Clouseau (band)

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Clouseau

Background information
Origin Belgium
Genre(s) Rock, pop, dance
Years active 1984–present

Clouseau is a Flemish pop group, which has had several hits in Belgium and the Netherlands since its establishment halfway into the 80's. They come from the Flemish, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium called Flanders. Their music is mainly in Dutch, though there was a small English period. Their most famous hits are Daar gaat ze ("There she goes", a #1 hit in the Netherlands in 1990) and Passie ("Passion", a #1 hit in the Netherlands in 1995).

Clouseau was set up by Bob Savenberg, who named the band after Inspector Clouseau, a character he enjoyed imitating and after whom he had named his radio station.

Initially, Clouseau only performed local acts, which were often successful. Singer Koen Wauters soon left the group to sing for another local band, but in 1987 he was persuaded to return.

In 1987 followed they were discovered at the Marktrock festival in Leuven, Belgium. Their first single Brandweer ("Fire department", also a pun which can be interpreted as "Burning again") sold 427 copies. Their television debut followed in November of that year.

In 1989 Clouseau participated in the Belgian tryouts for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Anne. Clouseau came in second, but Anne became an enormous hit in Belgium and a (minor) hit in the Netherlands. The popularity of Clouseau in Belgium skyrocketed, and that year Clouseau produced its first album, Hoezo? ("How so?").

In 1990 the single Daar gaat ze was a big success in Belgium and the Netherlands, and several hit singles followed. On September 30 of that year, Tjen Berghmans left the group.

In October 1990 Clouseau released their second album, Of zo... ("Or so..."). In March 1991, Karel Theys left the group, leaving them with only three members. In that year Clouseau came in 16th in the Eurovision Song Contest with Geef Het Op, but their participation resulted in a European breakthrough. Their English language album Close Encounters was especially a success in Germany. During this time, Clouseau also produced live albums.

In 1993 followed a Dutch-language album, Doorgaan ("Continue"). At the same time, Clouseau began a European tour as part of the program of the band Roxette. The second English-language album, In every small town was recorded in Los Angeles. However, the album failed critically, receiving little attention outside the Benelux countries. Since then, Clouseau has refrained from producing English-language music.

In 1995 came the album Oker ("Ochre"), which featured the single Passie. In 1996, founder Bob Savenberg left the group. In September of the same year came the album Adrenaline ("Adrenalin"). A large tour followed the production of the album.

On December 22, 1998 singer Koen Wauters married the Dutch television journalist Carolyn Lilipaly (they divorced in 2002). In 1999 came the album In Stereo. Clouseau also started on a new direction. A live album was released in 2000, and Clouseau began a new tour in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In 2001, Clouseau come out with the disco oriented CD En Dans ("And Dance") - with artwork by Marcel Vanthilt - and the title track became a huge hit. Whilst the fans were waiting for new material, the two remaining bandmembers presented Idool 2003 and Idool 2004 (the Belgian version of "Idol") on VTM. In October they released the album Vanbinnen ("Inside").

For some years now (2002-2003-2004-2005) Clouseau has been giving concerts at Het Sportpaleis (sports arena) in Antwerp. These concerts, performed around the Christmas period, have been a big success, as they were always sold out well in advance and have resulted in multiple concerts being added to each year's series of concerts. In 2005, 13 concerts were given for more than 200,000 visitors. (13 x 17,500) Due to Koen's Dakar-participation no more concerts were given that year.

Clouseau performed in Antwerp in the 0110 concerts for tolerance, organised by Tom Barman. For December 2006, 7 concerts (Clouseau Speciale Editie) are already added.

The band released their latest CD Vonken & Vuur ("Sparks & Fire") in March 2007.

[edit] Members

  • Tjen Berghmans (up to September 1990)
  • Karel Theys (up to March 1991)
  • Bob Savenberg (up to 1996)
  • Kris Wauters
  • Koen Wauters

[edit] Band

  • Frank Michiels (Percussion)
  • Hans Francken (Keyboards)
  • Herman Cambré (Drums)
  • Eric Melaerts (Guitar)
  • Tom Vanstiphout (Guitar)
  • Vincent Pierens (Guitar)

[edit] Discography

  • Hoezo? (1989)
  • Of zo... (1990)
  • Close Encounters (1991)
  • Live '91 (1991)
  • Doorgaan (1993)
  • In Every Small Town (1993)
  • Het Beste van (1993)
  • Oker (1995)
  • Adrenaline (1996)
  • 87- 97 (1997)
  • In Stereo (1999)
  • Live (2000)
  • Ballades (2001)
  • En Dans (2001)
  • Live in het Sportpaleis DVD ("Live at the Sport Palace, Antwerp") (2003)
  • Vanbinnen (2004)
  • Clouseau in 't lang DVD ("Live at the Sport Palace, Antwerp") (2006)
  • Vonken en Vuur (2007)