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.
De grote copyrette
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
nog maar een mening of mogen we zonder?
Zeg je 't hard op of juist niet?
Wat je denkt, dat je ziet
En staat de knop op repeat
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Het wiel nog wat nieuwer, het wiel nog wat ronder
En gaan we solo, of in koor?
En gaan we rechts of rechtdoor
Wederzijds wederhoor
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Een stapje terug
En een stapje vooruit
Een stapje terug
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Wat moeten we denken na al het gedonder?
Mee in de massa en dan kopje onder
En echt iedereen krediet
Of je nu Rob heet of Rashid
Dynamiek, Dynamiet
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Een stapje vooruit
En een stapje terug
Een stapje vooruit
En we stuntelen maar door, een grote copyrette
Een stapje terug
En een stapje vooruit
Een stapje terug
En we stuntelen maar door, een grote copyrette
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
The lyrics of Paul de Leeuw's song De grote copyrette talks about how people react after experiencing hardships and conflicts. The first verse touches on the subject of forming opinions and beliefs; do we speak them out loud, or do we hide them away? Ultimately, the lyrics assert that personal opinions are essential in navigating the complexities of life. The second verse questions what to do after experiencing conflict; do we continue with what's been done, or do we explore new ideas and paths? The refrain of the song repeats the phrase "Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette," meaning all of history is a big copycat routine. It suggests that the world is experiencing a cycle of repetition from past events and that it is time to break the cycle and move forward. The song's concluding verses express the idea that progress requires moving forward and taking a step back simultaneously.
De song's lyrics reveal that people are trying to find new ways to progress through life while also acknowledging the past's failures. The song is a commentary on the cyclical nature of history and how society continues to repeat its past mistakes. The use of the phrase 'copyrette' captures the idea that people are merely copying previous actions done by others. However, the song's message is hopeful, and it encourages people to take a step back while taking a step forward, suggesting that progress is possible if people are aware of their past and take steps to create a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Wat moeten we vinden van al het gedonder?
What is our opinion on all the turmoil?
nog maar een mening of mogen we zonder?
Do we need just one opinion or can we go without?
Zeg je 't hard op of juist niet?
Do you say it aloud or keep it to yourself?
Wat je denkt, dat je ziet
What you think is what you see
En staat de knop op repeat
And do you have the button on repeat?
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
The whole history is a big copy machine
Wat moeten we doen na al het gedonder?
What should we do after all the upheaval?
Het wiel nog wat nieuwer, het wiel nog wat ronder
Make the wheel newer, make it rounder
En gaan we solo, of in koor?
And do we go solo or in chorus?
En gaan we rechts of rechtdoor
And do we go right or straight ahead?
Wederzijds wederhoor
Mutual hearing
Een stapje terug
A step back
En een stapje vooruit
And a step forward
Wat moeten we denken na al het gedonder?
What should we think after all the turmoil?
Mee in de massa en dan kopje onder
Going with the crowd and then drowning
En echt iedereen krediet
And everyone truly gets credit
Of je nu Rob heet of Rashid
Whether your name is Rob or Rashid
Dynamiek, Dynamiet
Dynamics, dynamite
En we stuntelen maar door, een grote copyrette
And we stumble on, a big copy machine
Heel de geschiedenis een grote Copyrette
The whole history is a big copy machine
Contributed by Grace A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.