Dave

Wouter Otto Levenbach (; born 4 May 1944), known as Dave, is a Dutch Francophone singer who had a string of number one hits in France in the 1970s. A native of Amsterdam, he resides in Paris.

Early life and education Dave was born in Amsterdam. His father was Jewish and an English teacher by trade; his mother was a classical dancer. He has two brothers, Maarten and Lucas, and a sister, Elsbeth. He learned to play the guitar at age 14. He became a very spiritual person who prayed frequently and even planned to study theology; however, he eventually chose to study law.

Among other things, he was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road , a revolutionary novel which encouraged young people to leave home and learn life "on the road", 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 with 1,000 guilders in his pocket (about two months' living expenses).

Musical career 1960s: Beginnings 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.

In 1974, he released his first hit "Trop Beau", a French adaptation of The Rubettes' hit "Sugar Baby Love"; later that year, he released "Vanina", his first number one single in France, an adaptation of Del Shannon's "Runaway", adapted into French by . These were followed in 1975 by the three hits "Mon cœur est malade" (based on the melody of The Wombles' "Banana Rock", written by Mike Batt), "Dansez maintenant" (based on Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade") and "Du côté de chez Swann".

His self-titled first album was released at the end of 1975. By that time, he did not only have great success in France and Belgium, but also in his country of origin the Netherlands, where "Dansez maintenant" was a number 1 hit in the top 40 and "Du côté de chez Swann" made the top 10 too.

His later hits included "Lettre à Hélène" (1978), "Comment ne pas être amoureux de vous" (1978) and "Allo Elisa" (1979).

1980s and 1990s In the 1980s, his popularity waned following the advent of FM radio in France. He still had an audience due to live performances and his classic hits. However, he himself likened the ebb to a "crossing of a very pretty desert". In 1993, he released a new album,

In 2006, he released a new album under the name of "Dave Levenbach", Tout le plaisir a été pour moi.

Selected discography Albums 1976: Tant qu'il y aura (# 1/FR) 1979: Pour que tu me comprennes (# 1/FR) 1996: Toujours le même bleu 2004: Doux Tam Tam 2006: Tout le plaisir a été pour moi 2011: Blue-Eyed Soul !

Singles

French 1968: "Si je chante" 1974: "Trop beau" 1974: "Vanina" (# 1/FR) 1975: "Mon cœur est malade" 1975: "Dansez maintenant" (# 1/NL, #1/BE) 1976: "Du côte de chez Swann" (# 9/NL) 1976: "Ophélie" 1976: "Hurlevent" 1979: "Allo Elisa" 1980: "Maria Magdalena" 1996: "Boulevard des sans amour"

Dutch 1969: "Nathalie" (# 29/NL) 1969: "Niets gaat zo snel" 1990: "De eerste keer deed nog pijn"

English 1974: "Sugar Baby Love" 1974: "Runaway"

German 1975: "Mein Mädchen Monika" 1975: "Wie schön dich zu seh'n" 1980: "Und alles soll plötzlich zu Ende sein"

Italian 1969: "Il ricordo di Natalie"

Spanish 1975: "Vanesa"

Japan 1976: "Ginza Red Oui Oui" (30/JP）

Filmography Film 1981: Dickie-roi as Dickie-roi 1994: La Cité de la peur as himself 2006: Poltergay as himself 2013: Une chanson pour ma mère as himself

Television Usually as a TV presenter 1996–1997: Salut les Chouchous (TF1) 2001–2002: Eurovision Song Contest (France 3), with Marc-Olivier Fogiel 2001–2005: Domino Day (TF1), with Flavie Flament and Denis Brogniart 2010–2013, 2015–2016: La France a un incroyable talent (M6), as a judge (2010–2013) and a guest judge (2015–2016) 2011–2012: Les années 1980 : le retour and Les années 1990 : le retour et Les années 2000 : le retour (M6), with Sandrine Corman 2014–2016: Du côté de chez Dave (France 3 and TV5Monde international) 2015: Téléthon (France 3), with Sophie Davant and Nagui since 2016: Même le dimanche (France 3), with Wendy Bouchard