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 (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==