Dave has a prolific singing career under his belt, but before finding success, the Amsterdam native had a bit of a delinquent past… and even took part in a robbery.
Before making the crowds dance with his hits Vanina And Near Swannthe singer Dave was enrolled in the Faculty of Letters and, the rest of the time, he sang in a pizzeria to earn money on the side. But did you know that he even took part in a robbery during this period?
“You know, the boss puts the money in the bank on Monday”
The son of an English teacher and a former classical dancer, Dave was pushed by his parents to begin studying law, then literature, although he was more attracted to the stage and the spotlight. So, he still tried to earn money by living from his passion and singing in restaurants. But in a pizzeria where he performed on the weekend, one of the waiters one day asked him for a delicate service: he wanted the Amsterdam native to help him rob the establishment!
“He said to me: ‘You know, the boss, he puts the money in the bank on Monday, so if we go there at night, Sunday and Monday, there should be money‘”, first told the singer, now 82 years old, in the show Never said by Isabelle Farrugia. The waiter wanted Dave to act as a lookout and monitor the comings and goings in front of the pizzeria, which was located in a busy square, while he stole the money from the cash register.
Wouter Otto Levenbach, his real name, therefore accepted this crazy proposition and, although he did not draw the money from the cash register himself, he helped the waiter, who succeeded and shared the sum with him.
“The worst part of this story, as God perhaps exists…”
However, this money did not bring anything good to the artist, married to the lyricist Patrick Loiseau. “The worst part of this story, as God perhaps exists, is that I bought a Fiat 1100 with it, with which I had such a serious accident in Italy that I have been banned from staying since.“, said Dave, who has since regretted this youthful mistake! Fortunately for him, Dave ended up making a name for himself in music and left behind his past as a budding delinquent.
