was not very intelligent and had a speech problem
Ze had een hazelip
She had a cleft lip
En haar haar in de war, ze was blond
Her blonde hair was messy
Het was eigenlijk zonde
It was a shame
En ik vroeg haar ten dans
And I asked her to dance
Ze was meteen bereid
She was immediately willing
Al bij al was het best een leuke meid
All things considered, she was a nice girl
Haar echte roos stond haar voor
Her true worth was hidden behind her appearance
Maar ik was blij dat ik haar had gevonden
But I was glad I found her
Oh Mary-lou, je bent menne shoe
Oh Mary-lou, you are my shoe (slang for 'you complete me')
Je ziet er niet uit, maar dat doet er niet toe
You don't look great, but that doesn't matter
Je bent voor mij de liefste op aard
You are the sweetest person on earth to me
En de and'ren zijn naast jou geen stuiver meer waard
And compared to you, others are not worth a penny
Ze droeg een groene blouse, een oranje broek
She wore a green blouse and orange pants
Rond haar hals een paarse zijden doek
She had a purple silk scarf around her neck
Haar bril was te groot en haar kousen waren versleten
Her glasses were too big and her stockings were worn out
Ze had geen veters aan haar schoenen en die waren te groot
Her shoes were too big and she didn't have laces
De strik in d'r haar was compleet idioot
The bow in her hair was completely ridiculous
Ze was verschrikkelijk geschminkt, ik zal haar nooit vergeten
She was terribly made up, I will never forget her
Contributed by Lillian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.