De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for the public broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed.
Besides, many obscure musical acts were featured in his shows, many of which managed to gain national fame after they had been in De Leeuw's programme (e.g. Twarres and AIDS suffering singer Rene Klijn). VARA has since continued his shows apart from a few interruptions, often with considerable success.
In the early nineties, Paul de Leeuw also had some shows celebrating the new year. In the 1993-1994 show he ridiculed the new commercial television channel RTL 5 by announcing another new channel, "RTL 6" (RTL six, beter dan niks (at least better than nothing)). This led to a trial by the RTL company, who demanded that De Leeuw withdraw his joke.
He and his partner, Stephan Nuger, have adopted two children: son Kas (adopted in October 2001) and son Tobey (adopted in December 2002).
Paul de Leeuw has had many hit singles in The Netherlands. He is most famous for: Vlieg met me mee (#2), Ik wil niet dat je liegt / Waarheen, waarvoor (#1), and 'k Heb je lief (#3). Since the beginning of his television and singing career he released albums and singles, always becoming a big success.
In 2006, he recorded the song "Mijn Houten Hart" (My Wooden Heart) with Raffaela, which was later released as a single and peaked at #18 in the Dutch Singles Top 100, becoming one of his smallest hits.
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 incident
De Leeuw is, despite being famous for a long time in the Netherlands, best-known internationally for presenting the results of the Dutch televote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. De Leeuw was supposed to present the televote by simply thanking the presenters, performers and fans, before giving the result but instead the openly gay De Leeuw gave his mobile number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas live on-air, and made other comments which somewhat lengthened the Dutch results.
De Leeuw also made a reference to gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and his female co-presenter Maria Menounos reminded him of Will & Grace. As the results were live and required for the contest to continue, De Leeuw could not be cut off until he finished giving the voting results.
De Leeuw's actions resulted in negative comments from the commentators, with the BBC's Terry Wogan calling the act "pathetic" and asking "Who selected this eejit?" during the United Kingdom coverage of the contest. Other commentators, like the Portuguese Eladio Climaco, didn't translate properly the gay remarks and said he was saying that they really look like Greeks. Parts of the dialogue were also shown on the German comedy show TV total.
The dialogue between De Leeuw and Rouvas
Rouvas: Hello Netherlands! Paul...
De Leeuw: Hello Greece, kalisperma everybody! [note that sperma means sperm in many languages, at least both in Dutch and Greek]
Rouvas: Kalispera Paul. [kalispera means 'Good evening', which was supposed to be said]
De Leeuw: You look like Will... [stops, likely due to the cheering of the crowd behind him] You look like Will & Grace, you two. So here are the votes, the Dutch votes. Let's come. [In an extremely high tempo] One, Ukreene (sic), two, Russia, Germany, three, Ireland, four, Greece, five, Lithuania, six, Finland, seven points! [resumes normal tempo]] Now the eight points. Are you ready Chaci, tzatziki, cichaci?
Rouvas: Yes, haha.
De Leeuw: Are you ready? Eight points... I like your blouse... The eight points are for Bosnia-Hoshegovina (sic). Yeah.
Rouvas: Bosnie-Herzegovine, huit points.
De Leeuw: Yes, I say. And the ten points, Zhacki, Zhicka, Chucka, are from (sic) Armenia!
Rouvas: Armenie, dix points.
De Leeuw: Ok, and Chacki, do you have my mobile number now or after twelve points?
Rouvas: Give it to me now. I bet it's 69 69 69. [In Greece, mobile numbers always begin with 69, but the rest of the 69's are a sexual innuendo, since Rouvas did not seem to like Paul's lines.]
De Leeuw: Ok, 00... [interrupted by Rouvas' remark] no no no no no... I'm not the French guy! [Probably refers that Rouvas was once interviewed for a French magazine, in which the interviewer assumed that Rouvas was gay and directed his questions accordingly.] Its 00 31 6 24 74 44 32 10 dial 1. Twelve points goes to, I'm very proud to say, Turkey! Twelve points.
Rouvas: Turquie, douze points.
Alleen Maar De Zon
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Een Spaanse zomer reis
Van je Ola Ole
Het was de eerste keer
Weg naar het buitenland
Het werd een week Loret da Mar
We hadden geen vliegangst
Die stond in Las Palmas
Hoe dat nou toch kon
We hadden geen Pesetas
We hadden geen reischeques
We hadden geen klotos
Alleen maar die zon
Na twee uur in de bus
Dacht ik dit is het dus
Viesta in Loret da Mar
We hadden geen licht in ons appartomentos
We hadden geen uitzicht en ook geen balkon
We hadden geen water en ook geen toilettos
We hadden geen fuckus alleen maar die zon
Ole, Ole, Ole, prrrrrrrrrrrr
En 's avonds dolle pret
Daar was een discotheek
Daar stond zo'n Spaanse slet
Waar je dan geil naar keek
Maar ja, ze had een man
Die zei: achwellogan
Dan zei je: Holandes, Gohan Gruyff
We hadden geen krantje, geen balletje mayo
Geen drop, geen jenever
Geen op en geen om
We hadden geen studio sport, geen half pollen
Geen patatje oorlog alleen maar die zon
We hadden geen Hollandse haring of rookworst
Alleen maar Paella, Sangria Ole
We hadden sardinas, ghamba's en papa's
We hadden uiteindelijk een week diaree...
The lyrics of Paul de Leeuw's song Alleen Maar De Zon narrate the story of the singer’s first trip abroad, to Loret de Mar, Spain. The trip was a package deal from the tour company Hollyday, and the singer, along with their companions, had no issues with flying nor with any sort of luggage scarcity. Their apartment had no light, view, balcony, water, nor toilet, but the fun times at the discotheque, where they ogled at Spanish women, made all of that bearable. The group had no access to Dutch luxuries and treats, instead indulging in Spanish cuisine, and eventually getting sick with diarrhea.
The lyrics of the song are a lighthearted testament to the simplicity and lack of sophistication of the singer’s first trip abroad. The song lampoons the illusion of traveling being filled with luxurious experiences and indulgences. Instead, the singer’s experience in Spain was a lesson in appreciating the simple things in life, the most notable being the sun. Their experience was about enjoying the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the Spanish coastline, and some lively nightlife.
Line by Line Meaning
Het was een voordeelprijs van firma Hollyday
The trip was a discounted package deal from Hollyday company
Een Spaanse zomer reis
It was a summer trip to Spain
Van je Ola Ole
A phrase expressing excitement or enthusiasm
Het was de eerste keer
It was the first time traveling abroad
Weg naar het buitenland
Going to a foreign country
Het werd een week Loret da Mar
They spent a week in Lloret de Mar
We hadden geen vliegangst
They didn't have a fear of flying
En ook geen bagage
They didn't have any luggage
Die stond in Las Palmas
Their luggage was in Las Palmas
Hoe dat nou toch kon
They wondered how that could have happened
We hadden geen Pesetas
They had no Pesetas (Spanish currency)
We hadden geen reischeques
They had no traveler's checks
We hadden geen klotos
They had nothing at all
Alleen maar die zon
All they had was the sun
Na twee uur in de bus
After two hours on a bus
Dacht ik dit is het dus
They realized this was it
Viesta in Loret da Mar
Enjoying the nightlife in Lloret de Mar
We hadden geen licht in ons appartomentos
They had no lights in their apartment
We hadden geen uitzicht en ook geen balkon
They had no view or balcony
We hadden geen water en ook geen toilettos
They had no water or toilet
We hadden geen fuckus alleen maar die zon
They had nothing except the sun
Ole, Ole, Ole, prrrrrrrrrrrr
An expression of excitement or enthusiasm
En 's avonds dolle pret
They had a lot of fun at night
Daar was een discotheek
There was a discotheque
Daar stond zo'n Spaanse slet
There was a Spanish woman at the disco
Waar je dan geil naar keek
They were attracted to her
Maar ja, ze had een man
But she was with a man
Die zei: achwellogan
He said, don't worry about it
Dan zei je: Holandes, Gohan Gruyff
They would say something in Dutch like 'Gohan Gruyff'
We hadden geen krantje, geen balletje mayo
They had no newspaper or mayonnaise ball (Dutch snack)
Geen drop, geen jenever
They had no licorice or Dutch gin
Geen op en geen om
They had nothing to do
We hadden geen studio sport, geen half pollen
They had no TV sports programs, no 'half pollen' (Dutch term for semi-finals)
Geen patatje oorlog alleen maar die zon
They had no 'war fries' (Dutch snack), only the sun
We hadden geen Hollandse haring of rookworst
They had no Dutch herring or smoked sausage
Alleen maar Paella, Sangria Ole
They only had Paella and Sangria
We hadden sardinas, ghamba's en papa's
They had sardines, shrimp and potatoes
We hadden uiteindelijk een week diaree...
They ended up with a week of diarrhea
Contributed by Sebastian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
maria van der sluijs
Geweldige tekst!
Monique Dunnebier
😂