Frans Bauer (born 30 December 1973 in
Roosendaal as François van Doorn) is a Dutch singer in the
levenslied genre.
Early life
Frans Bauer was born as François van Doorn, after his mother Wies van Doorn who wasn't married to his father Chris Bauer (1944-2015) at the time.
From an early age, Frans Bauer was determined to become a singer. His great idols are
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...
,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
and
Koos Alberts. By the latter, he was sometimes brought on stage to sing along with ''Ik verscheurde je foto'' (''I tore up your photo'').
Career
20th century
Bauer's own musical career was shaped in 1987, when he recorded his first single ''Ben je jong'' (''Are you young'') under the supervision of
producers Riny Schreijenberg and
Emile Hartkamp. Bauer grew to be a local celebrity in his hometown,
Fijnaart.
He received his first national attention through the television programme ''
All you need is love
"All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967, with "Baby, You're a Rich Man" as its A-side and B-side, B-side. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lenn ...
'' (1991), in which, with the permission of his girlfriend Mariska, he could select two female fans (who both coincidentally are named Diana) to go out with him for an evening. The television show made Bauer famous, though, mostly because of the denial of national radio stations, it was only in 1994 that Bauer achieved his first hit called ''Als sterren aan de hemel staan'' (''If stars are in the heavens'')
In 1997, he published his first album for the German
Schlager album, ''Weil Ich Dich Liebe'' (''Because I love you''). In the same year, ''De Regenboog'' (''The Rainbow''), a duet with Dutch singer
Marianne Weber reached number 1 in the Dutch charts. The year 1997 for Bauer however ended tragically: two members of his band, returning from a concert, died in a traffic incident.
Thanks to his fans Frans Bauer became increasingly popular. In March 1998 he gave his first series of concerts in
Ahoy.
21st century
In 2003 the
reality soap ''De Bauers'', about the family life of Frans and Mariska, was a much-watched television programme. Bauer is an ambassador of
Villa Pardoes, for children with life-threatening diseases. In 2004, Bauer, because of his charity work and singing, was appointed to
Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau. In the same year, he won the ''
Gouden Televizier-ring'', a Dutch television prize, awarded by the public.
In 2014 Bauer was the main character in the book 'Heb je even voor mij?' written by Wim Hendrikse. Since 2019, Bauer has been one of the coaches in the Dutch television show ''
The Voice Senior''.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Frans
1973 births
Living people
Dutch levenslied singers
English-language singers from the Netherlands
German-language singers of the Netherlands
Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Musicians from North Brabant
People from Moerdijk
People from Roosendaal
21st-century Dutch male singers
21st-century Dutch singers