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)
Naar Huis
Clouseau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ik dacht ik ga eens naar een feest
Een hele avond met wat vrienden en veel toffe muziek
Maar 't zit hier vol bizarre mensen
Ik kan mezelf wel verwensen
Ze kijken allemaal naar mij terwijl ik echt niks zei
Het is stom dat ik hier kwam
Het is stom, ik word doodziek
Ik wil naar huis
Ik wil naar huis
Ik wil naar huis
Want nergens is het beter
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
Een ouwe dikzak komt wat lullen
Staat in m'n oren wat te brullen
Hij wil de show van Clouseau in z'n discotheek
En ik zeg nee, maar hij zegt dank je
Ik grijp vertwijfeld naar m'n drankje
En ik begeef me naar de toog
Maar hij vervolgt z'n monoloog
Het is stom dat ik hier kwam
Het is stom, ik word doodziek
Trouwens,
Ik wil naar huis
Ik wil naar huis
Ik wil naar huis
Want nergens is het beter
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
Wat is er toch met al die mensen
Waarom laten ze me niet met rust
Een half uur op dit feestje, ik ben volkomen uitgeblust
Het is genoeg geweest op dit stomme feest
Er is niets waar ik me niet aan stoor
Ik ga met stille tred zogezegd naar het toilet
Maar langs de achterdeur er gauw vandoor
Ja,
Ik ga naar huis
Ik ga naar huis
Ik ga naar huis
Want nergens is het beter
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
Ik ga naar huis
Ik ga naar huis
Want nergens is het beter
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
The song "Naar Huis" is an anthem for anyone who has ever attended a party and felt out of place. The song tells the story of a person who attends a party with friends, hoping to have a good time but instead finds a room full of bizarre people staring at them. They try to drown out the noise by drinking but can't escape the drunken ramblings of an old man insisting on playing Clouseau's music in his discotheque. The singer realizes they have had enough and decides to leave, acknowledging that there is no place better than home.
The lyrics of the song capture the feeling of loneliness and isolation that can come from being in a crowded room full of people. The singer is surrounded by people but still feels alone, leading them to crave the comfort of being at home. The lyrics also highlight the awkwardness of trying to socialize with people who are not like-minded or who do not share the same interests, leaving the singer feeling frustrated and out of place.
Overall, "Naar Huis" is a song that speaks to anyone who has ever felt uncomfortable or out of place, and reminds them that sometimes the best place to be is at home.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik was in weken niet weggeweest
It had been weeks since I had gone out
Ik dacht ik ga eens naar een feest
I thought I'd go to a party
Een hele avond met wat vrienden en veel toffe muziek
A whole evening with some friends and great music
Maar 't zit hier vol bizarre mensen
But it's full of strange people
Ik kan mezelf wel verwensen
I could curse myself
Ze kijken allemaal naar mij terwijl ik echt niks zei
They are all looking at me even though I didn't say anything
Het is stom dat ik hier kwam
It was stupid that I came here
Het is stom, ik word doodziek
It's stupid, I'm sick of it
Ik wil naar huis
I want to go home
Want nergens is het beter
Because nowhere is better
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
Nowhere is better than home
Een ouwe dikzak komt wat lullen
An old fat guy comes over to talk
Staat in m'n oren wat te brullen
He's shouting in my ear
Hij wil de show van Clouseau in z'n discotheek
He wants Clouseau to perform at his disco
En ik zeg nee, maar hij zegt dank je
And I say no, but he says thank you
Ik grijp vertwijfeld naar m'n drankje
I desperately grab my drink
En ik begeef me naar de toog
And I make my way to the bar
Maar hij vervolgt z'n monoloog
But he continues his monologue
Trouwens,
By the way,
Wat is er toch met al die mensen
What is wrong with all these people?
Waarom laten ze me niet met rust
Why won't they leave me alone?
Een half uur op dit feestje, ik ben volkomen uitgeblust
Half an hour at this party and I'm completely drained
Het is genoeg geweest op dit stomme feest
It's been enough at this stupid party
Er is niets waar ik me niet aan stoor
There isn't anything that doesn't bother me
Ik ga met stille tred zogezegd naar het toilet
I quietly make my way to the bathroom
Maar langs de achterdeur er gauw vandoor
But quickly sneak out the backdoor
Ja,
Yes,
Ik ga naar huis
I'm going home
Want nergens is het beter
Because nowhere is better
Ik ga naar huis
I'm going home
Want nergens is het beter
Because nowhere is better
Nergens is het beter dan thuis
Nowhere is better than home
Contributed by Levi W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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