Dave is the stage name of Wouter Otto Levenbach, OON (born May 4, 1944), a Francophone singer from the Netherlands who had a string of number one hits in France in the 1970s.
Despite his great success, he is still virtually unknown in his country of origin.
Dave was born in Amsterdam.
His father was Jewish and a professor of English by trade; his mother was a classical dancer. He has two brothers, Marteen and Lucas, and a sister, Elsbeth. He learned how to play guitar at 14 years of age.
At 16, he became a very spiritual person who prayed frequently and even planned to study theology; however, he eventually chose to study law, because he liked to be the one who is listened to.
Among other things, he was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road , a revolutionary novel which incited the young people of the world to leave to learn the life on the roads, and to communicate with others. Passionate about the sea and rivers (a love which he owes to his grandfather), he left the Netherlands by boat in the autumn with 1,000 guilders in his pocket (about two months' living expenses).
He met Eddie Barclay, the executive for Barclay Records, in Saint-Tropez in 1968; Barclay was responsible for launching Dave's career in show business.
On February 26, 1969, he participated in the Nationaal Songfestival, the Dutch pre-selection contest for that year's Eurovision Song Contest with a song called Niets gaat zo snel, but did not win. In Summer 1969 he reached the Veronica Top 40 charts for the first time with Nathalie, peaking at #28.
From 1971 to 1974, he was one of the actors in the musical Godspell, making friends with actor Daniel Auteuil, who would become his best friend.
In 1974, he released Trop Beau, a French adaptation of The Rubettes' hit Sugar Baby Love; later, he released Vanina, an adaptation of Del Shannon's Runaway, adapted into French by Patrick Loiseau.
These were followed in 1975 by Mon cœur est malade, Dansez maintenant and Du côté de chez Swann and Ophelie.
Side A
A1. Du Côté De Chez Swan (2:58)
A2. Mon Coeur Est Malade (3:10)
A3. Apres Tout (2:50)
A4. Il N'y Pas De Honte A Etre Heureux (2:40)
A5. Ophelie (2:45)
A6. Vanina (3:10)
Side B
B1. Dansez Maintenant (3:26)
B2. Amoureux (2:51)
B3. N'importe Quoi Pour Toi (3:05)
B4. Fais-Moi L'Amour (3:17)
B5. Dimanche Avec Toi (2:42)
B6. Trop Beau (3:45)
Credits
Arranged By, Conductor – Guy Mattéoni
Photography By – F. Gaillard, P. Loiseau
Producer [Réalisation Artistique] – Jean-Jacques Souplet
Notes
Release: 1975
Genre: Franstalig
Format: LP
Label: CBS Records
Catalog# 80996
Vinyl: Goed
Hoes: Goed
€ 5,00
Despite his great success, he is still virtually unknown in his country of origin.
Dave was born in Amsterdam.
His father was Jewish and a professor of English by trade; his mother was a classical dancer. He has two brothers, Marteen and Lucas, and a sister, Elsbeth. He learned how to play guitar at 14 years of age.
At 16, he became a very spiritual person who prayed frequently and even planned to study theology; however, he eventually chose to study law, because he liked to be the one who is listened to.
Among other things, he was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road , a revolutionary novel which incited the young people of the world to leave to learn the life on the roads, and to communicate with others. Passionate about the sea and rivers (a love which he owes to his grandfather), he left the Netherlands by boat in the autumn with 1,000 guilders in his pocket (about two months' living expenses).
He met Eddie Barclay, the executive for Barclay Records, in Saint-Tropez in 1968; Barclay was responsible for launching Dave's career in show business.
On February 26, 1969, he participated in the Nationaal Songfestival, the Dutch pre-selection contest for that year's Eurovision Song Contest with a song called Niets gaat zo snel, but did not win. In Summer 1969 he reached the Veronica Top 40 charts for the first time with Nathalie, peaking at #28.
From 1971 to 1974, he was one of the actors in the musical Godspell, making friends with actor Daniel Auteuil, who would become his best friend.
In 1974, he released Trop Beau, a French adaptation of The Rubettes' hit Sugar Baby Love; later, he released Vanina, an adaptation of Del Shannon's Runaway, adapted into French by Patrick Loiseau.
These were followed in 1975 by Mon cœur est malade, Dansez maintenant and Du côté de chez Swann and Ophelie.
These songs were taken from his self-titled first album, released at the end of 1975.
Dave makes
himself immortal in the Netherlands
with the song “Dansez Maintenant”, that reached the first place in the Top 40. The
single is a French-language adaptation of “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller.
And in this period is good for a sale of 3.5 million copies.
Dave stands for
the first time on the stage of the Olympia in Paris .
Side A
A1. Du Côté De Chez Swan (2:58)
A2. Mon Coeur Est Malade (3:10)
A3. Apres Tout (2:50)
A4. Il N'y Pas De Honte A Etre Heureux (2:40)
A5. Ophelie (2:45)
A6. Vanina (3:10)
Side B
B1. Dansez Maintenant (3:26)
B2. Amoureux (2:51)
B3. N'importe Quoi Pour Toi (3:05)
B4. Fais-Moi L'Amour (3:17)
B5. Dimanche Avec Toi (2:42)
B6. Trop Beau (3:45)
Credits
Arranged By, Conductor – Guy Mattéoni
Photography By – F. Gaillard, P. Loiseau
Producer [Réalisation Artistique] – Jean-Jacques Souplet
Notes
Release: 1975
Genre: Franstalig
Format: LP
Label: CBS Records
Catalog# 80996
Vinyl: Goed
Hoes: Goed
€ 5,00