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.
Improvisatie medley
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
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Is de nacht niet lang genoeg
Nee, de nacht is altijd veel te kort
Omdat het tegen vieren
Zo ’s morgens tegen vieren
Omdat het dan pas echt gezellig wordt
’t Is gisteren weer eens uit de hand gelopen
We zouden effetjes een slokkie kopen
Maar effetjes dat werd een hele nacht
En tegen het ochtendgloren stond die hele zotte troep
Van bassen en tenoren luid te zingen op de stoep
Een agent kwam voorbij
En weet je, weet je, weet je wat hij zei
Vogeltje, wat zing je vroeg
Is de nacht niet lang genoeg
Nee, de nacht is altijd veel te kort
Omdat het tegen vieren
Zo ’s morgens tegen vieren
Omdat het dan pas echt gezellig wordt
Ik had al vaak gezegd: “Het wordt een late”
Ik had allang gehoord: “De hoogste tijd”
Maar al die kreten mochten toch niet baten
D’r zaten al weer mensen aan ’t ontbijt
We zongen voor de laatste maal een carnavalsrefrein
En kwamen de melkboer tegen op het lege, stille plein
En die zei en die zei
Weet je, weet je, weet je wat die zei
Vogeltje, wat zing je vroeg
Is de nacht niet lang genoeg
Nee, de nacht is altijd veel te kort
Omdat het tegen vieren
Zo ’s morgens tegen vieren
Omdat het dan pas echt gezellig wordt
Vogeltje, wat zing je vroeg
Is de nacht niet lang genoeg
Nee, de nacht is altijd veel te kort
Omdat het tegen vieren
Zo ’s morgens tegen vieren
Omdat het dan pas echt gezellig wordt
The lyrics of this song, "Improvisatie medley" by Paul de Leeuw, follow the story of a group of people who stay out late into the night, singing and having a good time. The first verse sets the scene with the early morning hour and the question of why the night is never long enough. The next verse reveals that the group had a wild night out, starting with just a quick drink but ending up staying out until the early hours of the morning. Despite having been out all night, they continue to sing and enjoy themselves until morning. The third verse shows that their merriment has caused some disturbance, with a police officer coming to investigate. However, even the officer seems to understand the reason for their revelry and asks the same question as the opening line.
Throughout the lyrics, there is a sense of nostalgia and camaraderie, with the group of people enjoying each other's company and making the most of their time together. The theme of the song is the universal desire to hold onto a moment of happiness and the fleeting nature of time. The repeated refrain of the night always being too short reinforces this idea.
The song is an interpretation of "Vogeltje wat zing je vroeg" by Dutch singer Renee de Haan, and the melody is also taken from other traditional Dutch songs. This mix of different songs is what gives the song its improvisational quality, with de Leeuw adding his own lyrics and themes to create a new interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Vogeltje, wat zing je vroeg
Expressing surprise over the early morning bird and using it as a metaphor for the unexpected events that occurred.
Is de nacht niet lang genoeg
Wondering if the night is not sufficiently long to accommodate all the fun they had.
Nee, de nacht is altijd veel te kort
Recognizing that the night is never long enough when one is having a good time.
Omdat het tegen vieren
Explaining that the party only truly kicks off around four in the morning.
Zo ’s morgens tegen vieren
Conveying the specific time when the fun really begins.
Omdat het dan pas echt gezellig wordt
Asserting that the most enjoyable part of the night happens when it's almost morning.
’t Is gisteren weer eens uit de hand gelopen
Admitting that the party got out of control once more.
Het kwam als altijd heerlijk onverwacht
Reveling in the spontaneity of the situation.
We zouden effetjes een slokkie kopen
Claiming that they initially planned for a quick drink, which escalated to a full-on night of partying.
Maar effetjes dat werd een hele nacht
Stating that what was supposed to be a brief hangout turned into an all-nighter.
En tegen het ochtendgloren stond die hele zotte troep
Recounting how they gathered outside and sang loudly as the sun began to rise.
Van bassen en tenoren luid te zingen op de stoep
Describing the type of music that they sang.
Een agent kwam voorbij
Introducing a law enforcement officer into the story.
En weet je, weet je, weet je wat hij zei
Building suspense and intrigue for what the officer said next.
Ik had al vaak gezegd: “Het wordt een late”
Reiterating how the singer warned their friends that the party would go on for a while.
Ik had allang gehoord: “De hoogste tijd”
Acknowledging how others tried to end the festivities but to no avail.
Maar al die kreten mochten toch niet baten
Suggesting that their friends' pleas to end the party fell on deaf ears.
D’r zaten al weer mensen aan ’t ontbijt
Noticing that some people were already up and having breakfast, even though they hadn't slept yet.
We zongen voor de laatste maal een carnavalsrefrein
Recalling the type of music they sang during their final moments of revelry.
En kwamen de melkboer tegen op het lege, stille plein
Describing the oddity of encountering a milkman in the quiet, deserted streets at that hour.
En die zei en die zei
Inviting curiosity for what the milkman said.
Weet je, weet je, weet je wat die zei
Continuing to build suspense for the milkman's statement.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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