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.
Moe
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
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In Paul de Leeuw's song "Moe," he reflects on the weariness of people in everyday life. He describes how people rarely smile, merely passing through the mundane activities of life, with their own thoughts under their grey hats. People succumb to exhaustion from different aspects of life- family, politics, media, and the constant need to give without reward. Paul expresses that people try to suppress their exhaustion by turning to frivolous things like advertisements, which promise immediate relief, claiming that drinking Pepsi will help them come out of the tub "popsie." However, the happiness from ads is temporary, and people soon fall back into their exhausted state. The artist then asks where the joy and vitality are that used to be in people's blood, the flowers on their hats, the spark there used to be in their lives.
Paul uses his lyrics to speak to the weary and remind them that they are not alone in their tiredness. He also emphasizes the need to find joy in life by creating moments of celebration, such as throwing 'out the red carpet' for milestones, such as a newborn baby, newlyweds, or a silver jubilant couple, and to celebrate life's triumphs in general. Lastly, the artist concludes by stating that he is no better than anyone else and has struggled with exhaustion, but he encourages others to push through and find the joy in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, ik vind de mensen vaak zo mat
I often find people uninspiring and unenthusiastic.
Nooit een glimlach op een zebrapad
People don't even smile while crossing a street marked by a zebra crossing.
Hoe ze kijken in de tram
Their expressions while travelling in a tram seem indifferent.
Hij naar haar en zij naar hem
The gestures of affection exchanged between couples is not the same anymore.
Ik denk wel eens: "De mensen zijn 't zat"
I can't help thinking that people are tired of it all.
Elk onder z'n eigen grijze hoed
Everyone seems to be living in their own little world.
Zelden maar een opgewekte snoet
One seldom sees a cheerful face.
En op 't cafe-terras
Even at a café or terrace,
Puilt de slagroom uit 't glas
Whipped cream overflowing from the glasses.
Ik denk wel eens: "Het gaat ons veel te goed"
Perhaps, we have everything that we need and more.
Pa is moe, moe is moe
Everyone is tired, from fathers to cousins.
Broer is moe en zus is moe
Even siblings are tired.
Oom is moe, tante moe
Uncles and aunts are not spared either.
Iedereen is moe
Everyone seems to be exhausted.
Voorjaarsmoe, najaarsmoe
Tired in spring and in autumn.
Zomermoe en wintermoe
Tired in summer and in winter.
Weekendmoe, levensmoe
Tired on weekends and on life in general.
Waar moet 't naar toe
Where are we supposed to go from here?
Moe van 't politiek geleuter
Tired of political nonsense.
Moe van kranten en TV
Tired of newspapers and TV.
Moe van al 't gepietepeuter
Tired of all the fuss.
Moe en zo blase
Tired and indifferent.
Moe van 't praten, moe van 't leven
Tired of talking and of life itself.
Moe van zuur en moe van zoet
Tired of both sweet and sour things in life.
Moe van alsmaar pootjes geven
Tired of constantly giving in.
Moe van zoveel overvloed
Tired of having too much.
Daarom schreeuwen de reclames in 't vermoeide op de plaat
That's why adverts try to entice us with energy.
Als infectie, dan neem ik Pepsi en dan kom ik lekker popsie uit 't bad
They offer anything from a soda drink to an energizer to rejuvenate us.
En de blijheid komt uit flesjes, de energie zit in een pil
They say happiness can be found in a bottle or in a pill.
Uit ampullen en injecties komt reserve levenswil
They offer us hope from syringes and tablets.
Lieve mens, waar is de prikkelende tintel in je bloed
Where did that sparkle you used to have go?
Lieve mens, waar is die blijheid en de bloemen op je hoed
Where did the happiness and the excitement over small things go?
Hoe bestaat 't, is de koek al op, wat heb je dan gehad
Have we depleted all our resources?
Als ik de mensen zie, die moeie mensen zie
When I see people drained like this,
Dan denk ik vaak: "De mensen zijn 't zat"
I think to myself that people have had enough of it all.
O, ik wil niet zeggen dat ik meer ben dan een ander
I don't consider myself superior to anybody else.
Misschien wel minder, maar wat doet 't er ook toe
If anything, I might be inferior, but it doesn't matter.
Ik wil alleen maar zeggen aan ieder die 't wil horen
All that I want to say to anyone receptive is:
Het is niet waar, wij zijn geen sikkepitje moe
We're not tired at all.
Kom, gooi de loper uit, rooie loper uit
Let's celebrate life and welcome people with open arms.
Voor elke pasgeboren baby, elke bruidegom en bruid
For every newborn baby, and every newlywed couple.
Kom, gooi de loper uit, de rooie loper uit
Let's welcome every silver jubilarian.
Contributed by Aaliyah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.