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.
Pubers
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Als een vrouw ze wil passeren
Shit, dan schelden ze haar uit
En ze lopen met z'n tienen
Als een waaier naast elkaar
En ze smeren kilo's haarvet
In elkanders haar
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Ze staan te bluffen over brommers
Over wijven en tv
Als hun ouders echt iets willen
Ja, dan willen zij niet mee
Als de ouders dreigen met het zakgeld of arrest
Nee, dan moet je niet gaan schelden
Je zegt gewoon; mij best
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Ze staan te kauwen op hun kauwgom
En condooms blazen ze op
Als een meid een keer "hallo" zegt
Krijgen ze een rooie kop
Een jongen die alleen staat
Dat is gewoon een nicht
In hun eentje voor de spiegel
Zien ze Alphen in het gezicht
Zo staan ze maanden bij elkander
En ze lachen af en aan
Verdommen, niemand weet
Waarom toch moet ik bij die pubers staan
Ze komen graag naar huis toe
Hun huid telt daar niet mee
Als ze daarna nog iets willen
Vragen ze hun ouders mee
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist een pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, dat zijn de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, dat zijn de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The song "Pubers" by Paul de Leeuw is a humorous commentary on the behavior of teenagers or "pubers" in Dutch. The lyrics describe their tendency to gather in groups, display bravado, talk about motorcycles and girls, and experiment with fashion and hairstyles. They are also prone to using vulgar language and insulting those who they perceive as different or weaker than them. However, the song also acknowledges that teenagers are going through a difficult period of transition and may rebel against the guidance of their parents or society in general.
The chorus repeats the phrase "that's the pubers" several times, emphasizing the idea that teenagers are a distinct social group with their own culture, language, and values. The use of the term "new kids on the block" also suggests that they are part of a larger generational shift in youth culture, marked by the rise of rock and roll, television, and consumerism. Overall, the song captures the tension and humor that often defines the relationship between teenagers and adults, highlighting the complex and often contradictory emotions that arise during this life stage.
Line by Line Meaning
Ze staan te klippen in een groepje bij het winkelcentrum Zuid
A group of teenagers stands around at Shopping Center South
Als een vrouw ze wil passeren
Shit, dan schelden ze haar uit
If a woman tries to pass them, they react by swearing at her
En ze lopen met z'n tienen
Als een waaier naast elkaar
En ze smeren kilo's haarvet
In elkanders haar
They walk in groups of ten, fanning out beside each other, and they put lots of hair gel on each other's hair
Ze staan te bluffen over brommers
Over wijven en tv
Als hun ouders echt iets willen
Ja, dan willen zij niet mee
They brag about scooters, girls, and television, but when their parents want them to do something, they refuse
Als de ouders dreigen met het zakgeld of arrest
Nee, dan moet je niet gaan schelden
Je zegt gewoon; mij best
If their parents threaten to take away their allowance or call the police, they don't react with anger, but instead, say they don't care
Ze staan te kauwen op hun kauwgom
En condooms blazen ze op
Als een meid een keer "hallo" zegt
Krijgen ze een rooie kop
They chew gum and blow up condoms, and if a girl says hello, they get embarrassed and turn red
Een jongen die alleen staat
Dat is gewoon een nicht
In hun eentje voor de spiegel
Zien ze Alphen in het gezicht
A boy who stands alone is assumed to be gay, and when they're alone in front of a mirror, they see an image of what they want to become
Zo staan ze maanden bij elkander
En ze lachen af en aan
Verdommen, niemand weet
Waarom toch moet ik bij die pubers staan
They stand together for months at a time, laughing on and off, and nobody knows why one would want to be around teenagers like that
Ze komen graag naar huis toe
Hun huid telt daar niet mee
Als ze daarna nog iets willen
Vragen ze hun ouders mee
They like to come home, where their skin problems don't matter, and if they want to do something after that, they ask their parents to join them
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Puist en pukkelkop
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
The new kids on the block
These are the teenagers, with their acne and blemished faces, the new kids on the block
Dat zijn de pubers, dat zijn de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, dat zijn de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
Dat zijn de pubers, de pubers
These are the teenagers, these are the teenagers, these are the teenagers, these are the teenagers
Contributed by Carson D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.