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.
Liefde Brengt De Ommekeer
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In wat je houdt en wat je geeft
Liefde brengt de ommekeer
In hoe je sterft en hoe je leeft
Liefde warmt een winterdag
En de nacht kan eeuwig duren
Ja liefde brengt de ommekeer
Nu ik lief heb weet ik pas
Liefde brengt de ommekeer
Alles hoeft niet meer alleen
Liefde brengt de ommekeer
Pijn is scherper dan voorheen
Liefde draait de wereld om
En die kracht kan eeuwig duren
Ja liefde brengt de ommekeer
Groter angsten, groener gras
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger was
Niets ter wereld blijft hetzelfde
Het leven is altijd gericht
Op je eigen winstbejag
Liefde in onvoorspelbaarheid
Het kent geen wetten van gedrag
Liefde maakt je hulpeloos
Maar de hulp komt van de ander
Ja liefde brengt de ommekeer
Sinds ik lief heb weet ik pas
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger was
The lyrics to Paul de Leeuw's song Liefde Brengt De Ommekeer, which translates to "Love Brings the Shift," describe the transformative power of love in all areas of life. The song acknowledges that love can change what you hold onto and what you give, as well as how you live and die. It highlights the idea that love can warm even the coldest of days, but that the night can still seem endless without love. Love can bring a difference to things that were stagnant and restore hope in what may have seemed hopeless.
The chorus of the song emphasizes that love creates a shift in one's perspective and reality. With love, things don't need to be experienced alone, and love can heighten one's sense of pain as well as one's ability to find joy. Love can incite a change in the world's dynamics, and this change can persist. The lyrics acknowledge that fear and uncertainty in love can be overwhelming, but it also acknowledges that love can come from another person, providing comfort and support. The song's repeated idea that "nothing in the world remains as it once was" encapsulates the idea that love has the power to create a shift and change the course of one's entire life.
Line by Line Meaning
Liefde brengt de ommekeer
Love brings change, transformation
In wat je houdt en wat je geeft
In what you hold and what you give
In hoe je sterft en hoe je leeft
In how you die and how you live
Liefde warmt een winterdag
Love warms a winter day
En de nacht kan eeuwig duren
And the night can last forever
Nu ik lief heb weet ik pas
Now that I love, I only now know
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger was
Nothing in the world remains as it used to be
Alles hoeft niet meer alleen
Everything doesn't have to be alone anymore
Pijn is scherper dan voorheen
Pain is sharper than before
Liefde draait de wereld om
Love turns the world around
Groter angsten, groener gras
Bigger fears, greener pastures
Niets ter wereld blijft hetzelfde
Nothing in the world stays the same
Het leven is altijd gericht
Life is always directed
Op je eigen winstbejag
Towards your own self-interest
Liefde in onvoorspelbaarheid
Love in unpredictability
Het kent geen wetten van gedrag
It knows no laws of behavior
Liefde maakt je hulpeloos
Love makes you helpless
Maar de hulp komt van de ander
But the help comes from the other
Sinds ik lief heb weet ik pas
Since I love, I only now know
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger
Nothing in the world remains as it used to be
Niets ter wereld blijft zoals het vroeger was
Nothing in the world stays the same as it used to be
Contributed by Reagan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.