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.
Ik Heb Je Nodig
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig, ik heb je nodig ik he nodig
Niet om te koken, niet om te wassen niet om tv mee te kijken
En ook niet voor de wekelijkse avond klaverjassen
En echt niet om mijn overhemd te strijken
Heus neit voor het ultimale happy end niet om bergen te bedwingen
Nneit voor al die domme dingen maar gewoon voor het gevoel
Als ik werkelijk moet zeggen wie of what jij vor me bent
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig
Ik heb je nodig oh zo nodig, ik heb je nodig
En wel om me soms op mijn vingers te tikken want ik kan nogal erg
Overdrijven
En ook voor verse lucht als ik er soms in dreig te stikken
Voor de zekerheid dat jij bij mij zult blijven
Voor als er iemand ongelooflijk zeikt
Als ik erg uit mijn humeur ben, of een stomme ouwe zeur ben
Dan heb ik nodig dat je even naar me kijkt
Ja naar me kijkt, ja even naar me kijkt
Als ik werkelijk moet zeggen wie of what jij vor me bent
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig ik heb je nodig oh zo nodig
Als ik werkelijk moet zeggen wie of what jij vor me bent
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig
Ik heb je nodig oh zo nodig, ik heb je nodig
The song "Ik Heb Je Nodig" by Paul de Leeuw is a heartfelt ballad that speaks of the importance of having someone in our lives that we can truly rely on. The lyrics convey a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for the existence of such a person. The singer acknowledges that words are not enough to describe the meaning and significance of this individual, but emphasizes that they are crucial to his existence.
The chorus "Ik Heb Je Nodig" translates to "I need you" in English and it is repeated throughout the song to hammer home the point. The singer covers a range of reasons why he needs this person in his life, from their support and stable presence when things get tough, to the fact that they are always there to check his excesses, to simply the way their very existence makes him feel.
Line by Line Meaning
Als ik werkelijk moet zeggen wie of what jij vor me bent
If I truly have to say who or what you are to me
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
If I have to explain it to someone who doesn't know us well
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig, ik heb je nodig ik he nodig
Then most words are actually superfluous, I need you, I really do
Niet om te koken, niet om te wassen niet om tv mee te kijken
Not to cook, not to clean, not to watch TV with
En ook niet voor de wekelijkse avond klaverjassen
And not even for the weekly card game
En echt niet om mijn overhemd te strijken
And really not to iron my shirt
Heus neit voor het ultimale happy end niet om bergen te bedwingen
Not even for the ultimate happy ending or to conquer mountains
Nneit voor al die domme dingen maar gewoon voor het gevoel
Not for all those stupid things, but just for the feeling
Dat jij d'are bent voor mij er bent dat jij er altijd bent
That you are there for me, that you are always there
En wel om me soms op mijn vingers te tikken want ik kan nogal erg
But rather to sometimes scold me, because I can be quite
Overdrijven
Exaggerating
En ook voor verse lucht als ik er soms in dreig te stikken
And also for fresh air when I feel like suffocating
Voor de zekerheid dat jij bij mij zult blijven
For the certainty that you will stay with me
Voor als er iemand ongelooflijk zeikt
For when someone is incredibly annoying
Als ik erg uit mijn humeur ben, of een stomme ouwe zeur ben
When I'm in a bad mood, or acting like a stupid old whiner
Dan heb ik nodig dat je even naar me kijkt
I need you to just look at me for a moment
Ja naar me kijkt, ja even naar me kijkt
Yes, look at me, just look at me for a moment
Als ik werkelijk moet zeggen wie of what jij vor me bent
If I truly have to say who or what you are to me
Als ik dat moet uit gaan leggen aan iemand die ons niet goed kent
If I have to explain it to someone who doesn't know us well
Dan zijn de meeste worden eigenlijk overbodig
Then most words are actually superfluous
Ik heb je nodig oh zo nodig, ik heb je nodig
I need you, oh so much, I need you
Contributed by Lucy Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.